Though the 1980s were more than 40 years ago, that bygone era of glitz and glam has never really left our collective imaginations. The neon lights, big clothes, and big hair of the ’80s have shown up in all kinds of modern media, including video games.
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Maybe it’s how technology was more limited back then, but still felt vaguely modern in a way that the limitations allow devs to get creative. Maybe the era has the perfect mix of nostalgia and societal problems to make a great setting. Maybe a lot of game devs grew up around that time. Whatever the reason, some great games have been set in the ’80s, and here are some of the best.
8Black Ops Cold War
The Cold War, having lasted for a good chunk of last century, was in an interesting place by the time the ’80s rolled around. Aside from a nearly world-ending set of computer errors in 1980, the threat of nuclear annihilation had largely passed, but there still pervaded an atmosphere of paranoia and clandestine operations were still being carried out by the major players.
Black Ops Cold Warlives in this snapshot in time, showing a fictionalized but realistic depiction of operatives fighting in the shadows in a conflict full of intrigue and double-dealing. It also provides an interesting look at the arms and tech that was cutting edge at the time.
7Five Nights At Freddy’s Series
Though they’re separated by a game in the middle, bothFive Nights At Freddy’s2 and 4 are set in the ’80s. The former casts you as a security guard similar to the first game, while in the latter, you’re a scared child trying to keep the terrors at bay in your bedroom. Both games have similar and familiar point-and-click door and light management mechanics to avoid getting startled followed by a swift game over.
Each game offers glimpses into the lives of an amusement center employee and frightened child, respectively, in the ’80s. But you really feel the ’80s vibes in the games’ exposition, which are minigames and cutscenes done in the style of era-appropriate Atari games.
6Hotline Miami Series
The Hotline Miami games are neon-lit, blood-soaked stealth action-puzzle games that have you killing your way across 1980s Miami. Hyper-violent and unforgiving, fights in these games are kill or be killed. With no life bars in sight, you and most enemies go down in one or two hits and dying means starting the floor you’re on over.
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Backing the action are synthwave tunes that we’ve come to associate with the era. Alongside familiar fashions, we get classic tech like an answering machine and old-school concepts like the local video store. The second game leans more heavily into a VHS aesthetic.
5Kingdom Eighties
This more modern entry into the Kingdom series oozes with nostalgia. Much like its predecessors,Kingdom Eighties is a light strategy game. Unlike previous entries, the horses, castles, and knights have been replaced with more modern equivalents like bikes, camp cabins, and a plucky group of children.
The game’s plot harkens back to the now-uncommon genre of adventure stories that put kids and teens at the helm, having to save the day that the hapless but well-meaning adults cannot. Also, there are plenty of references to the media of the ’80s scattered throughout the game, including a surprise appearance from a certain time-traveling car.
4Shenmue
Shenmuehas a bit of a legendary reputation as a game that was ahead of its time in both graphical fidelity and the immersiveness of its gameplay. Though modernity has rendered what was once cutting edge gameplay into old school jank, there are few games that immerse you in the world of 1980s Yokosuka and give such a clear snapshot of the life of (relatively) average people in Japan.
An open-world immersive sim before those concepts had a name, Shenmue casts you as Ryo Hazuki, who is hunting for his father’s killer. While your main goal is investigating the villain Lan Di’s whereabouts, you’re free to take on the task however you see fit. Whether that means learning kung-fu, getting a job as a forklift operator, or playing gachapon games — what you get up to in Yokosuka is entirely up to you.
3Yakuza 0
There’s no other way to say it: Shenmue walked so that theYakuza/Ryu Ga Gatoku games could run. Though the latter is a series of brawlers (and one JRPG), and the former is more grounded in realism, both games share a lot of commonalities. However, of the two, the Yakuza series is the far more successful example. The Yakuza games are highly stylized depictions of the lives of Japanese organized criminals.
Yakuza 0, prequel to the first game, takes place in the late ’80s. As such, you get relatively era-accurate versions of the series’ regular locals, Kamurocho and Sotenbori. The game’s main narrative is a classic crime story centered around treachery and the lust for power. However, there are also plenty of other things to do, from side activities like slot-car racing and baseball, to getting caught-up on the stories of some oddballs, to a full on business sim that has you running a cabaret club.
2Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
A classic in the venerableGrand Theft Autoseries, Vice City followed in the heels of the genre-making Grand Theft Auto 3. This game took all the violence, mayhem, and criminal activity and set it in the Vice City, a fictionalized version of Miami. The action takes place smack dab in the middle of the ’80s and it shows, from the fashion, to the cars, and most importantly, the tunes.
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Indeed, Rockstar was able to add a truly authentic ’80s experience with its gigantic playlist of timely tunes. Whether you’re hustling your way up the criminal underworld of Vice City or going on a killing spree for kicks, there’ll be classic tunes on the radio ranging from big names like Ozzy Osbourne or Flock of Seagulls to deeper cuts like Whodini and Hashim.
1World of Horror
Part H.P. Lovecraft, part Junji Ito, all packed together in an old-school computer aesthetic, World of Horror is a 1-bitturn-based RPG roguelike. The game is set in a seaside town in 1980s Japan, beset by horrors and on the cusp of the world ending.
The setting couldn’t be more ’80s Japan if it tried. The intro refers to small-screened CRT televisions and clunky portable phones as modern technology, and students are dressed in classic seifuku and gakuran uniforms that are rarely seen outside of anime. The art style, entirely done in MS-Paint, hammers home the bygone era feel and gives the game an unnerving touch.
