Maze Chase
Clear the maze while dodging the chasers.
You navigate a maze, gathering everything in your path while enemies hunt you down. Simple to grasp, endlessly tense — a defining shape of the golden age.
Classic genres
Classic Genres
The shapes of play that the retro era invented and perfected — many still beating at the heart of games today.
Fixed Shooter
Hold the line against waves from above.
Your ship sits at the bottom of a single screen, blasting descending waves of invaders. One of the earliest and most iconic arcade genres.
Platformer
Run, jump, and climb to the goal.
You guide a character across gaps, up ladders, and over hazards to reach the end of a stage. The genre that defined the 8- and 16-bit home eras.
Shoot 'em up
Scrolling firefights and bullet-dodging runs.
The screen scrolls endlessly as you weave through enemy fire and rain down your own. Fast reflexes and pattern reading are everything.
Beat 'em up
Clear the street, one screen at a time.
You move along a scrolling stage taking on crowds of foes with fists and combos. Best enjoyed shoulder to shoulder with a friend.
Fighting
One on one, best of three.
Two characters square off in a duel of special moves and timing. Multi-button controllers and combo systems made this a defining 16-bit genre.
Puzzle
Simple rules, one more go.
Falling blocks, matching shapes, and clever logic — puzzle games proved a tiny idea could be as addictive as any action title.
Run and Gun
Blast forward and never stop moving.
Part platformer, part shooter, you push across a stage firing in every direction. Loud, fast, and famously tough.