Retro and modern gaming

[Gerrumonside ref]

Anyone interested in this even if it’s just to pass a little time on your commute or for those rare time-to-yourself moments in adult life?

I recently bought a little handheld device that’s part of the Evercade eco system of legal retro gaming where you get a physical cartridge, instructions and the makers of the game get paid for the licence.

For me this means the chance to play very briefly in short bursts Sensible Soccer, Worms, Jetpac, California Games etc.

Also worth mentioning that the people who made Worms are currently the feature of an exhibition at Wakefield Museum honouring them as local heroes who had a global hit smash.

 

Edited November 30, 2025 by Gerrumonside ref

[Futtocks]

Every now and then, I play a bit of Armagetron, which is a version of the lightcycle game from Tron.

https://www.armagetronad.org

[Gerrumonside ref]

9 hours ago, Futtocks said:

Every now and then, I play a bit of Armagetron, which is a version of the lightcycle game from Tron.

https://www.armagetronad.org

Sounds interesting!

[Gerrumonside ref]

5 hours ago, Father Gascoigne said:

Couldn't bring myself to do something like that. The few times I've gone to play back the games I loved when I was young (Metal Gear Solid, Squaresoft's RPGs, that late PS1 era in general), it's completely tainted my opinion of those games. So I stay away from anything that came before the previous generation. It doesn't work for me anymore when I've played newer games with incredible animation and responsiveness. 

I love metroidvanias, but when going back to play the classics a few years back (Super Metroid and Symphony of the Night), which are still held up as the gold standard, I was totally underwhelmed. The likes of Metroid Dread, Hollow Knight, or even PoP The Lost Crown blow those games out of the water. 

 

I understand this and other friends I have feel the same way about retro gamin.

Must admit my biggest issue with modern gaming is the sheer size of the task with games overwhelms me.

Feel free though to use the thread to talk about modern gaming experiences too.

Ive altered the title now.

Edited November 30, 2025 by Gerrumonside ref

[Maximus Decimus]

On 30/11/2025 at 08:30, Gerrumonside ref said:

I understand this and other friends I have feel the same way about retro gamin.

Must admit my biggest issue with modern gaming is the sheer size of the task with games overwhelms me.

Feel free though to use the thread to talk about modern gaming experiences too.

Ive altered the title now.

In reply to your original post, I recently put a mobile game called Gravity Defined back on my phone. I used to play it 20 years ago while answering the phones for Virgin Media .

I completely share your thoughts on modern gaming. There is obviously a lot to be frustrated about e.g microtransactions, but the biggest issue for me is the time one. They require such dedication to get good at them.

I recently got Undisputed the boxing game and it was pretty good until I tried to go up a level. I really enjoyed Madden 25 but to do it I had to turn defence off.

I have a brother who makes computer games, and I tried to explain my frustration with FIFA/FC games I'd played but he was having none of it. In the early difficulty levels the opposition basically couldn't score and then it was suddenly too hard once I moved up the levels. 

[Futtocks]

The first computer game I ever played was Pong. My best friend Edward was given an Atari console for Christmas and it plumbed into the TV via the aerial socket.

https://www.ponggame.org 

[Gerrumonside ref]

2 hours ago, Futtocks said:

The first computer game I ever played was Pong. My best friend Edward was given an Atari console for Christmas and it plumbed into the TV via the aerial socket.

https://www.ponggame.org 

I remember playing on a very old wood chip Atari that was given to us long after the Pong craze had settled.

We didn’t get too much use out of it and I had my beloved 48k Spectrum not long after!

I’d cheekily wanted a Nintendo I think but the computer shop guy convinced my Dad the Spectrum was way cheaper and I’d have a lot more games to play etc.

I was happy nonetheless to have anything!

Edited December 1, 2025 by Gerrumonside ref

[Gerrumonside ref]

2 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

In reply to your original post, I recently put a mobile game called Gravity Defined back on my phone. I used to play it 20 years ago while answering the phones for Virgin Media .

I completely share your thoughts on modern gaming. There is obviously a lot to be frustrated about e.g microtransactions, but the biggest issue for me is the time one. They require such dedication to get good at them.

I recently got Undisputed the boxing game and it was pretty good until I tried to go up a level. I really enjoyed Madden 25 but to do it I had to turn defence off.

I have a brother who makes computer games, and I tried to explain my frustration with FIFA/FC games I'd played but he was having none of it. In the early difficulty levels the opposition basically couldn't score and then it was suddenly too hard once I moved up the levels. 

Yep, know exactly what you mean about time, depth and difficulty level.

Online modern gaming culture seems sadly to bring the worst out in people too.

Im quite enjoying retro games therefore and with the Evercade (not the cheapest but most legal retro solution I guess) being able to save your progress and high scores in one of six save slots breathes new life into some old games.

[OriginalMrC]

Ive been gaming now for over 40 years. I play mostly modern games now as not that many retro games hold up well for me. I do still love pac man though and tetris as imo they are ageless. 

I have looked at the evercade. Looks perfect for a quick blast on something. As I understand you can buy new cartridges for it? 

Currently playing Arc Raiders which I'm convinced is a social experiment. It truly brings the best and worst out of people but what an experience it is. 

[CanaBull]

Not an experienced gamer by any stretch and find the micro transactions and the fact that we never seem to own anything anymore but subscribe to everything much too annoying to really get into anything modern. That and everything seems to be PvP or battle royale type things that I no longer have the hand eye coordination for!

Having said that, the Microsoft store had Suikoden 1 and 2 on offer so I went in on that and have been having a PS1 and 2 nostalgic blast for the last few weeks

[Gerrumonside ref]

12 hours ago, OriginalMrC said:

Ive been gaming now for over 40 years. I play mostly modern games now as not that many retro games hold up well for me. I do still love pac man though and tetris as imo they are ageless. 

I have looked at the evercade. Looks perfect for a quick blast on something. As I understand you can buy new cartridges for it? 

Currently playing Arc Raiders which I'm convinced is a social experiment. It truly brings the best and worst out of people but what an experience it is. 

Evercade has a licensing and cartridge system, so if you buy the Super Pocket handheld you can add more games via a new cartridge in the back with some already baked into the handheld.

Have to say it’s not the cheapest solution for retro gaming, but it’s quite nice getting a physical cartridge with an instruction manual and modern niceties like save slots, remapping of controls, knowing it’s licensed so at least some money going back to the makers maybe etc.

Handy for the commute and it doesn’t need wi fi.

Edited December 2, 2025 by Gerrumonside ref

[Vambo]

I've been a gamer for many years and to be honest I'm finding a lot of modern games off putting (various reasons for that) to the point that I'm back on my PS3 and 360 mostly.

Just played through Killzone 2 & 3 campaigns and I'm currently playing Rage.

 

[St Reatham]

Just installed Red Dead Redemption 2 on my PS5 again. It’s been a while since I last played.

[OriginalMrC]

46 minutes ago, St Reatham said:

Just installed Red Dead Redemption 2 on my PS5 again. It’s been a while since I last played.

Thats just had a free upgrade so definitely worth checking out at the moment. My problem with that game is I just get sidetracked constantly playing cards and other stuff and never make any progress!

[St Reatham]

57 minutes ago, OriginalMrC said:

Thats just had a free upgrade so definitely worth checking out at the moment. My problem with that game is I just get sidetracked constantly playing cards and other stuff and never make any progress!

I used to spend hours wandering around the wilderness. It’s definitely a time sink!

[johnmatrix]

2 hours ago, St Reatham said:

Just installed Red Dead Redemption 2 on my PS5 again. It’s been a while since I last played.

A great game. 

[Maximus Decimus]

On 02/12/2025 at 04:58, Father Gascoigne said:

Very true. I played Civ II as an 8-year-old and got on just fine. I don't think I'd be able to handle Civ 7 as an adult. Football Manager is another example of a series that has become unnecessarily bloated with time. I don't even want to imagine what it's like playing the Paradox grand strategy games that my brother likes. They look like gaming purgatory. 

Whereas I used to play heavy-story games as a kid, I can't stand them now. I get antsy anytime a game takes control away. Retro games are much better in that respect and, thankfully, some companies still adhere to that ethos of getting to the point.

Fromsoftware's games have completely changed what I value in games. Complex systems? Nope. Story-heavy? Nope. I can only stomach action games with simple controls that rarely if ever take away control from player. 

Gaming is so much about the feel of movement. Unfortunately, it's for that reason that I find retro gaming outdated. Modern games with fluid movement animations are bliss. It's hard to go back. 

In fact, animations improve so much in just a few years that a game like Elden Ring (2022) makes Bloodborne (2015) feel totally outdated, despite the latter being a bonafide masterpiece. 

 

Whenever I'm talking about modern games needing too much dedication I usually refer to manager games. 

These were one of my go to favourite types of games back in the day; I loved the early Championship Manager games but my favourite was Ultimate Soccer Manager 98/99. 

A few years back, I played Sega Manager on mobile and it was so complicated I game up after a few seasons. 

As for Civilisation, these were some of my favourite games as a kid. I played CIV 1 - 3 and absolutely loved them. Bizarrely, I only ever played it on a level where I knew I would ultimately win quite easily. I played Civ VI quite recently and thought it was pretty good but I was skipping over quite a lot of it and it was definitely harder. 

[Maximus Decimus]

On 01/12/2025 at 21:51, Gerrumonside ref said:

Yep, know exactly what you mean about time, depth and difficulty level.

Online modern gaming culture seems sadly to bring the worst out in people too.

Im quite enjoying retro games therefore and with the Evercade (not the cheapest but most legal retro solution I guess) being able to save your progress and high scores in one of six save slots breathes new life into some old games.

Like many kids these days, gaming was my passion as a kid. I did other things (like following sport and playing out) but I loved computer games. Like so many changes with the modern world, games were not nearly so throwaway. If you got a new game, a bit like an album, you had to make sure you liked it because you might not get another one for a while. Swaps were always useful (and how I got into NFL).

I played very steadily up until about 16, but life got in the way at this point and for me it was performing and gigging before going to Uni. I basically got out of the habit, and didn't have the time or opportunity to play them properly. 

This seemed to coincide with the advent of online gaming and as a result it passed me by. I can remember being around 20/21 and I'd played Command and Conquer Red Alert in the past. A work colleague mentioned you could play online so I played him and didn't enjoy it as he basically destroyed me in seconds. 

I've always meant to return to gaming as a hobby but just never had the time to do it properly. When I've dipped in, I've ended up getting bored/disillusioned pretty quickly. 

Now I find myself like a bit of a dinosaur. I still crave games similar to those I enjoyed as a kid/teenager and for me that doesn't include any form of online play so I couldn't say how toxic it all is really. 

Edited December 3, 2025 by Maximus Decimus

[OriginalMrC]

11 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

Like many kids these days, gaming was my passion as a kid. I did other things (like following sport and playing out) but I loved computer games. Like so many changes with the modern world, games were not nearly so throwaway. If you got a new game, a bit like an album, you had to make sure you liked it because you might not get another one for a while. Swaps were always useful (and how I got into NFL).

I played very steadily up until about 16, but life got in the way at this point and for me it was performing and gigging before going to Uni. I basically got out of the habit, and didn't have the time or opportunity to play them properly. 

This seemed to coincide with the advent of online gaming and as a result it passed me by. I can remember being around 20/21 and I'd played Command and Conquer Red Alert in the past. A work colleague mentioned you could play online so I played him and didn't enjoy it as he basically destroyed me in seconds. 

I've always meant to return to gaming as a hobby but just never had the time to do it properly. When I've dipped in, I've ended up getting bored/disillusioned pretty quickly. 

Now I find myself like a bit of a dinosaur. I still crave games similar to those I enjoyed as a kid/teenager and for me that doesn't include any form of online play so I couldn't say how toxic it all is really. 

While it may feel overwhelming if you've not kept up its the best time ever for gamers. There is literally is something for everyone. There's big retro scenes along with digital stores now selling thousands of games for grand epics to small indie developed games. There are multiple devices you can play on and while the initial outlay for a new console or PC is quite high its a reasonably cheap hobby in comparison to others. 

I enjoy online gaming but I'm equally at home playing an indie puzzle game developed by 1 person. The choice is there to play exactly what you want.

[St Reatham]

I was playing New World: Aeternum up until recently, but since the game has been sunsetted, I’ve lost interest.

[Gerrumonside ref]

14 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

Like many kids these days, gaming was my passion as a kid. I did other things (like following sport and playing out) but I loved computer games. Like so many changes with the modern world, games were not nearly so throwaway. If you got a new game, a bit like an album, you had to make sure you liked it because you might not get another one for a while. Swaps were always useful (and how I got into NFL).

I played very steadily up until about 16, but life got in the way at this point and for me it was performing and gigging before going to Uni. I basically got out of the habit, and didn't have the time or opportunity to play them properly. 

This seemed to coincide with the advent of online gaming and as a result it passed me by. I can remember being around 20/21 and I'd played Command and Conquer Red Alert in the past. A work colleague mentioned you could play online so I played him and didn't enjoy it as he basically destroyed me in seconds. 

I've always meant to return to gaming as a hobby but just never had the time to do it properly. When I've dipped in, I've ended up getting bored/disillusioned pretty quickly. 

Now I find myself like a bit of a dinosaur. I still crave games similar to those I enjoyed as a kid/teenager and for me that doesn't include any form of online play so I couldn't say how toxic it all is really. 

Well, your life journey path very similar to mine really in terms of time, other desires and opportunity to play computer games.

I’ve lost interest entirely at times, yet at others have been tempted back in by friends wanting to recreate some old magic on a gaming franchise that has been renewed.

Right now I have a bit more time, disposable income and even feel better mentally for a bit of a gaming challenge.

Guess it’s everything in moderation.

Even still, I’m very casual and feel overfaced by the prospect of a modern game* that will take 50+ hours to get anywhere or get good!  I’ll leave those to younger people with better reactions and eyesight than mine! 

My take on modern online gaming mainly based on what I’ve experienced on football games and FPS types like Battlefield/Call of Duty - to say there’s a lot of bad losers out there is the understatement of the century haha!

 

 

 

*RDR and GTA honourable exceptions here!

Edited December 4, 2025 by Gerrumonside ref

[johnmatrix]

15 hours ago, Maximus Decimus said:

Whenever I'm talking about modern games needing too much dedication I usually refer to manager games. 

These were one of my go to favourite types of games back in the day; I loved the early Championship Manager games but my favourite was Ultimate Soccer Manager 98/99. 

A few years back, I played Sega Manager on mobile and it was so complicated I game up after a few seasons. 

As for Civilisation, these were some of my favourite games as a kid. I played CIV 1 - 3 and absolutely loved them. Bizarrely, I only ever played it on a level where I knew I would ultimately win quite easily. I played Civ VI quite recently and thought it was pretty good but I was skipping over quite a lot of it and it was definitely harder. 

Ultimate soccer manager was a brilliant game, I spent hours on that. The feature of offering bribes etc ha

[johnmatrix]

I'm looking forward to the new GTA game when it eventually comes out but I haven't had much chance to game recently. It's even harder now that the kids have taken over the PS5. Hopefully with a bit of time over Xmas I can get into some gaming again. 

[CanaBull]

Proper showing my age here but I miss the days of games being physical things rather than downloads; where you could rent it to see whether it was worth buying or not and you could get on with it straight away. The other month I was kicking around for something to do and thought I’d put on Jedi Survivor for a bit of time wastage seeing as I had the disc, slapped it in and then had to wait an hour and a half for the latest updates to download.  It’s a facet of the industry now that has taken away some of the enjoyment I used to have for gaming. 

[Gerrumonside ref]

35 minutes ago, CanaBull said:

Proper showing my age here but I miss the days of games being physical things rather than downloads; where you could rent it to see whether it was worth buying or not and you could get on with it straight away. The other month I was kicking around for something to do and thought I’d put on Jedi Survivor for a bit of time wastage seeing as I had the disc, slapped it in and then had to wait an hour and a half for the latest updates to download.  It’s a facet of the industry now that has taken away some of the enjoyment I used to have for gaming. 

I like Evercade retro gaming for this reason.

It’s not the cheapest way to play retro games, but you get physical cartridges, instruction manuals plus a wide range of hardware to choose from and instant load times/save states/a UI with the control list for each game.

I like the Super Pocket handheld version and it has a slot to add more cartridges if needs be with quite a  few games hardwired in already.

Perfect for short sessions on the commute or even couch/desk.

The company behind it are called Blaze and are UK based so the game collections reflect that in some of their game choices.

All fully licensed too.

Edited December 4, 2025 by Gerrumonside ref