It is 2024, and to be honest, there aren’t too many games I’m looking forward to as a long time gamer. I’ve been mostly binging on old games that I grew up, and I’ve been gaming for so long on this planet. I’m currently 32 years old, but I believe I’ve been gaming since I was probably around 6 or 7 years old. This is a hobby of mine that I’ve been interested in for a long time, and it’s not going to slow down.
However, as far as recent video game titles, there’s only a few in between that does show some interest towards me. On top of that, it’s just hard for me to let go these favorite games of mine.
Now let me get to the next question: why am I still playing these old games? For some gamers, these old games I will reveal are probably considered “obsolete” or “irrelevant” in today’s times. If you ever read a decent amount of my articles on KeenGamer, I tend to cover stories revolved around games that I have some sort of interest in. I’ve definitely written a good amount of articles based on games that aren’t popular modern day video games like Apex Legends or Palworld.
Why I Keep Coming Back
Am I some sort of old fashion gamer who is nostalgic of the old times and won’t have any interests towards today’s video games? Not really, it’s because many of these old games I’ve played had this sort of magic to it. It’s the magic of excellence.
In no ways, I am trying to feel “superior” towards other players just because I have the tendency to want to play older games. But it’s the game design that draws me towards playing these old games.
I believe game design is by far the most important factor to what makes a game truly feel timeless and still can hold their own against modern day popular games even though they won’t have as big of a player base. For example, Warcraft III is my all time favorite real-time strategy game, and I still return to that game when I’m in the mood for some online skirmishes.
The origial Age of Empires was what got me into the real-time strategy genre!
As great the game is, I know it will never be a game that will be as popular compared to MOBA games which those games are inspired by Warcraft III. What made me still play this real-time strategy game is to the use of the hero mechanic, and while Warcraft III wasn’t the first to do this feature, it’s the one that does it best.
It’s always fascinating to see how your hero selection can impact the sort of build or strategy that you will take in the longer stages of the game. To this day, there isn’t many real-time strategy games I can find that heavily revolves this design concept like Warcraft III do and that’s why I still play it.
Diablo II and Halo: Combat Evolved
Recently, I’ve been focusing on a good amount of my time in old Diablo II, and not the remake version mainly because I still appreciate how ahead of the times Diablo II was when it was made back in the day. There’s a real reason why so many action role playing games that came out after Diablo II, wanted to copy its systems like having a deep character building progression and an endgame once you’ve completed the campaign.
Another reason why I prefer the legacy version over the remake variant is because I do prefer the current patch that is still playable in the old version, and it just “feels” right to play the original version of Diablo II when I’m in the mood for some Baal Runs.
How many times have you killed Baal in your lifetime?
Diablo II is easily a game I can just lose track of time. There are so many different farming locations you can do your runs in, you can try out so many different types of builds to spice up the game, it is fun to play with random players during a Chaos Sanctuary run, and finding a high rune will certainly never get old. You also can never have too many high runes of course.
I’ve been having some thoughts of wanting to return to various old Halo titles like the first game. I still remember how groundbreaking the original Halo was especially I was mostly interested in playing first-person shooters on the PC platform. But the controls of Halo are what sold me to want to put more time into playing console first-person shooters. However, the original game had so many commendable moments for its time.
The AI is still something I can still appreciate to this day, and this is a big deal especially console first-person shooters were fairly notorious for not having great AI like Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64. The level design was truly superb with Assault on the Control Room being one of my personal favorites to 343 Guilty Spark being such a change of pace for the game. Even to this day, I truly think that section is still one of the most iconic moments within the game.
Video credit: jessie rodriguez.
It’s definitely been awhile since I load up some old Halo titles, but eventually, I want to return to them and be able to experience some of the best game design that Bungie has to offer. As you can tell, it’s just the great game design that these games have that always makes me want to return to them especially when I’m on a decent hiatus.
There are some old games I have played where I have moved on because I do believe they haven’t aged as well compared to the old Doom or Quake games. But the point is, there are a decent amount of games I grew up playing and it’s just mesmerizing that I still return to these games.
Like I said, some of them I’ve moved on because some of those games just aren’t good enough. But it’s the good old games that truly remind me why I enjoy playing video games at the first place.
The Importance of Game Design
No matter how old my favorite games get, it’s the game design that truly makes them playable. Great game design is key to making a game that will forever be an awesome game and it will keep you coming back. As someone who is into game design, that is why I return to these old games. It’s not because of nostalgia, it’s because they are just great games that have a clear direction of what they want to deliver to the player.
As of right now in 2024, there isn’t a game that absolutely grabbed my attention on the spot. But maybe down the line, I might find a game that will keep me away from playing these beloved classics.
If you ever feel like gaming isn’t what it used to be, there’s nothing wrong going back to the classics that you always had appreciation for.
