Weekend Question: What's the oldest game you still play?

[PCG Jody]

I ask the PCG staff a regular Weekend Question and post the answers on the site. If you'd like to throw in an answer here, I'll squeeze the best into the finished article!

This week the question is: What's the oldest game you still play?

Think of the hardy videogame perennials you keep installed to pop back into when the mood strikes you, or replay every year or two like a personal ritual. Which one of them dates back the furthest? I've got Pool of Radiance, a downright ancient D&D RPG from 1988, on the go at the moment—a game I restart on the regular without ever finishing it as I try again and again to find the perfect party balance of elven fighter/thief and fighter/mages.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I'd say the latest for me was RE4, but mainly to try the new RE4 HD Project mod.

In the process, I was reminded of a nifty trick to kill Krauser fast, so I made this video of it.

 

[ZedClampet]

Every now and then I'll play an older game, but the only older games that I repeatedly return to are RE4 and the Roller Coaster Tycoon games. However, all of these have had new editions released since the original games. I think the oldest one is RE4 HD from 2014.

Edit: All the above is wrong. After reading @Brian Boru 's post, I went back and checked how old Civ 5 is, and it's from 2010, so that would be my answer.

 

[Colif]

Torchlight 2: 2012 - although I do play a modded version now, as i have gone back to it on 2 newer computers now and stock game gets predictable after a while

I recall rct2 broke my mouse once (that or mouse died while playing game which made it hard to exit game since its all run from mouse (and/or I didn't know hot keys))

 

[Brian Boru]

Are remasters allowed?

If yes, then the Command & Conquer remaster of the 1995-97 games + expansions will be an annual replay for me.

If not, Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour from 2003 is the oldest I have installed. Other regulars from the 00s are Civ4 and the original Crysis pair.

 

[Alm]

Apparently Hearthstone is a 2014 game. That's the oldest game I still regularly play.

 

[ZedClampet]

Are remasters allowed?

If yes, then the Command & Conquer remaster of the 1995-97 games + expansions will be an annual replay for me.

If not, Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour from 2003 is the oldest I have installed. Other regulars from the 00s are Civ4 and the original Crysis pair.

After reading this I went back and checked how old Civ5 was and had to add that to my answer. Didn't realize they went so long in between games.

 

[Frindis]

Lotro online. At least once a year I go back to it so I can experience Bree and Shire. Maybe I'll pop inside the housing area and see if there are some lovely house decorations or run one of the race tracks. Last time I played it I took my nephew on a journey to a faraway land. We never did manage to get to that land, but we had fun trying while aggroing just about anything we ran past. It's just a great world to visit. Me on my horse at Bree:

 

[Ryzengang]

Hmm, I'm not totally sure, but I think it's probably Oblivion and Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, which are both 2006 games. I had the physical version of Dark Crusade back in the day, and I played it a ton both solo and with my (still) good friend. I still return to it every now and again, it has the additional benefit of being able to run on a toaster, so I can play it on my laptop as well. As for Oblivion, it is my favorite Bethesda game and one that I have a lot of good memories with. For this question it might be a slight stretch, though, because I don't return to it super often.

 

[DXCHASE]

I have emulators that are ready to go, i have arcade 1ups in the house with classics ready to go, but as for pc, the oldest game i play/installed is original Doom and other originals like that (quake, serious sam, hexen etc.)

 

[mainer]

I play more older games that new every year, so my library of older games is fairly large. Many of those are re-purchases of older "boxed" versions in digital format, so if I want to play them, they're much easier to install. A lot of those I haven't played in well over 10 years (but, hey, they're there if I want to!). There's also a select group that I go back and play consistently.

As to your question, much would depend upon whether you're accepting remasters or enhanced editions. If yes, then it would be Baldur's Gate 1 (1998 release), but I actually play the enhanced version released in 2013. Same game, but slightly better graphics as well as many other improvements.

If no, then the oldest game that I keep installed and play occasionally would be Half-Life 2 (2002). There's just something about the atmosphere and flow that I've never seen or felt in any other games, regardless of genre. HL2 was way ahead of its time.

 

[Colif]

Plays Zork just to win lol

Zork - Play online at textadventures.co.uk

"Many strange tales have been told of the fabulous treasure, exotic creatures, and diabolical puzzles in the Great Underground Empire. As an aspiring adventurer, you will undoubtedly want to locate these treasures and deposit them in your trophy case." [--blurb from The Z-Files Catalogue]

textadventures.co.uk

i remember when websites used to have Zork as a 404 error screen.

resists using a guide, is killed by a Grue

although:https://spacewar.oversigma.com/ (1962 emulated)

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I don't play old games very often. Technically, the oldest for me right now would be some old arcade classics. I build my own arcade cabinet (from a nice kit) a while back and fitted it with a Raspberry Pi with RetroPie on it. It runs a lot of the really old arcade games. I don't play on it much, though.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Are remasters allowed?

If yes, then the Command & Conquer remaster of the 1995-97 games + expansions will be an annual replay for me.

If not, Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour from 2003 is the oldest I have installed. Other regulars from the 00s are Civ4 and the original Crysis pair.

Regarding remasters, well, technically a remake in this one, I played Mafia Definitive Edition not too long ago. At first it brought back that good old feeling from the original, with much better graphics, but when I got to the hardest mode, it was a bit of a let down. The enemies are not nearly as hard to kill on the hardest mode in the remake, and they cannot kill you as easily either. So I never went through panicked moments like I did in the original worrying about dying or running out of ammo. It just wasn't as immersive a game as the original.

 

[ZER0]

I have a good amount of retro fps games that I re-play every few years or so (Half Life, Duke Nukem 3d, Unreal Tournament, Quake etc) but the oldest one I return to has to be the original Doom. It's still such a great game in its vanilla state, nevermind the infinite amount of mods and user content that's been produced over the years. It's a classic for a reason.

 

[Johnway]

i still very much play retro games on my raspberry pi. Just today i finished the legend of zelda a link to the past on the Snes. But the oldest game i play with any consistency is doom 2, or the community wads to be exact. The work that comes from the modding community is truly outstanding and kept me entertained every weekend when i play for an hour or 2.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I have a good amount of retro fps games that I re-play every few years or so (Half Life, Duke Nukem 3d, Unreal Tournament, Quake etc) but the oldest one I return to has to be the original Doom. It's still such a great game in its vanilla state, nevermind the infinite amount of mods and user content that's been produced over the years. It's a classic for a reason.

You just reminded me I also played the finished and bug free version of Black Mesa recently. I liked it so much it inspired me to play through HL2 again, and the 2 episodes that came after. It did knda leave me with that sinking feeling that there should have been a HL3 though.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

i still very much play retro games on my raspberry pi. Just today i finished the legend of zelda a link to the past on the Snes. But the oldest game i play with any consistency is doom 2, or the community wads to be exact. The work that comes from the modding community is truly outstanding and kept me entertained every weekend when i play for an hour or 2.

A Link to the Past is definitely one of the best 2D Zelda games. If you're able to play it, try out The Minish Cap. It's probably my favorite 2D Zelda game.

You just reminded me I also played the finished and bug free version of Black Mesa recently. I liked it so much it inspired me to play through HL2 again, and the 2 episodes that came after. It did knda leave me with that sinking feeling that there should have been a HL3 though.

Speaking of that, you were supposed to tell us how your experience with HL2 measured up to Black Mesa.

 

[Frag Maniac]

A Link to the Past is definitely one of the best 2D Zelda games. If you're able to play it, try out The Minish Cap. It's probably my favorite 2D Zelda game.


Speaking of that, you were supposed to tell us how your experience with HL2 measured up to Black Mesa.

Well I always love HL2's battles against the alien airships, and driving the airboat was great fun. I don't use lame excuses like some do claiming Valve was just showcasing physics regarding how the Gravity Gun was used to puzzle your way through either, while they scoff and call it boring and predictable. That said, I can't really say one is better than the other, because original HL was pretty good for it's time too. I just think the story was cut short, we didn't get nearly what most of us wanted out of the series.

I'll tell you one thing though, the Black Mesa mod, especially after finally finished and fully optimized, really makes you appreciate the work that went into the Zen stuff that came at the end of the game. I also initially liked HL2 better, but after playing the final version of Black Mesa, it's pretty much a tie for me. It's almost like the way the Portal Stories Mel mod made me appreciate Portal 2 more. I ended up playing Portal 2 again after that mod as well. In times like these, great mods like this are really helpful.

 

[Zloth]

Ummm, well, none anymore. I used to install and play Nethack, but it's been several years since I've done that.

 

[Pifanjr]

I was thinking about this for a while before I realized I had made a post about playing Angband right before opening this thread...

The first version of Angband was created in 1990, though I'm not sure how much has changed since then. The last major release was from 2015, while the last minor release was February 22, 2022.

 

[HenrykForkbeard]

I did just recently purchase Batman Arkham Asylum and Assassin's Creed II on STEAM as a throwback game to enjoy again.

An I also seen CD Keys had an offer on Telltales The Walking Dead Definitive Series. Which I was interested in, that's about as far back as it goes for me with games at the moment.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

It's almost like the way the Portal Stories Mel mod made me appreciate Portal 2 more. I ended up playing Portal 2 again after that mod as well. In times like these, great mods like this are really helpful.

I love Portal 2. It's probably in my top 10 games. But I've never heard of that mod. I'll have to check it out.

Edit: It's free on Steam because I own Portal 2. I'm definitely checking this out. Thanks for the referral!

 

[Frag Maniac]

I love Portal 2. It's probably in my top 10 games. But I've never heard of that mod. I'll have to check it out.

Edit: It's free on Steam because I own Portal 2. I'm definitely checking this out. Thanks for the referral!

It's really incredibly well done, one of the best and longest fan made campaigns I've ever played.

 

[Johnway]

A Link to the Past is definitely one of the best 2D Zelda games. If you're able to play it, try out The Minish Cap. It's probably my favorite 2D Zelda game.

yeah i have that on my 3ds atm. got a massive backlog on all my handheld consoles; vita and 3ds alive. Currently i'm playing killzone liberation and yeah... not much fun with that atm. mainly the autoaim is just sorely lacking and without the second thumb stick, things are just awkward.