The best old-school games to play in 2025

3 months ago, by Thibaut

It's always fun to revisit games that came out several years ago. Beyond the visuals, which will inevitably seem dated, these old-school titles have sometimes redefined an entire franchise, or even a genre as a whole. Of course, a game can also have a very personal meaning for the player. It can echo specific moments from their childhood or simply from their life. So there's always a good reason to dust off an iconic console or PC game. We're going to take a look at several games that are worth replaying or discovering in 2025. As we'll see, some of them haven't aged a bit.

By diving back more than two decades, it's possible to unearth old school games that left their mark on their era and their genre. In terms of action RPGs, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind really made a splash in 2002 by offering a huge open world in 3D to explore. Full of quests, characters, and secrets, this avant-garde formula served as the basis for Oblivion and Skyrim, as well as all other titles in the genre. We can say the same thing about Half-Life 2, which made a big splash in the world of immersive, narrative-driven FPS games. Almost 21 years after its release, Valve's game is still cited as a model that many are unable to replicate. In March 2025, this second installment received a free RTX version that allows it to benefit from NVIDIA's latest technological innovations.

In fact, recent work by developers has made old school games more visually appealing. This naturally attracts a wider audience that might otherwise be put off by outdated graphics. For example, a remarkable effort has been made on the Mass Effect trilogy with a Legendary Edition that enhances the visuals of the three episodes. This makes it possible to play them in the best possible conditions. The same is true of the new version of Red Dead Redemption, which, while not very different from the original title, offers some welcome improvements. Rockstar Games' open world can now be played on modern Sony and Nintendo consoles. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition and Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Collection offer similar comfort by modernizing three games from their respective franchises.

Sometimes, we don't have to go back very far in time to unearth some true gems. Although it doesn't seem that long ago since its release, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is now over ten years old. This legendary Western RPG is a must-play at least once in every gamer's life. Titanfall 2, meanwhile, belongs to that category of somewhat forgotten titles that nevertheless had real potential. This FPS from Respawn Entertainment features an exciting single-player campaign, enjoyable gameplay, and truly addictive multiplayer. Finally, although it's outside the main franchise, Fallout: New Vegas is one of the most popular episodes among fans to date. This is thanks to its accomplished writing, the freedom given to the player, and the factions that are ideally interwoven into the storyline. A remaster of this one would be welcome...

So, there are many options for discovering or rediscovering important old school games in the history of gaming. As always, we haven't been able to include all the more or less retro titles that are recommended for 2025 in our selection. Fortunately, many of them have been emulated, ported, or remastered on various platforms. It may also be necessary to use a computer emulator in order to access games that would otherwise be inaccessible unless you spend a fortune on retrogaming. In any case, there's no shortage of choices!