Have you ever wanted to play a classic game from before your time, but wondered if you were going to like it? Of course, everyone says it’s a great game, but how much of that is objective truth, and how much is nostalgia? How about an obscure indie title from 10 years ago? Is it worth playing for anyone who isn’t a die-hard fan of the genre? Has that game with an infamously bad release improved since then? Is it a different experience today?
The internet is a wonderful resource for the modern gaming enthusiast, and if you know where to look, it can provide you with answers to almost every question. But, in my experience, not these questions. The gaming industry in particular seems obsessed with both novelty and reverence. Games are never re-evaluated, and only dwelled upon as historical artifacts. We all know that, say, Super Mario 64 was a monumental achievement at the time, but has anyone bothered to check if it’s still fun to play for the first time in this day and age? We all know that Mass Effect: Andromeda had a rocky release, and taking a glance at it’s Metacritic page will provide you with a perfect time capsule of the week of it’s release, and nothing else since. And speaking of Metacritic, if you look up the highest rated games of all time, most of them are over 20 years old. Were the early 2000s a golden age of creativity, unsurpassed since by our mediocre efforts, or are we simply too afraid to knock revered classics off their pedestals?
I think most art and entertainment criticism, at some point, falls into a trap of deeming seminal works untouchable and beyond reproach. Video game criticism is no different. Once the verdict is passed, it’s rarely ever changed. Classics are forever great, regardless of how poorly they’ve aged. Games that were poorly received at launch never get another chance in the spotlight. Games that weren’t immediately relevant within the first few weeks of their release are doomed to be forgotten.
My aim in creating this website is to challenge all these notions. I want to judge classic games as seen through fresh eyes, by the merits of their own strengths and weaknesses, not whatever legacy they left behind. I want to discover forgotten gems from the past, and share them with you. I want to give games that had a rough start a chance at changing their public perception.
This is a really long winded way to say that I want to find games that are fun to play now, today, and share them with you, regardless if they were released a year ago or last decade.
Fine Aged Gaming 