Ocean’s Heart, a 2-D Action RPG released in January, and similar games, play to this brain chemistry and desire for the familiar. Video games that look like 8-bit or 16-bit-pixel creations, such as Bit Trip Runner, are built for gamers who want a new, well-developed game with higher replay-ability, but an older-looking design and sound that reminds them of being a kid.
The late Oliver Sacks wrote in his seminal book Musicophilia, “Music can pierce the heart directly.” The music from older games creates a subconscious emotional tug that brings us back to them—in much the same way that hearing a favorite song from your high school days puts you back in that moment. The music and design of retro games have the ability to imprint on a young gamer’s heart.
Amid unstable pandemic days, there’s still happiness to be found. For many, it comes in the form of these retro and retro-looking games. A welcome respite from a chaotic world, these games—and their sounds—can pierce the heart, as Sacks said, and instill a rare, perfect joy.