Awesome Games

Alienware turned up at CES 2020 with a prototype gaming system that’s basically a Nintendo Switch, but with all of the capability of a Windows 10 gaming PC. The portable device can run all of your favorite PC games on its 8″ screen, and has detachable controllers. There’s no word on specs or if it will go into production yet.

The 70s, 80s, and 90s gave us tons of classic arcade games, and along with them came lots of great pixel art. Typeface designer Toshi Omagari’s book catalogs some of the many cool pixelated fonts which were used for displaying scores on arcade machines. ReadOnlyMemory has a limited-edition hardcover version as well.

YouTuber Misozi-Salaryman put together this great compilation of his swordplay and other martial arts action, and worked with editor Vasco to embellish the clip with appropriate video game style visual effects. We like to think there was some guy off camera mashing buttons.

(PG-13: Language) With so many A-list titles delayed into 2020, this past year wasn’t the most memorable for video games. Videogamedunkey looks back at the year that was, and a handful of game titles that actually stood out from the relatively mediocre crowd.

Take a trip to 1980s Hawkins, Indiana and battle the Demogorgon with Stern Pinball’s Stranger Things machines. You’ll want to opt for the pricey Premium or Limited Edition, which have a projection video screen and “telekinesis” magnetic ball lock. We’re kind of bummed they didn’t do a lower-level playfield for The Upside Down.

A charming and hard to describe new game from the creator of Katamari Damacy, Wattam is about as wacky and weird of a game as you can imagine. It’s filled with goofy anthropomorphized objects living together in a dreamlike world where these characters team up to complete puzzles. It’ll land on PC and PS4 any minute now.

Microsoft’s next-gen console, the Xbox Series X is all about power and speed. With an AMD Zen 2 CPU and high-end GPU with ray-tracing, it’s designed to support 4K games at 60fps, and 8K is possible. An SSD means quick load times, and backwards compatibility will support games from Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Konami jumps on the retro console bandwagon with a miniature version of NEC’s classic TurboGrafx-16 (aka PC Engine). The 1987 console was definitely ahead of the pack with its arcade-quality graphics. Now it’s coming back, loaded up with 57 licensed games, from R-Type to Blazing Lazers to Bonk’s Revenge. Drops 3/19/20.

Now that you’ve built your mini video arcade, it’s time to upgrade your tiny Chuck E. Cheese’s with a couple of games that test your strength. Punch King asks you to flick its punching bag as hard as you can with your finger, while Hammer King is all about smashing its button with your fingertip. Each is sold separately.

This amazing short film took animator Gooseworx two years to create, and the payoff was worth it. Follow along with a video game character named Runmo on his journey to discover the meaning of life (or in his case, lives). It’s a weird, wild, and wonderfully inventive look at what it might be like to live in a platform game.

Anthony Falleroni’s animated short follows a video game character who struggles with the difficulty of completing of the very first level in his game. We love the pixel art style, chiptune soundtrack, and most of all, the storytelling. His making of video is well worth a watch too.

An incredible 1/6th scale figure of Half Life 2 protagonist Gordon Freeman, decked out in his iconic armor, with 25 points of articulation and details like removable eyeglasses, a crowbar, pump-action shotgun, a light-up gravity gun, and more. The Mondo exclusive version includes a Headcrab. Drops 11/22/19 at 12pm CT.

While it’s not the Half-Life 3 game we were hoping for, we’re still happy that Valve has revealed a new game in the classic franchise. Half-Life: Alyx is designed to be far more immersive than the prior games as it plays out entirely in virtual reality. Requires a SteamVR compatible headset, and drops March 2020.

This cheap and tiny handheld gaming system comes packed with 268 retro games. The titles are from the 8-bit Nintendo era, and while some appear to be based on legitimate game ROMs, others are clearly homebrews and obscure titles. Still, for just 16 bucks, it’s a fun little stocking stuffer.

Fans of Nintendo’s classic 8-bit game will love this hand-drawn animation, which lovingly replicates World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros. Kisaragi Hutae 6 combined paper cutouts and line drawings in his notebook to create this awesome little stop-motion short.

Hot on the heels of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer, AOK is here to deliver the Sonic movie we really want, a story about a spiky-haired video game character who loses his pet fox to a gang of evil robots, and is hellbent on revenge. He’s coming to kick your ass, Robotnik.

After terrifying viewers with its earlier trailer for the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, Paramount Pictures hopes audiences will forgive and forget, revamping the CG animated video game character with bigger eyes and fewer teeth this time around. Hopefully, the movie will be entertaining after all of the hubbub.

Makers of 2/3rd-scale arcade machines Arcade 1Up have released a cabinet that plays three classic Atari Star Wars video games based on the original trilogy. It features a 17″ color display, a 15″ arcade height riser, and is one of the only ways to play these games with the proper arcade controller. Also available from Gamestop.

Renegade Game Studios presents a competitive board game which pits Scott Pilgrim and his pals against the League of Evil Exes. The game includes sweet miniatures of the comic’s characters, 3D objects, and colorful game cards, all based on the art of Bryan Lee O’Malley. Available with painted or unpainted figures.

Do you think you could recognize familiar video game theme songs played backwards? Musician Stemage’s digital album Retrogression: Vol 1, features rock versions of classic themes, played in reverse. Songs like Sorb Oriam Repus (Super Mario Bros), and Sirtet (Tetris) sound surprisingly good, and vaguely familiar.

The 8-Bit Big Band offers up another phenomenal cover of a classic video game tune. This time, they take on block-stacking fun of Tetris, adding a bit of swing and a cinematic flair to the Soviet-era sounds of the theme song.

Alpha Beta Gamer shows off early footage of an awesome puzzle game concept. Players manipulate a 3D box that contains other 3D scenes on each of its sides. As you line up objects on its sides, you can affect the other scenes to solve its levels. A demo version is available for Windows, and takes just about 15 minutes to complete.

It’s been a long time coming, but Diablo IV is finally in the works. Blizzard’s cinematic first look at the game is dimly lit by torch, filled with creepy monsters, packed with tension. The story takes place many years after Diablo III, as Sanctuary faces its darkest days. Gameplay trailer here.