If you’re looking for those classic games from your childhood, then this list of the best retro games on Steam should scratch that nostalgic itch!
That’s a feeling of nostalgia, not a really good itch that you had that you want to relive again…
Steam is an online platform hat boasts a vast catalogue of games available to buy and play on multiple devices.
If you’ve already checked out our article on what can the Steam deck emulate, then you might be playing the next ten titles on the bus or while walking the dog very soon!
From GameCube classics to legendary PC titles, I’ve picked out 10 of the best retro games available on Steam for you to relive. Let’s crack on, shall we?
Table of Contents
10. Ty The Tasmanian Tiger (2002)
First up on our list of the best Retro games on Steam is one of my favourite ever GameCube games, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger.
Whenever I see a boomerang, which admittedly isn’t that often, I always think of Ty. I played this game to death back in the day, collecting and wielding different powered boomerangs while running around the outback
And I’m pretty sure Ty made board shorts cool again…
Players must outsmart Cass the Cassowary bird by nabbing 5 talismans before evil bush critters get their hands on them.
The game looks super slick on Steam, giving this Tasmanian icon’s first-ever adventure a whole new lease of life.
9. Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (1997)
Chris Pratt running around shouting in the new Jurassic Park films has nothing on Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Velociraptors are one thing, but compared to armour-plated dinos with arm cannons or blasters on their backs, Jeff Goldblum’s old stomping ground feels a bit like a day in nursery!
The first Turok game kind of has an early Horizon: Zero Dawn feel to it, with players using a bow and arrow to attack enemies through 14 levels.
There are also 14 weapons to choose from too, ranging from a dagger to futuristic blasters that send dino blood splatting everywhere.
Laser guided T-Rex’s and a mission to retrieve the shattered pieces of the Chronoscepter. what’s not to love?
8. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (2001)
Sonic Adventure 2 Battle is one of the best Sonic games ever made. I played this game so much as a kid that I had to get a new copy through it being scratched so much.
Luckily, thanks to Steam, I don’t have that problem anymore!
How fast is Sonic the Hedgehog? He’s the speediest character alive, especially on a skateboard going down the streets of San Fran. That level rules!
Playing as Shadow and other famous faces from Sonic’s world never gets old. Treasure hunt with Knuckles & Rouge, or get into heated Robo battles with Eggman and Tails.
I think this game is such a great title as it’s less about running from A to B as quickly possible. There’s items to collect, chaos to train, and puzzles to solve. And having the option to play as both good and evil is always a winner in my book!
7. Tomb Raider (1996)
The original Tomb Raider takes the 7th spot in this list of the best retro games on Steam! It shouldn’t need any introduction; Lara Croft is one of the most recognisable video game characters on the planer!
Relive all the original puzzles, the exciting and incredibly dangerous hazards, and Lara’s gun-toting antics on Steam on multiple devices.
It’s a nostalgic blast from the past, all with unlimited ammo and zero stresses about having to find new weapons mid fight.
Plus, you don’t have to mess around finding save crystals who playing on Steam, which instantly makes it better than the original! RESULT!
6. Final Fantasy VII (1997)
Imagine being me, delving into the world of Final Fantasy VII for the very first time at seven-years-old.
It was also the game that made me want to change my last name to Strife and become an eco-terrorist like Cloud Strife when I was older. The fact that I became a writer might not be as cool, but I’m an eco warrior on the side.
Having 3D characters in a 2D world might look a bit weird in 2022, but if you’re wanting the original version and not the updated game with modern graphics for those nostalgic feels, then this is the version you need.
One of the most iconic RPG titles of all time with active-time battles and a storyline that will make you bite every button off your controller in anticipation… or maybe that’s just my mate Josh, who knows?
5. Cuphead (2017)
Cuphead might have dropped first back in 2017, but it has a real retro vibe to it. Thats largely down to the fact that it’s based on early cartoons from 90 years ago!
The graphics might be straight from the 1930s, but the run and gun gameplay is timeless. What’s great about this game is the fact that it’s all hand-drawn animation, feeling a little like the early Micky Mouse outings like Steamboat Willie.
Cuphead and Mugman are both available to play as if you and a friend want to delve into 2-player co-op. Twin that with a jazzy soundtrack of original tunes made specifically for the game, and you’ve got a modern game that feels like a priceless relic.
The worlds are a little like something that you might see conjured up in the Good Place to mess with the residents, with weird Nightmare Before Christmas-style ducks and robots with eerie grins.
The main aim of the game is to pay a debt back to the devil, so I suppose that explains why it’s so bizarre!
4. Chrono Trigger (1995)
Chrono Trigger takes the 4th spot in this list of the best retro games on Steam! If you thought the Final Fantasy series was good, then you’ve seen nothing yet.
Square made both titles, so it’s no surprise that they’re both fantastic RPGs. Chrono Trigger just has everything; it’s like a fantasy onion with many different nerdy layers, to paraphrase Shrek.
I mean, the only way you could ever make an RPG better is to add time travel to it, and that’s exactly what happens in the storyline here. Move from prehistoric times to a post-apocalyptic future in the space of one game.
Talk about getting your moneys worth!
With zero random encounters to annoy you and early Zelda-esque grpahics, it’s no wonder it topped our list of the best SNES RPGs ever made. The storyline is worthy of a book series, for crying out loud.
They should have made this instead of that last Game of Thrones series.
3. The Curse of Monkey Island (1997)
If you’ve made it this far into this article without getting confused, then I’m going to assume that you’ve played at least one Monkey Island game before now.
Imagine a Carmen Sandiego game mixed with Treasure Island, and you’ve got the feel of this game. Curse features all the same point and click Professor Layton-esque exploration with some epic puzzles and funny moments.
The main difference to its predecessors is that this is the first title in the series voice acting to go along with the characters you meet.
Armed with nothing but a diary and a sausage, Guybrush Threepwood saves the love of his life only to propose to her using a cursed ring.
What a rookie mistake!
Can you break the Curse of Monkey Island?
2. Half-Life (1998)
Half-Life bags the silver medal in our best retro games on Steam list, bringing Gordon Freeman to a whole new generation of gamers.
Cue a boatload of evil aliens invading your science facility after an experiment goes wrong. And if that wasn’t enough, the Marines are trying to kill both the aliens and anyone that could blab about the effects of the experiment.
Players must survive against demons from another realm and humans with guns as they try to escape the horrors of the facility.
Everything is seen through Gordon’s eyes, giving it a bit of a Blair Witch-style feel. It has an open feel to it in the sense that you can go back through large sections of the facility whenever you want with no real level structure to follow.
Wield weapons from a crowbar to weapons stolen from aliens as you kill everything in sight. Are you up to the task?
1. Doom 64 (1997)
What’s the best retro game to blow off steam with on Steam? Well, the results are in, and Doom 64 is the best retro game on Steam!
Doom 64 is without a doubt oone of the best N64 games ever made, and playing the epic adventure without having to blow dust out of your cart every time on your PC or Steam handheld with the same nostalgic vibes is a dream come true.
Essentially a refined version of Doom 3, players delve back into a brutal survival tale of Humans vs the monsters from the bowels of Hell.
I feel like picking Doom 64 as the best of the best retro games on Steam gives you multiple games in one. It has feels of Turok 2, Wolfenstein, Half-Life, and many of the other epic first-person shooter games of the late 90s.
So what if it looks like an early screensaver on a Windows computer, it’s still an absolute blast to play! Maybe more games should look like this!
