Best Video Game Genres They Don't Make Anymore

Summary

Side Scrolling shooters peaked in the 80s and 90s with games like Contra and Metal Slug.
Big-budget stealth games thrived from 1998 to 2016 with titles such as Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell.
Rail shooters were popular but died off with the rise of 3D spaces in the 80s-90s.

From humble beginnings confined to arcades and college computer labs, video games have grown into a powerful industry surpassing the revenues of movies and music combined. Over time, these interactive entertainments have transformed dramatically, with each decade bringing new developments due to rapid technological advancements and evolving cultural preferences in visual aesthetics.

Yet, due to the fast-changing trends in popular culture, several genres of video games have been somewhat overlooked. While indie developers and a handful of projects that harken back to the retro style occasionally receive support from major publishers, it’s apparent that AAA studios don’t produce these types of games as often as they once did.

6. Side Scrolling (Run-And-Gun) Shooters

Prime Examples: Metal Slug, Contra, Robocop

Glory Days: the 80s and 90s
Extinction Event: 3D graphics

Instead of merely jumping over obstacles like platforms and pipes, imagine if the game’s character could fend off approaching adversaries using a machine gun! The genre of side-scrolling shooters, often referred to as “run-and-gun,” was incredibly popular during the 16-bit era on third-generation consoles, and it thrived in the dimly lit arcades of the 80s and 90s.

Games such as Contra, Robocop, and Metal Slug offered players the opportunity to engage in multi-directional shooting and confront gigantic bosses along with hordes of enemy units filling up the screen. While some modern indie games like Blazing Chrome and Cuphead pay tribute to the past, the genre that once thrived on destroying swarms of enemies within a 2D space eventually morphed into the bullet hell subgenre.

5. Big-Budget Stealth Games

Prime Examples: Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins

Glory Days: 1998-2016
Extinction Event: the advent of open-world games and the subsequent expectation of stealth as optional

One classic game that spans across all human cultures is hide-and-seek. Modern video games, known as stealth titles, elevate this simple childhood pastime by introducing complex scenarios involving armed guards, innovative tools, and engaging narratives. Many open-world games today incorporate these stealth elements, with some newer releases like “Hitman: World of Assassination” focusing on social stealth. However, it appears that longstanding stealth series such as “Metal Gear Solid,” “Splinter Cell,” and “Tenchu” have reached their peak popularity (or perhaps their darkest hours).

It appears that the allure of remaining undetected entirely has become less enticing for major publishers, possibly due to the challenge of promoting subtle, gradual stealth strategies compared to high-octane action titles (which is a concern given the substantial investments in games like The Phantom Pain). Nonetheless, while the level of realism and technology showcased in MGS5 may not be replicated immediately in future stealth games, some less-publicized indie stealth games are managing to thrive by leveraging the decades of insights gleaned from those big-budget stealth titles.

4. Rail Shooters

Prime Examples: Time Crisis, Star Fox, Pokemon Snap

Glory Days: the 80s and 90s
Extinction Event: 3D graphics

Rail shooter games offer an adrenaline rush similar to sprinting or flying, but with carefully crafted levels that ensure non-stop, heart-pounding action, eliminating the annoyance of getting lost within the level. These types of games are optimally enjoyed using light guns, such as Time Crisis, or joysticks like Star Fox. The unique perspective in Pokemon Snap transformed the player’s viewpoint into a camera instead of a weapon, spawning numerous rail-based photography games.

It’s possible that as gamers craved more autonomy in 3D environments, this particular genre dwindled. However, it resurfaced around the late 2000s with motion controllers on consoles such as the Wii, albeit briefly. Today, there are independent developers like those behind Ex-Zodiac, who continue to create games within this genre despite a prolonged absence from major publishers.

3. Point-And-Click Adventures

Prime Examples: Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, The Walking Dead

Glory Days: 1987-2000 (Golden Age), 2012-2015 (Telltale Revival)
Extinction Event: Rise of 3D action-adventures, declining patience for puzzle-heavy design

Prior to the emergence of what’s colloquially known as “walking simulator” games, puzzle-based point-and-click adventures dominated PC gaming landscapes with their intricate puzzles and clever dialogue. Games such as Monkey Island and Grim Fandango built their gameplay around brain-teasing puzzles and used dry humor to elevate the quality of interactive storytelling, video game dialogues, and lateral-thinking challenges. Their influence as games that prioritized narrative over instant action, relying heavily on storytelling, is significant and challenging to understate.

The genre experienced a temporary comeback through Telltale’s “The Walking Dead,” but its focus on quick-time events and limited choices indicated that the adventure genre was, regrettably, hanging onto life by a thread. Modern titles such as “Thimbleweed Park,” “Broken Age,” and “Return to Monkey Island” demonstrate that there’s still an audience, they just haven’t reached the “AAA” level of success yet.

2. Plastic Instument Rhythm Games

Prime Examples: Rock Band 4, Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock, DJ Hero

Glory Days: 2005-2010
Extinction Event: License costs, market oversaturation, and a plastic novelty wearing thin

The surge in popularity of plastic instruments, triggered by rhythm game franchises such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and DJ Hero, turned dormitories and living rooms around the globe into performance venues. Equipped with replica guitars, drums, and even DJ equipment, players could mimic the thrill of performing before vast audiences alongside friends, executing impressive solos, catchy beats, and seamless track transitions.

2005 was a game-changing year when I got my hands on “Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock,” shattering the one billion dollar mark and promising a promising future for rhythm games. However, in just a blink of an eye between 2005 and 2010, the market became oversaturated with these types of games. As a result, studios had to shell out more money for song licenses, and with the Great Recession kicking off around 2007-2008, people didn’t have extra cash to splurge on new plastic controllers anymore.

1. 3D Mascot Platformers / Collectathons

Prime Examples: Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro The Dragon, Super Mario 64

Glory Days: The 90s
Extinction Event: Grand Theft Auto 3

In the ’90s, platform games that were easy to grasp, visually appealing, and instantly enjoyable, with hundreds of collectibles scattered across various worlds, were extremely popular. The transition from two-dimensional to three-dimensional gameplay was a resounding success, giving birth to iconic platformers like Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, and Super Mario 64. These games laid the foundation for the modern 3D worlds we know today; without their influence, 3D gaming as we experience it now might not have existed.

With advancements in graphical quality and expansion of game worlds, more gamers emerged, leading to conflicts between level designers and environmental designers over creating worlds neither too large nor too simplistic. Simultaneously, gamers and critics started yearning for more complex and mature narratives, though this is a widely held belief. The arrival of the open-world crime sandbox game ‘Grand Theft Auto 3’ in 2001 marked the decline of collectathon games, which were perceived as outdated toys. However, the success and appeal of ‘Astro Bot’, a collectathon platformer on the highly capable PS5, suggests that the genre might have been prematurely discarded.

2025-03-27 06:09

Best Video Game Genres They Don’t Make Anymore