Top 5 Games that Aged Well
Man, we can’t wait to play God of War on Friday. It’s always a good sign when a developer is confident enough in their game to let reviewers access to it weeks in advance (unlike Sea of Thieves). But God of War already is sitting as the 2nd best rated game on the PS4 just behind GTAV. We can’t wait to throw Kratos’ new Mjolnir-like axe that flies back to your grip upon command, to pull off insanely gory fatalities on mini bosses, and most importantly to lay waste to another pantheon of ancient gods.
How has this not been a thing yet? Devs, you’ve been letting us down for years!
We’re especially impressed by the more somber tone this game seems to take this round. It’s no secret the game begins with the funeral of Kratos’ new wife and the entire campaign centers on completing her final wish of having her ashes scattered. Gamers of a certain age may recall the original game opened with a tremendous boss fight against a leviathon but, more notoriously, included a hidden sex mini game allowing Kratos to join 2 women in his bed before battle (similar opportunities occurred in the sequel and third game as well). This new God of War seems to feature an older and wiser Kratos who services less as a nihilstic super solider hellbent on destroying world, but as a faithful husband and protective father trying to train his son to live in this ridiculously dangerous world. God of War seems to have grown up.
This got us thinking about other old school games that have undergone this development too. Here now are the Top 5 Games that Aged Well.
Tomb Raider
The relaunch of Tomb Raider in 2013 took everybody surprise. We had seen the game try and fail come back from obscurity for years but it took another reboot and an origin story giving us a Lara Croft not yet confident in her abilities to make her interesting. A character developed as a sex symbol with ludicrous proportions to generate sales became a figure of empowerment with this release. Tight combat, creative platforming, and a Metroidvania open world made this game incredibly accessible too. It’s disappointing, but inevitable, that the film adaptation tanked (someone give Walter Goggins a good role again!) but we’re happy to see Tomb Raider games finally hit their stride again.
Worth your time if you’ve haven’t tried it yet. Could use more Walter Goggins though.
Wolfenstein
For us, particularly due to the SNES port, Wolfenstein was our first FPS experience, and despite so many other Call of Duties or Sniper Elite games, remains our favorite franchise in which we can obliterate nazis. 2001’s Return to Castle Wolfenstein was okaybut just lacked a compelling storyline to merit much attention. That is until Bethesda’s 2014 Wolfenstein: The New Order brought us a surprisingly poignant update to BJ Blazkowicz’s story. The game is a reboot of the franchise telling an alternate history version where BJ wakes up years after WW2 in which the nazis rose to power taking over the world. You lead a ragtag rebellion team to rise up against the new regime. The storytelling throughout is outstanding and even despite gibbing countless nazis and levels centered around space travel, you feel invested in BJ and his experience. The ending boss fight is a gut punch too that makes a random choice in the opening act seem so much more horrifying. Bethesda figured out how to make Wolfenstein relevant again.
BJ trying to remember if today is leg or back day.
Donkey Kong Country
We’re going back for this one but we think it’s worth it. Rare once stood king among developers around the late SNES early N64 era and Donkey Kong Country was the first reason why. Donkey Kong himself had really not been relevant for years outside of record chasers, but because of this game he’s been relevant for Nintendo ever. Rare’s founders were experimenting with new graphics technology so Nintendo became interested buying a minority share of the company which went on to make what some consider to be among the best video games every. Looking back the gameplay itself isn’t exactly revelatory, but the graphics and especially music still impress even today. Rare brought a forgotten character and franchise back from the brink through some stunning design.
Admit it, you still lean when they make this jump
Resident Evil 7
We’ve played some really horrible Resident Evil games. I’ve been through every core game even putting up with the laughably racist RE5 or the lunacy of zombie dinosaurs in RE6. We play them because on occasion Capcom just nails it. RE and RE2 are definitive games for the original PSX. Of course RE4 was a seminal moment for the franchise too as Capcom went to an over the shoulder cam and came up with a pretty captivating and spooky atmosphere in eastern Europe, plus that damn chainsaw man still stands out as one of the most thrilling moments in a game ever. Last year’s RE7 we’d argue is also proof that Capcom can, on occasion, still age RE wisely. Lifting much from the underrated Outlast series, RE7 finally embraces a first person experience and gives us several cat and mouse chase scenes as you try your damndest to avoid the Baker family while searching for your missing wife. The game’s opening few chapters are outstanding, especially your encounters with Jack, though it does lose quite a bit of steam towards the back half and never seems to recover. Regardless, RE7 is validation for the franchise once again and just about forgives the crap that’s come out since RE4. Not the movies though, nothing can forgive those pieces of garbage.
Not for the faint of heart (thankfully)
Doom
Of all of the games to mature well, we are most pleased about Doom. Like Mad Max: Fury Road, I didn’t think it was possible to find new life in this long dormant action-heavy franchise from my youth. What’s even more remarkable is they did it without altering the core concept much at all. You’re still super soldier fighting the demons of hell and somehow it still feels fresh even two decades later. Most of this is due to the ingenious design around its combat. Hurt an enemy enough, they stagger allowing you pull of a brutal finishing move which drops health powerups. Running low on bullets? Pull out your chainsaw and rip apart a handful of bad guys which will drop ammo reserves. It just feels sublime to take on a room full of bad guys switching up your tactics on the fly. The game is genuinely hard to put down and easily the most surprisingly good game on this list. We’re thrilled idSoftware found a way to make Doom relevant once more.
Still satisfying after all of these years
What other games have aged like fine wine? Let us know below!
