Retrobot presents: Hardcore games

This is hardcore. Or so everyone says. But what is "hardcore?" To us gamers, it means the kind of game that serious gamers devote their time to. You know, hundreds of hours of time. The kind of game that kept Granny away from gaming until Wii came along. It's about depth - of learning and understanding a game before truly mastering it. Hardcore games present the greatest (and often longest) challenges, yet also the biggest payoffs, assuming you understand how they work.

Of course, Retrobot loves hardcore games. Anything else clogs up his sub-processors, meaning bad experiences for us when we have to change his cartridges. And in case you are new to the delights of hardcore gaming, Retrobot's compiled a list of ten "real" videogames that every true gamer should know inside out. Remember - Retrobot doesn't only love old games - just games with old-school values at their cores. Retrobot, take it away...

Above: AGenesis for a heart and SNES for brains, Retrobot loves his hardcore games

Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.