About arcade games
Arcade games paved the way for the mass distribution and development of games and although the coin-op machines are no longer what they used to be, their legacy continues now in the shape of online arcade games.
In this category, you will find some of the most memorable classic games for you to revisit like Dumb Packman or Brick Out, a clone of Arkanoid. Or perhaps your strongest memory of an arcade game dates back to Street Fighter or the simple Snake, pre-Nokia phones. If that is the case, have fun playing Pocket Fighter and Snake.
Retro arcade games
Arcade games experienced a huge boom between the 70s and the mid-90s when consoles took over the role of making video games more easily accessible for everyone. It was during this time that most of what we now know as classic retro games were launched.
We are talking about classics like Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Puzzle Bobble, Asteroids, and even Mortal Kombat, the game that eventually gave rise to more recent games like Bleach vs Naruto 3.0.
They were simple games with easy controls to ensure that any player could grasp what to do in no time. Another defining feature was their difficult progression. Arcades had to carefully balance how challenging they could be. On the one hand, they had to be easy enough that the player would not feel frustrated to the point of giving up. On the other hand, they had to be difficult enough to ensure that players would lose and insert more coins to continue playing.
With online arcade games, this balance is no longer needed, but it is still a detail much appreciated that showcases how much thought was put into the game.
Although arcades are no longer what they used to be, they remain a reference in the world of game development. If you want to learn more about the rise and fall of arcades, check out “The history of arcade games” on our blog.
The new arcade games
A new wave of arcade games that never were has also surged with the development of online arcade games. In other words, these are games inspired by the gameplay and graphics of old arcade games that were developed more recently as browser games or mobile applications.
The criteria to define new arcade games is very broad and can encompass many different types of games that would never be associated with arcades otherwise. Nevertheless, all the games must have the following characteristics:
- Be more focused on gameplay than on a storyline or general content.
- Intuitive controls.
- With short levels that quickly become more difficult.
- Not focused on realism - liberal physics.
Inspiration vs novelty
Following the criteria for what can be considered an arcade game nowadays, two camps were formed: the games inspired by specific classic arcade games and the games inspired solely by the arcade game type.
In the first category, you can find games such as Streets Rage Fight inspired by Streets of Rage, or Siberian Strike modeled after the game 1942.
The second category refers to games that fulfill all the criteria to be considered an arcade game, but whose gameplay is not modeled or inspired by a specific game. Some examples include Geometry Dash (Scratch), Squid Runner, or Vex 3.
Whether you are looking for a classic arcade game or one that makes you reminisce about those times but presents you with new or unknown challenges, we are certain that you will find new games to love here.
