When people talk about influential retro games, the same titles always come up: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Tetris. And fair enough, those games changed everything. But behind the legends is a quieter group of games that shaped modern gaming just as deeply, even though most players barely remember their names anymore. These are the foundations hiding under the floorboards. And yes, I have no shame dating myself, so let’s get into it.
Take Spacewar! (1962), for example. Almost no one has played it, but nearly every competitive multiplayer game owes it a debt. Created on a university mainframe, Spacewar! introduced real-time combat between human players, physics-based movement, and even early risk–reward mechanics. Without it, Esports and online PvP might look very different today. Ever heard of this game? Probably not. But yeah, you should look it up.
Then there’s Adventure (1980) on the Atari 2600. Hands up if you remember this one! No? Didn’t think so. It doesn’t get nearly the love it deserves, yet it quietly invented entire genres. It was one of the first action-adventure games, featuring exploration, item-based progression, and most famously, the first known video game Easter egg. Every hidden collectible, secret room, and developer wink can trace its lineage back to this blocky dragon-filled world.
Rogue (1980) is another massive influence that somehow faded from mainstream memory. Procedurally generated dungeons, permadeath, and deep systems-driven gameplay were all there decades ago. Today’s roguelikes and roguelites from Hades to Dead Cells are essentially descendants of Rogue, even borrowing its name. Yet the original remains a niche historical footnote. Didn’t know all of that, huh? Now you know.
On the simulation side, Elite (1984) quietly blew minds. With a procedurally generated galaxy containing thousands of star systems, open-ended gameplay, trading, combat, and exploration, Elite did “open world” long before the term existed. Modern space sims like No Man’s Sky and Starfield are chasing ideas Elite introduced with a fraction of the hardware. It’s crazy right? Gaming has evolved so much. We often forget how we even got to this point of gaming.
Even genres we take for granted today have forgotten pioneers. Karateka (1984) laid the groundwork for cinematic storytelling in games, using cutscenes and emotional framing at a time when most games barely had plots. Ultima IV introduced moral choice and ethical systems, influencing everything from Mass Effect to Undertale, yet it’s rarely mentioned outside hardcore RPG circles. I know, mind blown now, right?
What all these games share is a kind of quiet influence. They weren’t always flashy or commercially dominant, but they experimented boldly. They asked, “What if?” long before design rules were established. As technology advanced, their ideas were absorbed, refined, and rebranded…often without credit.
Forgetting these games is understandable. They’re old, awkward to play now, and visually primitive. But remembering them matters. They remind us that innovation didn’t start with modern engines or massive budgets. It started with curiosity, constraints, and a willingness to try something unproven.
The next time a modern game feels familiar, there’s a good chance it’s echoing something you’ve forgotten—pixelated, clunky, and quietly revolutionary.
Written by QueenG22
