The Appeal of Nostalgia in Contemporary Gaming 

By Charlie Kendellen 

Regardless of what generation you’re from, we have all collectively longed for a simpler time in our lives. Whether you’re Gen Z, Boomer, or a Millennial, there is a longing for childhood joy and wonder, and a sense of freedom. This applies to our consumption of media and entertainment, such as film, television, and even the gaming industry. There has been an increase in popularity in retro gaming, and VHS style indie games in recent years. This fixation even goes so far as fans purchasing retro consoles such as gameboys, the PlayStation classic, the Xbox 360, and the SEGA Genesis Mini. 

Game developers seem to be prioritizing high spectacle, macro budget games in order to achieve this seemingly impossible standard of a technically immaculate game. What most fail to realise is that fans have been craving a more simplified, nostalgia based experience, more than heavily oversaturated franchises that most companies have been pushing out, year after year. 

Some of the most popular retro games making a comeback are Resident Evil (1996) which you can argue never really went out of style, Silent Hill: Origins (2007), Final Fantasy VII (1997), Mortal Kombat (1992), and Doom (1993). 

Alongside this, there are a number of game developers that borrow from these nostalgic retro elements in order to create contemporary games that play a perfect homage to some of our most cherished vintage games, whilst still putting a fresh spin on them. Such as Stardew Valley, No, I’m not a Human, Cup head, Sonic Mania, among many others. The idea of utilising retro style gaming to satiate our desire for nostalgia whilst simultaneously creating crisp quality games is a treat to say the least. 

Slice of life games, such as farming simulators have boomed in popularity in recent years, which speaks to the younger generation’s keen longing for a technology free world and a simplified, stress-free life. There is no denying that the popularity of these games reflects our current state as a society in which we place a substantial amount of pressure on the grind culture and essentially working ourselves to the bone, whereas it seems our generation are more interested in escapism, through simple farming games and simulations of pre-2010’s life.

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