Click and compare - it's in your hands:

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

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

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

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

Monaco GP

1979 • Arcade

Pixel8Games 79% Users —

Shift up, survive

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.

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!

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

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

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

Blood (1997) gleefully dragged the shooter genre into a blood-soaked carnival of horror, humour, and absolute chaos.

Blood

1997 • PC

Pixel8Games 91% Users —

Horror with attitude

OutRun wasn't about winning races, it was about vibes.

OutRun

1986 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +4 more

Pixel8Games 88% Users 100%

Choose your route. Chase the horizon.

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

Rolling Thunder (1986) dropped players into a stylish spy thriller where trench coats were sharp, enemies were ruthless, and bullets were strictly rationed.

Rolling Thunder

1986 • Amiga • Amstrad • Arcade +2 more

Pixel8Games 83% Users —

Cool under fire

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

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.

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

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