Retro gaming in 2026: what old hardware or software are you still playing?

[Solo Buffer]

Not emulation discourse necessarily, though that is welcome. The experience of playing older games whether on original hardware, on modern hardware via emulation, or through official re-releases. What old games are still getting your time in 2026 and what is it about them specifically that the current generation has not replaced?

[Seb51]

An original Nintendo DS that I have maintained through several battery replacements. The dual screen design for certain game types has never been replaced. There are games on that system that genuinely cannot be replicated on anything current.

[PlanetOftheApes]

The Analogue Pocket has transformed how I play GBA and similar handheld generation games. The screen quality on original hardware was always the weak point. Playing those games on a modern display changes the experience entirely.

[Daz92]

A PC game from 2001 that I reinstall every few years and play through. The design philosophy is so different from contemporary games that it functions almost as a different medium. The density of information on screen, the assumed competence of the player.

[ReacherLynx]

PS1 games via emulation because the original hardware and discs are now expensive and unreliable. The argument that emulation is ethically complicated applies to abandonware more weakly than to anything that has a current commercial release.

[Ava]

I keep a SNES mini specifically to play four games I love and will never stop loving. The form factor of the system is perfect for what it does and I find the limitation of having a small curated library restful.

[SGHolly]

A text adventure that is older than I am that I play through every few years. The imagination work required when the game has no graphics is its own kind of pleasure. You become a co-author.

[Candle]

Older strategy and city-builder games specifically. The design sensibility of games from the late 90s and early 2000s was often more generous with the player's time and less compulsive in its reward structures. They feel different to play because they were made with different assumptions.

[Quiet Depot]

I emulate mostly and I have made peace with that. The alternative is spending extraordinary amounts of money on physical media and hardware that degrades over time. The games are the point.