Click and compare - it's in your hands:

Rise of the Triad (1994/95) took the Wolfenstein-style corridor shooter, chugged a can of soda, then started doing backflips.

Rise of the Triad

1994 • PC

Pixel8Games 86% Users —

Ludicrous gibs!

Maniac Mansion (1987) invited you to pick a trio of teenagers and trespass into the Edison household, where every room hid a gag, a trap, or a way to accidentally doom your friends.

Maniac Mansion

1987 • Amiga • Apple II • Atari ST +3 more

Pixel8Games 79% Users —

Break in, think

Super Mario Bros began with a plumber, a mushroom, and a simple goal, then quietly redefined platform gaming forever.

Super Mario Bros.

1985 • NES

Pixel8Games 93% Users —

One plumber. Endless legacy.

Pyjamarama (1984) turned bedtime into a surreal obstacle course, starring Wally Week as he sleepwalked through his own house in stripy pyjamas.

Pyjamarama

1984 • Amstrad • Commodore 64 • Spectrum

Pixel8Games 68% Users —

Sleepwalking chaos

Tetris was the sort of game that looked like office software, then quietly stole entire evenings.

Tetris

1984 • Amstrad • Commodore 64 • PC

Pixel8Games 80% Users —

One more piece

Gryzor (1987) strapped a machine gun to your thumbs and dared you to run right, shoot everything, and still look cool doing it.

Gryzor (aka Contra)

1987 • Amstrad • Arcade • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 83% Users —

Run. Gun. Regret.

Kick Off 2 cheerfully ignored the idea of "fun for everyone" and instead demanded absolute mastery or total humiliation.

Kick Off 2

1990 • Amiga

Pixel8Games 78% Users —

There's only one Dino Dini!

Batman: The Movie (1989) wasted no time brooding, throwing players straight into Gotham's grime with surprising confidence for an '80s movie tie-in.

Batman: The Movie

1989 • Amiga • Amstrad • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 87% Users —

Fear is the tool. Justice is the Knight.

Duke Nukem 3D (1996) swaggered into the shooter scene chewing bubblegum and kicking ass.

Duke Nukem 3D

1996 • Mega Drive • PC

Pixel8Games 91% Users —

No manners. No mercy.

Marble Madness (1984) looked cute until the timer started screaming and your marble began sliding like it hated you.

Marble Madness

1984 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +6 more

Pixel8Games 74% Users —

Don't blink!

Descent (1995) took a normal corridor shooter, spun it in every direction, then asked you not to be sick.

Descent

1995 • PC

Pixel8Games 90% Users —

Six degrees of panic

Entering a martial arts tournament at the height of the genre's mid-80s popularity, The Way of the Exploding Fist draws clear inspiration from Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, reinforced by its digitised kiai sample and visual nods.

The Way of the Exploding Fist

1985 • Amstrad • BBC • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 81% Users —

Participate in this morning's edification

Get Dexter (aka Crafton & Xunk) dropped you into a glossy isometric sci-fi maze where an android and his tiny sidekick had to blag, dodge and gadget their way to an all-important code.

Get Dexter

1986 • Amstrad

Pixel8Games 82% Users —

Crack the code, survive

Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker (1991) swaggered onto the 16-bit scene like a pub-hero with a brand-new cue - loud, quick, and convinced every pot was on.

Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker

1991 • Amiga • Atari ST • Mega Drive +1 more

Pixel8Games 84% Users —

Right on cue

Monaco GP (1979) delivered white-knuckle racing long before realism was a selling point.

Monaco GP

1979 • Arcade

Pixel8Games 79% Users —

Shift up, survive

Impossible Mission (1984) politely greeted players with an ominous “Stay awhile… stay forever!” before immediately trying to kill them.

Impossible Mission

1984 • Amiga • Amstrad • Commodore 64

Pixel8Games 90% Users —

Timing is everything

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