Click and compare - it's in your hands:

Ghosts 'n Goblins (1985) gleefully armed Sir Arthur, knocked his armour off within seconds, and then kept kicking him while he was already down.

Ghosts 'n Goblins

1985 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +4 more

Pixel8Games 78% Users —

Die. Retry. Repeat.

Metal Gear Solid (1998) smuggled blockbuster drama into your PS1 memory card, then told you to stop shooting and start sneaking.

Metal Gear Solid

1998 • PS1

Pixel8Games 92% Users —

Stealth with swagger

Pole Position (1982) didn’t just ask you to race - it demanded you qualify first, instantly setting it apart from its coin-hungry rivals.

Pole Position

1982 • Arcade

Pixel8Games 71% Users —

Qualify or quit

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

Kane (1985) saddled you up for a budget-priced Wild West adventure where peace apparently required excellent marksmanship and a horse with nerves of steel.

Kane

1985 • Amstrad • Commodore 64 • Electron +1 more

Pixel8Games 68% Users —

Dyin' ain't much of a livin'

Airwolf (1985) arrived fuelled by TV hype, cello solos, and the promise of airborne firepower.

Airwolf

1984 • Amstrad • Arcade • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 57% Users —

The embodiment of turbulence

Elite (1984) dropped players into a vast, lonely galaxy armed with a fragile Cobra Mk III, 100 credits, and absolutely no safety net.

Elite

1984 • Amstrad • BBC • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 93% Users —

Profit or perish

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe took the idea of a friendly sports match, threw it out of an airlock, and replaced it with metal armour and flying elbows.

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe

1990 • Amiga • Atari ST • Commodore 64

Pixel8Games 83% Users —

Enjoy a clean break

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.

Wipeout (1995) hurled you into anti-gravity racing where the tracks looked like nightclub flyers and the speed felt borderline irresponsible.

Wipeout

1995 • PC • PS1 • Saturn

Pixel8Games 89% Users —

Speed with teeth

Horace Goes Skiing (1982) cheerfully put players in control of an unusual character whose idea of a relaxing ski trip involved dodging traffic, renting skis, and repeatedly face-planting down a mountain.

Horace Goes Skiing

1982 • Spectrum

Pixel8Games 52% Users —

Worst ski holiday

Sorcery (1984) flung you across up to 40 flip-screen fantasy scenes as a last-ditch wizard, trying to rescue your kidnapped mates before the timer and your energy bar both had a tantrum.

Sorcery

1984 • Amstrad • Commodore 64 • MSX

Pixel8Games 81% Users —

It's a kind of magic

Raid Over Moscow (1984) served Cold War panic as an arcade sampler platter: launch the interceptor, dodge defences, blow the silos, then head for the Kremlin like you'd lost a bet.

Raid Over Moscow

1984 • Amstrad • Apple II • Atari 8-bit +2 more

Pixel8Games 80% Users —

The empire strikes back

Exile (1988) dropped you into a vast alien cave system, handed you a jetpack, and then refused to explain much else.

Exile

1988 • Amiga • BBC • Commodore 64 +1 more

Pixel8Games 85% Users —

Physics fights back

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.

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

Monaco GP

1979 • Arcade

Pixel8Games 79% Users —

Shift up, survive

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