Click and compare - it's in your hands:

Elite (1984) dropped players into a vast, lonely galaxy armed with a fragile Cobra Mk III, 100 credits, and absolutely no safety net.

Elite

1984 • Amstrad • BBC • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 93% Users —

Profit or perish

Doom started as a quiet Mars assignment and immediately escalated into shotguns, demons, and a full-blown trip to Hell.

Doom

1993 • PC • PS1 • SNES

Pixel8Games 94% Users —

One hell of a blast.

Super Mario Bros began with a plumber, a mushroom, and a simple goal, then quietly redefined platform gaming forever.

Super Mario Bros.

1985 • NES

Pixel8Games 93% Users —

One plumber. Endless legacy.

Horace Goes Skiing (1982) cheerfully put players in control of an unusual character whose idea of a relaxing ski trip involved dodging traffic, renting skis, and repeatedly face-planting down a mountain.

Horace Goes Skiing

1982 • Spectrum

Pixel8Games 52% Users —

Worst ski holiday

Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf put you behind the controls of an Apache and somehow made fuel gauges as frightening as missile launchers.

Desert Strike

1992 • Amiga • Mega Drive • PC

Pixel8Games 77% Users —

Get to da choppa!

Sorcery (1984) flung you across up to 40 flip-screen fantasy scenes as a last-ditch wizard, trying to rescue your kidnapped mates before the timer and your energy bar both had a tantrum.

Sorcery

1984 • Amstrad • Commodore 64 • MSX

Pixel8Games 81% Users —

It's a kind of magic

Gryzor (1987) strapped a machine gun to your thumbs and dared you to run right, shoot everything, and still look cool doing it.

Gryzor (aka Contra)

1987 • Amstrad • Arcade • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 83% Users —

Run. Gun. Regret.

R-Type (1987) sent you into deep space with a tiny ship, a huge gun, and approximately no sympathy whatsoever.

R-Type

1987 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +1 more

Pixel8Games 80% Users —

In arcades, everyone can hear you scream

Impossible Mission (1984) politely greeted players with an ominous “Stay awhile… stay forever!” before immediately trying to kill them.

Impossible Mission

1984 • Amiga • Amstrad • Commodore 64

Pixel8Games 90% Users —

Stay a while. Stay forever!

Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (1991) swaggered onto the 16-bit scene like a pub-hero with a brand-new cue - loud, quick, and convinced every pot was on.

Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker

1991 • Amiga • Atari ST • Mega Drive +1 more

Pixel8Games 84% Users —

Right on cue

Kane (1985) saddled you up for a budget-priced Wild West adventure where peace apparently required excellent marksmanship and a horse with nerves of steel.

Kane

1985 • Amstrad • Commodore 64 • Electron +1 more

Pixel8Games 68% Users —

Dyin' ain't much of a livin'

Gauntlet (1985), by Atari Games, cheerfully tossed players into a neon-soaked fantasy dungeon where health drained faster than loose change in an arcade pocket.

Gauntlet

1985 • Amstrad • Apple II • Arcade +2 more

Pixel8Games 77% Users 100%

Eat the food. Survive the dungeon.

Marble Madness (1984) looked cute until the timer started screaming and your marble began sliding like it hated you.

Marble Madness

1984 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +6 more

Pixel8Games 74% Users —

Don't blink!

Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985) gleefully armed Sir Arthur, knocked his armour off within seconds, and then kept kicking him while he was already down.

Ghosts 'n Goblins

1985 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +4 more

Pixel8Games 78% Users —

Die. Retry. Repeat.

The 7th Guest (1993) lured you into Henry Stauf's creaky mansion with shiny CD-ROM swagger and smirking FMV ghosts.

The 7th Guest

1993 • PC

Pixel8Games 89% Users —

Puzzles, phantoms, bad decisions

Airwolf (1985) arrived fuelled by TV hype, cello solos, and the promise of airborne firepower.

Airwolf

1984 • Amstrad • Arcade • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 57% Users —

The embodiment of turbulence

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