Hardcore Gamer: It's a style that may be in its infamacy, but has still managed to produce a host of incredible games. If you've never really explored this enticing sub-genre, or are looking for some additional examples of it, here is a sampling of some of the best minimalist titles available.
A number of new deals are up and running on the North American Switch eShop. These include 80’s Overdrive, Assassin’s Creed III: Remastered, Spice and Wolf VR, Thomas Was Alone, and more.
KeenGamer: "Non-Euclidean games may hold the key to the future of gaming. But what exactly are they, and why do they matter? Slowly rising in popularity in recent years, these titles allow for experiences we could never hope outside of the medium."
As it’s a package from 2013 of a game that reportedly sold a million copies, you probably already know if you need to get Thomas Was Alone. If you haven’t played it and you have a Switch then you absolutely must get the demo – right away, no excuses. Its playful elucidation of how games work shouldn't be missed by anyone interested in the medium. The full game gives you a few hours of good platforming with great presentation and a well-told story. And as an artefact of its era of indie games, Thomas Was Alone is a delight. The game can be experienced start-to-finish in a few short sessions and Bithell’s commentary provides a sort of meta-narration to motivate another playthrough if you haven’t heard it before. In short, Thomas Was Alone was pretty great when it came out, it’s held up well and now it’s on your Switch.
Back before we had seemingly limitless potential from current gen consoles, the systems had limitations that were very noticeable.
it was the creative talent behind the games that found ways to extend their project to pull features and imagery out of hardware that no one had even thought to use in such ways.
Finding ways around things like limited color pallet, fixed resolutions, sprite capabilities and lack of dedicated hardware acceleration for things like scaling and rotation....there were some amazing games created on systems like the master system, genesis, pc engine, nes....and it was all done by people who felt they could do the unthinkable with hardware that seemed incapable.
The old days of minimalism (to me) are the best examples.
I see what you're saying darth, but to me minimalism is an intentional departure from technological innovations, whereas in your example those were developers who were working to get the most out of more limited technology (compared to today).