[Updated October 2025]
A gloriously old school trailer was once released for Strafe, a Kickstarter first-person shooter set in space that insisted that upon its 2016 release it would be by far the best game of 1996.
Strafe harnessed modern computing power to (partially) procedurally generate FPS levels that looked and felt like Doom (or Halo if it was made by id Software in the mid-90s).
Whether Strafe ultimately hit its Kickstarter goal or not, it was representative of something bigger—the continuing expansion of retro indie games that mix nostalgia with modern conveniences and flourishes. And honestly? Strafe was just the beginning.
What started as a trickle of nostalgic throwbacks has become a full-on flood, and the best part is that these games keep getting better at understanding what made the old stuff great.
🎮 Retro Game Design Insights – How Indie Developers Modernize Classic Gameplay
TL;DR: The modern retro revival isn’t just nostalgia — it’s a design philosophy. Indie developers combine classic aesthetics with modern processing, innovation, and storytelling. Games like Tunic, Fez, Pizza Tower, and Vampire Survivors prove that the best tributes to the past don’t copy old formulas — they remix them into something new and brilliant.
The Table of Contents
Strafe's blood and gore were persistent, for example, so you knew if a corridor wasn't covered in guts, you probably hadn't been there yet. That's a trick based on modern processing power in a game designed to look twenty years old. And it illustrates the great trick of good retro design: figure out what
aspects of the old games are worth honoring and recreating, while adding something fresh that doesn't feel out of character.
The Full Retro Route (And Why It's Not Enough)
Designers can, of course, go completely old school and simply make a game that could have been made and played on 80s or 90s computers. Many of the new batch of graphic adventure games like Yesterday or Gemini Rue feel this way.
They run fine on my phone, and they probably would have run alright on my 486 in '95 alongside The Secret of Monkey Island and Sam & Max Hit the Road.
But "more of the same" only thrills for so long.
There's a reason games didn't stay the way they were in 1995, or 2003, or 2008. It's not because they weren't making great games—it's because we like to be surprised and challenged. This is why sequels and endless series games get ripped on. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War wasn't as exciting as the first two because it didn't break much new ground.
The Magic Respawns
After a while, though, that old magic respawns! The old experience becomes tinged with nostalgia, and a genre and moment are ripe for retro rediscovery. The best of these, in my opinion, are games that feel like you could have played them back in the day that nevertheless offer you some new twist that you never had when those games were new.
The Clear Twists: When Old Meets Genuinely New
Some new twists in retro-style games are quite clear. Take Fez, for example. Phil Fish's game emulates an old 2D puzzler (rife with bonus hard-to-find Easter eggs and codes) with the literal twist of being able to spin from one 2D view to another to explore a 3D world only visible two dimensions at a time.
Then there's Braid, whose design emphatically echoes that of Super Mario Bros., with its princess eternally in another castle, but uses this to set up a
narrative finale that is anything but traditional, achieved through puzzle-platformer gameplay that is both simple and sometimes maddeningly challenging…
Especially if, like me, you're color-blind and don't realize that some of the puzzles are color coded. FYI, color-blind gamers (and developers who don't make manuals).
But the retro-with-a-twist trend didn't stop there. Return of the Obra Dinn (2018) looks like it's running on a 1-bit Macintosh but uses that stark aesthetic to make you feel like a detective actually piecing together a ship disaster.
The twist? A pocket watch that lets you witness the moment of each death. It's utterly brilliant in a way that couldn't exist without modern design thinking—even if it looks like it was rendered in 1987.
Tunic (2022) is another genius example. It looks like a lost Zelda game, but the actual twist is that you're discovering a game manual as you play, in a fake language you have to decode. It's basically designed around the childhood experience of trying to play a Japanese import with no translation. That kind of meta-game design is pure modern creativity wrapped in a 16-bit bow.
And then there's Balatro (2024), which took poker and roguelike deckbuilding and made something that feels like it could've been a shareware gem on your dad's Windows 95 machine...except the strategic depth is genuinely, addictively modern. Sometimes the best retro games are the ones that make you think "how did this NOT exist back then?"
Modern Power, Retro Soul
Then there are games like Hotline Miami that look and feel old school but clearly depend on modern processing for a smoother flow of action and fewer limitations on how much can be going on in the game at any given time (and how many different player characters are offered, etc.).
Games like this
generally keep the look and feel of an old game, along with the punishing difficulty, while removing some of the technical limitations on scope, flexibility, and customizability.
Pizza Tower (2023) is a perfect modern example—it looks and plays like a lost Wario Land game, but moves at an absolutely unhinged speed that would've melted a Super Nintendo. The smoothness of the chaos is pure modern processing power wearing a 90s costume.
Or take Vampire Survivors (2022). It costs three bucks, looks like a flash game, but tracking hundreds of enemies and projectiles simultaneously while you're essentially playing a reverse bullet hell? That's leveraging computational power a 90s machine would've choked on, even if the aesthetic makes you nostalgic for browser games.
Meanwhile, back in 2013's Gaurodan (free to download for Windows and Ouya—remember Ouya?), you got a Rampage-like experience of being a giant pterodactyl monster (birthed from a volcano as a giant egg) wreaking havoc on the world because you can.
But while this free indie title doesn't do anything technically that I couldn't see being possible in 1990, it offers more than pure retro nostalgia by blending two old genres—the rampager (is that a genre? It is now) and the side-scrolling shooter—in a new way.
The Boomer Shooter Renaissance
Here's something that deserves its own shoutout: the FPS retro revival, which has become so big it got its own name—"boomer shooters." Strafe was ahead of its time in predicting this, but games like DUSK (2018), Ultrakill (2020), and Ion Fury (2019) proved that the 90s FPS wasn't just nostalgia bait—it was actually a genre with unrealized potential.
These games aren't just nostalgic, they're actually better than most 90s shooters because they learned what worked (fast movement, creative weapons, labyrinthine levels, that specific feeling of speed and power) and ditched what didn't (awkward controls, hunting for colored keys for 20 minutes, trying to aim vertically with a keyboard).
Ultrakill in particular does something wild: it feels like Quake and Devil May Cry had a baby, with style rankings and aerial combat that would've been impossible with 90s tech. It looks retro, but it plays like the future the 90s dreamed about.
What We Still Need (And What Actually Happened)
We need more games like Braid and more games like Hotline Miami, games that develop the gameplay of classic genres as well as those that simply enhance them with modern processing power and game size to enable greater customization and depth. Game Informer once compiled a list of 16-bit games that could use sequels in the Hotline Miami vein (including Earthbound, Contra, Final Fantasy, Metroid, and Mega Man). I thought this made sense then, and I still think it makes sense now.
Square can make new Final Fantasy games, too—and they have, with varying degrees of success. When I originally wrote this piece, I was hopeful about FFXV. Well, FFXV came out and...it was fine? Better than XIII, certainly, but the real plot twist was that Square eventually DID make retro-style RPGs again with Octopath Traveler and Triangle Strategy.
They literally gave us that renovated 16-bit aesthetic I was begging for, even if they're not technically Final Fantasy. Took them long enough. Meanwhile FFVII Remake proved they could also just remake old games with modern tech, which, sure, but that's not quite the same thing.
But here's what I was really getting at: why not put small teams on rethinking retro? For a fraction of the cost of a blockbuster, major developers could get in on what indie companies have been doing well for quite some time. And you know what?
Some of them finally listened. We're seeing more AA and even some AAA studios dipping their toes into this space, and it's working.
The Retro Wrap Up
The retro revival isn't just a trend anymore, it's a legitimate design philosophy. The best retro-style games understand that nostalgia is the hook, but innovation is what keeps players coming back.
Whether it's a mechanical twist (Tunic, Fez), modern processing enabling new possibilities (Vampire Survivors, Pizza Tower), or simply perfecting what the old games tried to do (DUSK, Obra Dinn), these games prove that looking backward can be the best way to move forward.
What do you think? What games and old genres would you like to see reinvented à la Tunic? Expanded and deepened like Octopath Traveler did for JRPGs? Remixed like Gaurodan? And which modern retro games have surprised you the most?
Frequently Asked Questions
Are indie games better than AAA?
- The best indie games often surpass AAA titles because they're not limited by design-by-committee approaches. Games like Balatro, Tunic, and Vampire Survivors prove that small teams can create innovative experiences for a fraction of AAA budgets.
- While AAA games have bigger production values, indie games frequently take creative risks that result in more memorable, unique gameplay. The retro indie revival specifically shows how looking backward with modern design thinking can create experiences that feel fresher than many blockbuster sequels.
Are indie games becoming more popular?
- Yes, indie games have exploded in popularity over the past decade. What started as a trickle of nostalgic throwbacks has become a full-on flood, with retro-style indie games regularly winning major awards.
- Games like Balatro, Pizza Tower, and Vampire Survivors have proven that indie titles can compete with AAA releases. The retro indie scene has evolved from a trend into a legitimate design philosophy, with even some AA and AAA studios now creating retro-inspired games.
What is boomer shooter genre?
- Boomer shooters are modern first-person shooters inspired by 90s classics like Doom, Quake, and Duke Nukem 3D. Games like DUSK, Ultrakill, and Ion Fury capture the fast movement, creative weapons, and labyrinthine levels of 90s FPS games while removing outdated limitations like awkward controls and excessive key-hunting.
- The name comes from the generation that grew up with these original shooters, though the genre appeals to players of all ages who want fast-paced, skill-based action.
What makes a good boomer shooter?
- Good boomer shooters learn what worked from 90s FPS games—fast movement, creative weapons, labyrinthine levels, and that specific feeling of speed and power—while ditching what didn't work, like awkward controls and excessive backtracking.
- Games like Ultrakill and DUSK aren't just nostalgic recreations; they're actually better than most 90s shooters because they use modern processing power to enable smoother action and more creative gameplay. The best boomer shooters feel retro but play like the future the 90s dreamed about.
Why pixel art games?
- Pixel art games work because they combine nostalgia with innovation. The retro aesthetic is the hook, but modern design thinking is what keeps players engaged. Games like Tunic, Celeste, and Balatro prove that pixel art isn't just about looking old—it's about honoring what made classic games great while adding fresh twists that weren't possible in the actual 90s.
- The best pixel art games figure out which aspects of old games are worth recreating while adding something new that doesn't feel out of character.
