The Best 1980s Games

Update : Midnight Special added at rank #1.
1

Midnight Special (2026)

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77
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early access PC Windows

Welcome to Midnight Special, a point-and-click survival horror game drenched in 16-bit pixel art and 1980s retro dread. On a thunderous night in 1978 in Maine, you awaken in a labyrinthine manor. You must click, explore, and solve puzzles to escape. Will you go gentle into that good night?

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  • horror
  • genres
  • 1980s
  • survival-horror
  • point-and-click
  • various
  • text
  • psychological
  • retro
  • historical
  • alternate
  • hand-drawn
  • dark
  • pixel
  • atmospheric

2

THE GIRL FROM GUNMA Kai acecaaaaaaaa (2025)

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ND
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j

This game is a retro-style 2D side-scrolling shooting game. Easy one-button operation. It is expressed with graphics and sounds (MSX) typical of the Japanese 80's. The overall structure is psychedelic and crazy, but that's the kind of game it is, so don't worry about it.

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  • 2d
  • shooter
  • on-rails
  • humor
  • scroller
  • bullet-hell
  • 1980s
  • lore
  • surreal
  • dark
  • comic
  • retro
  • cute
  • pixel
  • pseudo-retro

3

Dragenas (2025)

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ND
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j

Dragonfly fairies of the Sacred Swamp rely on the full moon to earn their wings, and insect spirits for their power. With the help of mother sages to guide them, they must rid their world of magic-wielding monsters.

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  • 1990s
  • 1980s
  • nonlinear
  • cooperative
  • minimalist
  • action-adventure
  • 2d
  • pixel
  • retro
  • atmospheric
  • fantasy
  • action
  • local
  • arcade

4

Vertex (2025)

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j

A 2-D, top-down, line-drawing, sci-fi, action-strategy game, Vertex demands your attention while challenging your reflexes. Whether you're travelling on new or existing orthogonal lines, your goal is simple: capture a percentage of the total screen area while avoiding enemy droids!

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  • top-down
  • casual
  • action-strategy
  • 1980s
  • stylized
  • colourful
  • 2d
  • arcade
  • action
  • reflexes
  • linear
  • old-school
  • retro
  • controller-support
  • sci-fi

5

PlanckMan (2025)

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j

PlanckMan is a grid based puzzle game that tests your skill at maintaining your tail, one step at a time. Eat red pellets to regain your tail, and yellow pellets to grow. Do not hit or lose your tail, or else you will lose the game! How high can you get? Includes extra benefits for purchasing.

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  • precision
  • 1980s
  • abstract
  • minimalist
  • 1990s
  • cyberpunk
  • family-friendly
  • platform
  • stylized
  • colourful
  • historical
  • top-down
  • alternate
  • pixel
  • puzzle

6

Forgotten Beginnings: A New Afterlife (2025)

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j

An RPG Maker MZ game done in the style of a 1980s NES RPG, with a NES-styled (but not NES authentic) soundtrack.

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  • nes
  • 1980s
  • rpg
  • party
  • sprite
  • styled
  • turn-based
  • pixel

7

Zenvader (2025)

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j

Zenvader is a super retro shooter mixed with roguelite elements. Dodge the barrage of bullets, improve your unit, and try to defeat the Alien King!

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  • bullet-hell
  • shooter
  • 1980s
  • aliens
  • rogue-like
  • top-down
  • retro
  • space
  • old-school
  • pixel
  • controller-support
  • card
  • rpg

8

Los Angeles 1985 (2025)

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j

“Los Angeles 1985” is a yuri romance kinetic novel bathed in neon heat. Two intimate tales follow four women as they navigate desire, heartbreak, and passion under the electric skies of LA. Love burns brightest after dark.

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  • lgbtq
  • 1980s
  • visual-novel
  • america
  • simulation
  • romance
  • dating-sim
  • story
  • retro
  • colourful
  • anime

9

Can't You Run? (2025)

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early access PC Windows

An endless torment

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  • mystery
  • first-person
  • 1990s
  • 1980s
  • action-adventure
  • thriller
  • supernatural
  • fps
  • real-time
  • dungeon
  • survival-horror
  • 3d
  • realistic
  • tactical
  • atmospheric

10

Run Jump Climb Disarm (2025)

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PC Windows

Run, jump, and climb your way through 20 uniquely themed levels and disarm all bombs before time runs out.

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  • retro
  • platform
  • 1980s
  • precision
  • 2d
  • arcade
  • pixel
  • casual
  • action

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