What's the oldest game anyone here has played in 2024?

Day of the Tentacle (1993). Admittedly, it was the remastered version from 2016 which has more modern controls, but the game is exactly the same as the old one.

It was fascinating to look at it again with more mature eyes: besides the fact that it feels a bit dated as a whole, it was funny to me to notice how much humanity loves time travel stories.

It's not that this game is doing anything different in that regard, it's just that I thought about how much media exists on the subject (and has been very successful).

Anyhow, although dated, the game is brilliant and wholesome and made me wonder which are the best (and recent) graphic adventure games

I went to Sakura Con this year and they had a Quick & Crash arcade cabinet from 1999.

I don't know if it's the oldest game I've played this year, but it was definitely the most interesting!

https://www.arcade-museum.com/Videogame/quick-crash

Level 4 has a mug you shoot that appears to really explode

The effect is incredibly convincing!

Tap for spoiler

The secret is the real mug is pulled down very fast and real chunks of mug are shot up simultaneously

hm, throughout my life the ones that come to mind are:

pitfall (82)
number munchers (86)
word munchers (85)
oregon trail (85 version)
a-maze-ing (81)

Don't know if it counts but, "Game of Life" (1970) on "The Powder Toy" (2008).

There was a Star Wars text adventure game on the Apple II released in 1979 that I used to play. I've been searching for the code from that game for a long time I finally found it again just this month. Part way through my efforts to convert it to javascript I realized I hadn't bothered looking for an actual emulator for Applesoft Basic... Sure enough, they exist (jsbasic on github), so I now have that running on my server. Yay, good memories!

Asteroids.

Played a few minutes of Altered Beast (1988) on an incredibly shitty Genesis emulator I f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ rose from its grave in the closet last week.

DOOM, 1993. Finally went through and beat it. Also recently sat down and learned how to edit wads as well as picking up ACS for advanced map scripting. Still a great game.

This week it's been Megaman II (1988).

I feel like games before that era had a lot of coin-op focus. Not much content, but hard enough that you'll be pouring more credits into the machine. That said, I've been itching to play Alley Cat (1983), but I don't have a good setup for MS-DOS games at the moment. I'll have to see if my Miyoo mini is up for the task.

Burger Time 1982

It was one of my first video games, we had it for the Atari 2600, and I have it on a RetroPi emulator. You are a chef and the stages are platforms with ladders between them similar to Donkey Kong. The platforms have hamburgers ingredients on them and you have to avoid the enemies and run over the ingredients to make them fall to the bottom. You have to build all of the burgers to win the stage.

Ah yeah that was a cool game! I played a version of it on Intellivision in the late 90s.

frogger (1981) arcade machine at the local barcade, i think. sadly the place went out of business a little while back.

I still play Super Mario 64 if various rom hacks count.

Double Dragon II: The Revenge or Super Dodge Ball, both 1988.

Probably the ancient pong machine my grandfather had.

Chess. It's over 1500 years old!

Played some Go today.

We took a couple of family trips to a Barcade this year during the all-ages hours. I definitely played Dig Dug and Ms. Pacman and Defender (Defender is annoying, BTW), and I probably snuck a round of Space Invaders and Asteroids in there somewhere.

Oldest game I've actually played this year would probably be a bit of Ultima IV: Quest for the Avatar, 1985.

Missile Command is a 1980 shoot 'em up arcade video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. and later licensed to Sega for Japanese and European releases.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_Command

On the actual arcade machine as well, with the huge ball "mouse".

Felt challenging, but also how it would be kinda trivial with a mouse and keyboard.

Oldest game I've played this year is Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005) Ps2 emulated on my phone and played with ds5 via bluetooth

It has to be Dragon Warrior.

I just played Mancala the other day which may be up to 8,000 years old.

My daughter and I played with a ball today. It looks like Mancala might be old as balls!?

Of the games I can think of, probably Super Mario Land.

Pong

Hmm... in my case the oldest game I've been playing recently is a fan translation of "Metal Max Returns" a 1995 SNES remake of a 1991 Famicom game.

Microsoft Solitaire. ;)

Night Stalker (Intellivision)

I have an MSX from 1984 permanently setup on my desk. I use it regularly to play some old games. So about 1983-1984 games are the oldest I play often.

Just went to a videogame museum, they had the original Asteroids on the Atari 2600, from 1980. My favourite though was the Star Wars Racer arcade machine, it was even paired up with another one for multiplayer!

I guess the oldest would be Asteroids using emulation via MAME. If you're talking about original hardware I would say Pitfall on the Atari 2600.

Either Outlaw or Superman or the Atari 2600. Both came out in 1978, but I'm not sure which was first.

Has no one here played Super Mario Bros? 1985… or donkey Kong? 1981. Pac-Man? 1980. Space invaders? 1978. So many classics, all playable today with MAME or even still working systems or perfect emulation!

I definitely played SMB this year. I may have played Pac-Man.

But I also played mancala which is 8,000 years old.
I'm moving house this week and unearthed my galaxy invader 1000 handheld. Had to play a couple rounds on the spot! Apparently from 1980.
In 2024? No.
I've been messing with SMB 1, 3, and World hacks lately

Probably one of the machines at a nearby arcade. Pin-bot is mid-80s and I play that one a lot. There's a couple from closer to the 50s as well.

Does a remake of the first Wipeout count? It was technically made very recently, as the source code was leaked in 2022 and a couple of projects re-built the game based on that, but the original came out in 1995

If that doesn't count then it's Battle Engine Aquila from 2003

Aquilla is a really cool game. I think I came across it by chance on a warez site back in the day. I had never heard about it. Honestly, I think this is the first time since that I've seen any mention of it. Might have to dig up a copy. Thanks for reminding me!
- I was honestly surprised by how well it held up. The battles still feel impressively huge. Have fun with it!

This thread reminds me I need to get over to Funspot. They’ve got a great collection of classic arcade and pinball machines. Web site claimed 600 games, but some of that is newer stuff, or mechanical games like Skiball and Wack-a-mole, which aren’t video games. Probably 300 vintage units, though. Haven’t made a pilgrimage this calendar year, though, so it doesn’t count.

Collassal Cave Adventure, 1976

Same here
Was going to post this as well. Just replayed it again, never gets old!

I actually played a wee bit of 1983's Crystal Castles (Atari 2600 version) earlier this year when I was trying out emulators 🤣 I loved that game when I was a kid, I get a major nostalgia hit when I play it. I'm sure some of the other games I tested were older still, but that's the one I remember because I was born in that same year.

I remembered it being one of the first games I ever played. As I fumbled my way through those first few sessions, I could physically feel my neurons flowering and blooming and creaking to life like a bunch of microscopic mind-rhubarb. It was the beginning of a life-long love of gaming.

Just finished playing through Zelda lttp on my miyoo mini+

I've played wolf 3d and doom 1 recently

I played countless hours of Cave Noire this year. It's a coffee break roguelite that released in 1991 on Gameboy.

I fuck around with old games a lot but there are not that many games I get really into these days. Cave Noire is similar to Desktop Dungeons where every attempt is a short puzzle so it fits pick up and play nature of Gameboy. Can't recommend it enough if you're into this kind of stuff.

I am very much into this kind of stuff.
Gonna download (my totally legal backup copy) now and check it out

Edit: is it accessible without knowing much Japanese?
- Edit: is it accessible without knowing much Japanese?
  
  It is, if you look a few things up, but there's also a readily available translated "backup copy" floating around.

I tend to not go that far back usually, mostly hovering around the mid 90's and 2000's with my retrogaming, but does it count if I've played some rounds of NES Tetris?

I'm currently reading a fantasy book from 1984 if that doesn't count.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digger_(video_game)

This is the game from my family's PC AT that I go back to regularly,. But for convenience I usually use the WinDig port:

Windig, the Windows 95 version of Digger Remastered (87K). This version is rather new. If you are having trouble with it, try the older version (95K).

https://www.digger.org/download.html

I just used web archive to check and it looks like the 87K version and its description as "rather new" has been there for 21 years now. It was built to target Windows 95 and is still working on Windows 11 so at this point i would say its "pretty stable".

Digger and Paratrooper were probably the first two games I ever played. Both still hold up.

Recently got a cheap Gamecube and now I‘m playing through Windwaker and some Double Dash every now and then. It’s insane how good the games still look that support progressive mode through the digital port.

I'm currently playing through WW and thought the same thing. I'm doing it emulated, though, which is neat cause I can do the weird GBA feature without wasting batteries. Why not have Tingle whereever you go?

Fallout 1997

I was just playing the original Zork on Frotz.
So I’m pretty sure I win :-)

I hear glowing reviews of frotz.
No computer should be without one! :D

That would be Ultima Online, released in 1997.

I can tolerate the graphics, but the controls are really something else. Played it for 3 hours and had the urge to play some more, but never did.

I was playing Bubble Bobble on an NES emulator, so… 1988

Was playing Rainbow Islands on the ST this week.

Had to look it up to check its dates as a kid they only sold rip-off NES machines here, but the oldest game, i enjoyed playing, I found by date was Dig Dug, 2D game where you dig tunnels to get to all the enemies and defeat them by what I can only describe as throwing a bicycle pump nozzle into their mouths and pumping it until the enemy pops like a balloon.

There is the usual like Super Mario Brothers, Contra and I recall playing something where I think Diddy Kong throws barrels and "mario" has to avoid it to save the tied up princess behind diddy can't recall the name

There is also Bomberman, Lode Runner, Double Dragon( specifically 2), Arkanoid, Ice climber (co-op) and a game I really enjoyed called Operation Wolf

Oldest original game is most probably Pac Man, but prefered the "3D"-like one which allowed pac man to jump in the maze which is newer.

Edit:

My bad, oldest game played in 2024, hmmm, Heroes of Might and Magic 1

Mother, NES, 1989

If you have played Earthbound, is Mother 1 still worth a play?
- I have played earthbound many times before I played mother. If you are a huge fan of the series, yes it's worth playing. But it's not necessary, earthbound is almost more of an enhanced remake than a sequel. Sure, there are some differences, but nothing compared to mother 3.

I finished R-Type III (1993) and played a little bit of Castlevania 2 (1987)

I know it's not the "official" game, but I've been playing some Ocarina of Time (1998) multi-world randomizers every now and then over the last couple years.

Would you elaborate on the multi-world part please? Is it additional modded areas or am I thinking too hard?
- So it is a program running in the program from Archipelago that can connect multiple randomizers together. You can have a friend playing a different randomizer somewhere else and you can send them item for their game and vise versa. Or you can run an a-synch on your own by doing everything you can in one game, and then swapping to another.
  
  They have a list of compatible randos on their website, and I'd be willing to answer any other questions you have

Super Mario Bros. 3 from 1988 for the NES.

Golvellius on the Sega Master System.

I've owned it since the 80s but back then couldn't get very far. The fact that it uses passcodes instead of saves didn't help. Last month I played with a mod which adds save support, on the MiSTer FPGA (which I have installed in a C64 shell), on a nice ~10inch OLED.

I got all the way to the final boss but... still haven't beat it.

Just finished playing through Zelda lttp on my miyoo mini+

I have Batocera on my Rapbperry Pi and I occasionally like to play some N64 games. So roughly late 1990s. I also tested the Apple 2 emulator and played either Apple Panic or Lode Runner, I can't remember. That'd be early 80s but I just did 2 or 3 levels.

N64 runs ok on pi? Since when? Which PI?
Is this similar to RetroPie and LaunchBox? Essentially an emulator front-end? That's the vibes I'm getting from a quick glance at your link

This year? I've lost, best I've got was a very brief demo of my setup with an Apple II game (and I already forgot what it was, I was just showing of that I had every game from an Exodus set since they added Apple II). But I'm not gonna count it.

Actual play? I'm on a GameCube fix right now cause of achievements. Y'all are the real mvps in 2024.

Robotron on mame and yar's revenge on 2600.

megaman 3 from 1990

Oldest game I’ve this year: https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Astro_Warrior
on Steam Deck

I’m a bit bummed the question wasn’t about the oldest game I’ve ever played (as I misread it at first), but that would be:

I still play Treasure of Tarmin (Intellivision, 1983) on my phone from time to time. I don't think the core gameplay loop would be entirely out of place in a small roguelite game today.

You have my attention, now sell me on it!

Edit: I decided to give it a try. For anybody else interested, I believe the internet has archived it. It is listed under Mattel Intellivision, with the full title being D&D - Treasure of Tarmin

Edit: scratch that. I have exec.bin and grom.bin in my Retroarch system folder, and I'm just getting a green screen with occasional flicker, followed by Intellivision Halted.

Edit: bad ROM. What you want is Advanced D&D Treasure of Tarmin. I also grabbed the Mountain one to check out

My gaming extends decades ago, with an Atari 2600 and the arcade era of the early 80s. Returned to gaming a few years ago and I'm playing Oregon Trail for the first time. Oh, and it's on my Steam deck.

Trying to finish pokemon emerald on my game boy micro. I mostly play at family gatherings

I went through Gunsmoke on NES, from 1985.

Oldest I have played during this year? Or oldest I have played up until this year?

Oldest this year.

But maybe up until this year, or in the last 5 years would have been the more interesting question.

Paper Mario is a recent one…probably something older but i’ll just stick with that

I play NetHack regularly, but maybe that doesn't count because it's under active development again so the most recent stable drop is from last year.
- Now that is interesting. I’d say since it’s the same game just updated it counts 🤷‍♂️

Mine is kind of cheating. I'm playing the Pixel Remaster of Final Fantasy I currently. I only have my tablet on me at the moment so I'm also doing a lot of emulation. SNES, N64, and GBA are my sweet spots