There’s no shortage ofcreativitywhen it comes to video games. Every few years, new genres crop up that begin a new line of video games like them, and the gaming industry warmly embraces such titles. Sometimes, genres die off as well, especially because they were created to overcome the technical limitations of older hardware, but similarly, some games are so unique and different from what’s already out there that they end up birthing a whole new genre.
6 Gaming Genres That Don’t Exist Anymore
Gaming genres don’t last forever.
These eight games are the perfect examples of starting new genres that are still widely popular to this day.
8Hellgate: London - 2007
Was the Root of Looter Shooters
Hellgate: London, developed by Flagship Studios, was a bold and ambitious title that blended first-person and third-person shooting mechanics with RPG-style loot systems. The core gameplay loop of Hellgate centered around exploring randomized dungeons, defeating powerful foes and collecting loot. It emphasized grinding for progressively better gear, creating an addictive cycle of combat and reward that many players found compelling.
This RPG-style loot system, where gear upgrades and customization drove progression, was a fresh concept for shooter games, as previous titles in the genre focused mainly on linear levels and fixed weapons. Despite its technical issues and mixed reception at launch, Hellgate: London laid the groundwork for future looter shooters such asBorderlands, Destiny and The Division, which refined and popularized its blend of RPG progression and shooter mechanics.
7The Sims - 2000
Initiated the Life Sim Genre
Maxis’ The Sims was immensely popular when it came out, mainly because it did something that no other game had done before, introducing players to life simulation, allowing them to control every aspect of their characters’ daily routines, relationships and homes. The game was open-ended and focused on personal expression, with players able to design homes, develop careers and even build social relationships.
The Sims eventually fathered its own genre and gave rise to many sequels that further expanded on the ideas that the first game introduced, as well as inspired other new IPs that added new aspects to this genre, such asStardew Valley, Animal Crossing and Second Life, where daily life and social interactions are key to the gameplay loop.
6Rogue - 1980
Gave Rise to Roguelikes
While Rogue conventionally fell into a typical text-based adventure genre at the time of its release, a genre that was popular during this decade, it did add new game mechanics that were revolutionary enough to define a whole genre.
Any game that had Rogue’s procedurally-generated levels, treasures and traps, and permadeath would fall into the Roguelike genre. Some popular games from this genre are Hades, The Binding of Isaac, Spelunky and Dead Cells. Some developers merged the roguelike aspects with other genres to create something entirely new such as Deckbuilding Roguelikes, a popular entry of which isSlay the Spire.
5Maze War - 1973
Started the 3D First-Person Shooter Genre
No, id Software’s Wolfenstein 3D wasn’t the first 3Dfirst-person shooter, despite what many people believe. The real father of this genre was Maze War, released way back in 1973, which simulated an extremely basic first-person perspective in a 3D maze environment, where players move through the corridors of the maze and shoot each other.
10 Games To Play If You Love The OG Doom
Doom spawned a ton of copycats over the years, some better than others.
Surprisingly enough, the game had a primitive version of multiplayer gameplay which used the networking technology of the day to put multiple players in the same maze, which was ground-breaking for the time. Even though there’s no need to mention them, some of the popular titles from this genre are the Call of Duty games, the Doom series andDestiny 2.
4Hunter - 1991
Gave Birth to 3D Open-World Sandbox Games
While it was the Grand Theft Auto series that popularized open-world sandbox games, GTA 3 wasn’t the first game to take the genre into three dimensions, despite what many believe. This honor goes to a game called Hunter from 1991, which used a primitive-looking open world but was three-dimensional nonetheless.
The game allowed players to explore islands, drive vehicles and complete missions with a level of freedom unprecedented for its time. Hunter inspired games like GTA 3, which popularized the genre. Other popular titles released recently in this genre include GTA 5,Red Dead Redemption2, No Man’s Sky and Skull and Bones.
3Demon’s Souls - 2009
Began the Souslike Genre
Demon’s Souls
FromSoftware hadn’t always been the popular developer that they are today. From mediocre games to awful releases, it wasn’t until FromSoftware released Demon’s Souls that they struck gold. Initially, Demon’s Souls had a unremarkable reception and went under the radar. When the developer came out with the first Dark Souls, gamers flocked to it and realized that there was already a similar game that FromSoftware released two years ago, and that’s when Demon’s Souls became popular.
9 Things Every Good Soulslike Needs
From Lies of P to Lords of the Fallen, every solid Soulslike will include these iconic mechanics.
The game took traditional RPG elements and added an intense layer of challenge and atmosphere that few games had achieved before. Its combat required precision and patience, emphasizing stamina management, timing and careful exploration. This difficulty-driven style, coupled with cryptic lore and environmental storytelling, defined the “souls-like” genre and influenced many spiritual and non-spiritual sequels by the same developers, and countless more from others, such as Lies of P,Niohand Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.
2Donkey Kong - 1981
Originated Platformers
Donkey Kong
One of the most influential and biggest genres in the history of video games traces its roots back to Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, which first made its appearance on arcade machines and was an instant hit. Incidentally, this was also the first title where Mario (initially called Jumpman) and Princess Peach made an appearance, with the former being the protagonist who jumps barrels and climbs stairs to rescue the latter from the grips of Donkey Kong.
After Donkey Kong,platformersbecame a staple in the video game industry, and these games required players to time their jumps just right to reach places. Prominent titles from the past include the Sonic the Hedgehog games, which were Sega’s answer to Nintendo’s Mario Bros., and Banjo Kazooie which was a 3D platformer. Modern games can be both, primarily a platformer, such as Celeste, or a mix with some other genre, such asHollow Knight, which is also a Metroidvania.
1H1Z1 Battle Royale - 2015
Kicked Off the Battle Royale Genre
H1Z1: Battle Royale
Surprisingly, the battle royale style of gameplay was inspired by none other than the movie, Hunger Games. The first battle-royale mode was seen in Minecraft, but that was only after installing a mod and wasn’t official at all. Then in 2015, H1Z1 Battle Royale came out and it was officially the first game that put multiple players on a single map and had them fight against each other for survival, with the last remaining player being crowned as the victor.
The game was popular at release but it was a buggy mess and was always plagued by one issue or another. And while H1Z1 never got the popularity it should have got, it did inspire a handful of games that took the world by storm. In 2017,Playerunknown’s Battlegroundscame out, and a few months later in the same year, Epic Games added a battle royale mode to their zombie survival game Fortnite and the rest is history.
