I see you're enjoying some nice video games on this fine day. Did you know that visually-stunning platformer or your favorite open-world game wouldn't be anywhere near as entertaining as it is without some of the incredible moves made in the 1980s to push the state of the art and change the way we think about video games as a whole? We owe a lot to the classic games of the '80s, and not for the reasons you might think just by looking at images of the games from the past.
The people behind many of these games were blazing trails never explored before. Trying to figure out how to make it feel like you were flying through space, or walking a character through an open field, with precious little resources to do it. These games introduced game mechanics we're still using in many games today, largely because these titles inspired so many to learn how to make their own experiences to share with the world.
Take a trip through some of our favorite games of the '80s, right here, in order of release date, complete with a little history to help you understand why they matter so much even today, as well as how you can play them right now.
Oh, and let us know what you think. Did we forget your favorite game? Is there something we missed about a title we featured? Got something particularly insightful to add? Drop your two cents into the comment jar below.
Check out all of the best and most influential games of the 80s.
