Miss The PS1? Try These New Games

We’d love to recommend that everyone gets hold of a PS1 and experiences the good old days of gaming, but the second hand market is just so darned expensive these days, and while emulation is a good alternative, it doesn’t quite hit the same. However, our love for retro games doesn’t mean that there aren’t modern games worth celebrating, as there have been plenty of new titles, especially indie games, that have tried to champion the graphics and ideas of old school gaming. For anyone pining for the glory days of the PS1 but want to experience something new, these are the games for you.

 

1. Signalis

Inspirations: Silent Hill, Resident Evil

Making a horror game for modern platforms is a tough task, as there’s plenty of excellent titles out there for you to choose from, but making a horror game that’s decidedly old school and yet still just as compelling as more contemporary offerings is a downright miracle. That’s why Signalis from 2022 was considered to be a genuine game of the year contender from a lot of outlets and most of the gamers who played it. Though the game’s top-down 2.5D perspective is wholly unique, the overall aesthetic, combat and puzzle design is intentionally reminiscent of classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill games. The only real difference here is that Signalis takes place on an alien planet with a crashed spaceship.

While we’d love to give you a rough outline of the plot of Signalis, this is truly one of those games where the less you know about the plot going in, the better. Basically, you’re trapped on an alien planet, with mutated creatures wanting to kill you on sight. Good luck. The atmosphere and tone, visually striking low-res graphics and mind-bending storytelling on offer here puts Signalis among the best horror games ever made, though it’s worth mentioning that the game’s combat encounters won’t be for everyone. Again, Signalis is very old school in its design choices, and part of that is making combat feel like a last ditch solution instead of just shooting everything that moves, allowing the game to become one of the most tense horror experiences ever made.

 

2. Crow Country

Inspirations: Final Fantasy VII’s graphics, Silent Hill

While most games, particularly horror, like to imitate the gameplay of titles from years gone by, few actually want to retain the graphics. As a general rule, the more polygons you have, the weirder you can make the monsters you have to fight against, but Crow Country manages to do so much more with a lot less. Like Signalis, the gameplay of Crow Country is very heavily reminiscent of Resident Evil and Silent Hill, with those Silent Hill influences being more apparent thanks to the heavy fog and dilapidated ruins you’ll be exploring throughout the game. However, the real PS1 comparison to make here is with Final Fantasy VII’s graphics, with Crow Country managing to create an effective horror game using FFVII’s almost chibi-like 3D models.

Players control an investigator by the name of Mara who has traveled to the titular Crow Country, which is an abandoned amusement park located near Atlanta. The founder of the park, Edward Crow, disappeared two years prior, and Mara’s took it upon herself to find out what happened to him. Along the way, she meets other investigators looking into what happened to Crow Country, only to find something creepy and disturbing that’s turning people into bizarre, zombie-esque mutants. That’s not very amusing, is it? While the gameplay is clearly a loving homage to Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Crow Country at least lets you move and shoot at the same time. You won’t be very accurate, mind you, but it’s still a nice update.

 

3. Prodeus

Inspirations: DOOM, Quake

We don’t really need to explain how boomer shooters have become one of the most successful throwback genres in gaming, and picking a favorite from the bunch is like picking your favorite child. There are some, like Ultrakill, which add a bunch of new ideas, movement mechanics and tools to the formula, and they’re brilliant. We have all the love in the world for Ultrakill, even if trying to play the game on a Steam Deck feels like a lesson in giving your hands and wrists arthritis. However, there are others, like Prodeus, which add very little new to the genre. You simply go room by room, murdering demons and monsters until you reach the end of the level, unlocking new weapons as you progress through the game. It’s just a non-stop, unashamed DOOM clone and it’s absolutely incredible.

Prodeus is described by its own developers as a “first-person shooter of old, re-imagined using modern rendering techniques and technology” and it absolutely succeeds in that regard. From the blocky weapons, characters and enemies, the classic “search for keys” level design and the animations that feel like they’re made using stop-motion animation, everything about Prodeus screams 90s-to-early-2000s LAN party. There’s even multiplayer and the chance to create your own maps, just to add to the early days of DOOM online feeling.

For those who want the retro gameplay but with better graphics though, Prodeus gives players an incredible amount of choice in how they want the game to look, making it an easy game to recommend for a lot of people.

 

4. Old School Rally

Inspirations: SEGA Rally, V-Rally, Colin McRae Rally

Anyone who happened to be around during the original heyday of the PS1, first of all: found any new gray hairs recently? I found one on my chest in the shower and nearly had a three day breakdown.

Secondly, you’ll likely remember that the PS1 was filled to the brim with racing games; rally games in particular. While SEGA Rally Championship and its sequel might have skipped the PS1 entirely due to PlayStation and SEGA’s then-blood feud, they were two of the biggest rally games of all time at a certain point, and they helped spawn titles like Colin McRae Rally and V-Rally, both of which did end up on the PS1. Side note: have we said rally enough yet? Apparently not, as Frozen Lake Games has taken it upon themselves to resurrect this beloved era in racing and rally games in particular with the very-to-the-point titled game Old School Rally.

While Old School Rally is currently in Early Access on Steam right now, it’s already a pretty competent and exciting new take on a specific era of gaming. Players pick from one of several cars, each of which happens to look just enough like iconic and recognizable rally cars throughout history, but not enough that’s actionable by lawyers, before racing them around tracks throughout the world. Each car has its own quirks and challenges, while the tracks themselves range from snow, dirt and tarmac which all require a different approach when cornering. Again, Old School Rally is an Early Access game, but all the makings are there for a genuinely great rally experience.

 

5. Shakedown Hawaii

Inspirations: Grand Theft Auto

When talking about games that evoke PS1 nostalgia, we’d be remiss to not talk about a GTA clone of some kind, but the issue is that most GTA clones tend to clone from the era where the series blew up in popularity: the 3D era. Trying to find a good top-down GTA clone is a bit trickier. There’s Rustler, which gave itself the nickname of Grand Theft Horse, but reviews for that game have been a bit hit or miss, so instead we’re focusing on a GTA-style clone that boasts a more stylish setting, offers gameplay that’s way more destructive and even boasts a beautiful pixel-art style that you can truly get nostalgic over: Shakedown Hawaii. If you played the previous game, Retro City Rampage, you know the kind of carnage you can expect here.

A loving homage to both the PS1 GTA games, along with 80s culture as a whole, Shakedown Hawaii tasks you with taking a failing business and turning it into a successful multinational conglomerate. On the surface, that doesn’t sound like an accurate GTA clone premise at all, but it’s the methods you’ll undertake to relaunch your empire that make it a pitch perfect pastiche. Instead of attending seminars and working on your power poses, you’ll take a flamethrower to the surrounding real estate, then buy the property at a severely reduced price. Talk about a hostile takeover.

With over 100 story missions, plenty of weapons and more than enough silly humor throughout, Shakedown Hawaii is a great GTA clone for those longing for the halcyon days of the PS1.

Okay grandad, time for bed.

 

6. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes

Inspirations: Suikoden, Final Fantasy Tactics

For a while there, it felt like Suikoden fans were never going to experience a new game or remaster for their favorite iconic RPG series. Of course, Konami decided to prove everyone wrong with the announcement of the Suikoden 1 + 2 HD collection, which we’re still waiting for a release date on. However, even if Konami decided to leave Suikoden to rot on the PS1, fans of the series still would have been taken care of, as Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is considered to be a pretty worthy spiritual successor to the Suikoden franchise. Of course, it’s not surprising that Eiyuden has that Suikoden charm, considering that Eiyuden’s development was led by Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama, who also directed the first two games. Following along at home?

Funded by Kickstarter backers, becoming the third most successful video game campaign behind Shenmue 3 and Bloodstained: Ritual Of The Night, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes’ story is your classic PS1 RPG fare. Some evil empire is seeking more artifacts of power, and they’re willing to do bad things in order to get it, and as a young knight, you’re dragged kicking and screaming into the horrors of war. What makes Eiyuden a brilliant Suikoden clone is that the game is all about recruiting new party members to your cause, with over 100 playable characters that have their own traits, personalities and skills.

If you’re looking for an old-fashioned RPG throwback, give Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes a go. They even made a prequel game to hype up the release of Hundred Heroes, titled Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, which is pretty good too.

 

7. Gloomwood

Inspirations: Nightmare Creatures, Hexen, Thief

Gloomwood is a game that almost defies categorization in a lot of ways. It has elements borrowed from all over the retro gaming space, with the steampunk/gothic Victorian aesthetic looking like Dillon Rogers and David Szymanski ripped some models and textures straight from Nightmare Creatures. Meanwhile the core gameplay feels like a mix of boomer shooters, especially Hexen because of its more gothic vibe, along with immersive sims such as Thief and Deus Ex. Oh, and it has the grid-based inventory system from System Shock 2 or, perhaps more notably, Resident Evil 4. It’s a hodgepodge of influences from across the world of retro gaming, but you take them home, throw them in a pot, add some broth and a canesword, then baby, you’ve got a stew going.

Another game that’s still in early access, Gloomwood sticks you in the middle of a hostile Victorian cityscape and says “good luck” surviving. The entire city is free for you to explore as you try to uncover the mystery surrounding the entire town, with the game recommending that you stick to the shadows in order to accomplish your tasks. A unique light and sound system govern how easy you are to detect by the many enemies within the city, but if you want to go loud, there’s plenty of weapons to find lying around too. Or, you could just pick up crates and start yeeting them as a last resort. That’s what makes Gloomwood an immersive sim after all; it lets you do dumb shit with ordinary level props.

 

8. Nightmare Kart

Inspirations: Nightmare Creatures, Crash Team Racing

A video game trend that’s emerged over recent years is the art of the demake: taking already established games and properties and imagining what they would have been like on older platforms. While some demakes are purely concept only, there have been plenty of indie developers over the years who have tried to put their concepts into action, with the most notable example probably being the BloodbornePSX. A fan-game/demake created by LWMedia and based on FromSoftware’s incredible action RPG and the certified best PS4 game ever, the Bloodborne demake led to what would have been known as Bloodborne Kart, before Sony decided to issue a cease and desist. Still, LWMedia just removed all Bloodborne references and released it for free as Nightmare Kart instead, and it’s brilliant.

While Nightmare Kart’s characters, aesthetic and worldbuilding obviously draws influence from Bloodborne, Nightmare Kart graphically calls to mind games like Nightmare Creatures. As for the gameplay, Nightmare Kart is probably most similar to Crash Team Racing, as players can utilize weapons and power-ups to dominate the racetrack. The campaign mode in particular even borrows from the Crash Team Racing formula, as you complete races and unlock boss fights against some incredibly tough opponents.

Perhaps the best part of Nightmare Kart though is the fact that it’s completely free-to-play, making it easy to experience a different take on kart racing and horror. Plus, it’s the closest you’re getting to Bloodborne on PC at the minute.

 

9. Azure Striker Gunvolt

Inspirations: Mega Man

While Capcom’s Mega Man series made its debut before Sony created the PS1, there’s definitely a case to be made that the PS1 has been Mega Man’s best console. Whether it was the classic 2D platformers, alternatives like Mega Man Legends or even spin-offs like The Adventures of Tron Bonne, Mega Man was featured pretty heavily across the PlayStation 1. It stands to reason then that if you want to experience some classic PS1 nostalgia, you should play some Mega Man inspired games. Not Mighty No. 9, of course. People still haven’t gotten over that one, but one Mega Man-like game that’s been well received by critics and the general public alike is Azure Striker Gunvolt.

Developed and published by Intl Creates, Azure Striker Gunvolt bears the most important hallmark of being a Mega Man clone: the series has a different name in Japan (Armed Blue: Gunvolt, much like how Mega Man is called Rock Man). Beyond that though, Azure Striker Gunvolt is a 2D shoot ‘em up where players run, jump and dash through levels much like they would when playing Mega Man. While Azure Striker doesn’t offer the ability to complete levels in a certain order to obtain weapons other bosses are weak to, it does include newer ideas, such as an item and equipment forging system.

With multiple games in the Azure Striker Gunvolt series, playing this series might help with the wait for the next official Mega Man release. Surely there’s another collection Capcom can cobble together.

 

10. Triangle Strategy

Inspirations: Final Fantasy Tactics

Plenty of critically acclaimed RPGs managed to find a very good home on the PS1, and while many point to the mainline Final Fantasy series as the prime example of that, there’s plenty of other RPGs worth sinking your teeth into. Sure, the one that we’re talking about in this last entry also happens to be called Final Fantasy Tactics, but Tactics is certainly less appreciated by the general public than FF7. Still, for those who loved the challenge and difficulty of Final Fantasy Tactics and they’re looking for something new to enjoy, Triangle Strategy is a worthwhile contender. While some think the name sounds like a placeholder, the developer has spoken about the significance of Triangle Strategy’s name. Regardless, it’s the main game itself that’s worthy of your attention.

Like most tactical RPGs, Triangle Strategy depicts a continent on the brink of war, with players controlling protagonist Serenoa Wolffort as they find themselves playing piggy in the middle between the warring factions of Glenbrook, Aesfrost, and Hyzante. Players will gather their party to take on battles via turn-based combat on grid-based playing fields, with positioning and objects in the environment playing a huge role in the outcome. However, it’s your actions off the battlefield that prove to be just as important as how you perform in the thick of it, as Triangle Strategy also employs branching paths and four unique endings depending on the choices you’ve made.

Triangle Strategy is about as meaty as RPGs get, so if you want a beautiful PS1 throwback that boasts the incredible HD-2D visuals that Octopath Traveler became known for, this is worth checking out.