The platform list at least is exhaustive, condensed into three letter abbreviations ranging from the obvious (“WIN”, "PS4”) to the obscure (“AFT”, “PAN”). The tiny infobox about each game contains its title, the year it was published, and the platforms it’s on-that’s it. Don’t look to this volume for information about the developers, how the games were made, or technical details.
The guide focuses on gameplay above all else. If there is going to be a shooter, it’ll be a “boomer shooter” in the style of the original 1990s trailblazers like Doom or Duke Nukem. To be sure, you won’t find on these pages the kinds of indie games that are going head-to-head against big-budget, “ triple A” open world RPGs or first-person-shooters. For example, even though Night in the Woods doesn’t have a pixel look, it’s still recommended for adventure game aficionados. It’s primarily to refer to games that would be inviting to fans of classic video games, rather than a specific style. It is, as they acknowledge, a squishy definition:
On 152 richly illustrated pages, the first volume presents detailed overviews of many games which, while mostly released in the 2010s, seemed “retro-styled” to the editors. That’s where Hardcore Gaming 101’s Guide to Retro Indie Games comes in. The flip side of this blessing is the problem of discovering the indie gems you truly want to play. The explosion of indie gaming in the 2010s has blessed players with the triumphant return of genres largely written off by major publishers, from 16-bit-style “ metroidvanias” to point-and-click adventures.
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