Member-only story
The 10 Best Video Games of the 1980s
A countdown of the best of the golden age of video games
I still remember the moment I first got an NES. Sorry, the moment my brother, sister, and I got an NES.
It was Christmas morning and as I heard the sound of the wrapping paper rip and tear as I opened it; I remember holding my breath, hoping that what I was opening really would be what I dreamed of. When I saw that image on the box and then those words; “Action Set,” I think I blacked out. This felt like one of those out-of-body experiences and felt like I was hovering above my body, watching this all happen.
As overly dramatic as that probably was, I’m sure your experience with your first video game system was similar. In the 1980s, we were ushered into a new era of video games. The sounds of the games, the images that we controlled on the screen, it truly was a new era for home entertainment.
The advancements in technology from the start of the decade to its end possibly changed the most compared to any other era. The difference in gameplay, graphics, sound, and overall game experience in 1989 was night and day from 1980.
In 1980, games like Pac-Man ruled the roost but were incredibly simplistic. Processing power was limited and hugely popular games from the start of the decade, like…