7 Best Commodore 64 Games That You Should Know Update 04/2024

best commodore 64 games

In order to talk about retro games, we must talk about the best Commodore 64 games of all time.

When it came out, many thought it was the first home PC gaming console. It came out in 1982.

It sold close to 17 million units and even made it into the Guinness World Record book. One of the best-selling computer units of all time, it’s still on the list. We’re excited to learn more about its rich history.

Almost 10,000 titles were made for the C64, including office tools and programmes for making things. But we only care about the games.

1. Mayhem in Monsterland (1993)

Mayhem in Monsterland (1993)

Mayhem in Monsterland is a game that came out eleven years after the Commodore 64 first came out. This shows that the game took advantage of more than a decade of knowledge about the computer to make it shine.

A lot of time and care went into making this game. It has a lot of style and that old-fashioned thing that we couldn’t put our finger on, so we called it “playability.” It’s a beautiful little cartoon platform game that really shows off what the Commodore 64 could do at the time it was made.

He’s called “Mayhem,” but you may or may not know that he can move at a pretty good speed. He looks a lot like yellow Sonic the Hedgehog, too, so it’s not hard to figure out what the game is about. In other words, it isn’t just an exact copy of another well-known game that runs on a better computer. It is also a game that is worth playing on its own.

2. Laser Squad (1988) 

Gollop is a strategy game genius who helped make the brilliant X-Com/UFO series of games, which began in 1994 with X-Com: UFO Defense. He helped make the games even better (also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown in Europe). Even though the two games ended up going in different directions, you can see how Laser Squad and X-Com have changed over time even though they ended up going in different directions.

Laser Squad is a turn-based strategy game in which players take on missions with different goals, like rescuing civilians or killing all the enemies in a stage. It has a surprising level of depth for a Commodore 64 game that made it a huge hit in its day.

The best strategy games have that “just one more turn” quality when the player’s plans start to come together. Laser Squad has that quality, and it still stands out as one of the best games on the Commodore 64.

3. Boulder Dash (1984)

Boulder Dash (1984)

While not the most beautiful or complex game on this list, Boulder Dash has addictive, arcade-style gameplay that makes it a good choice.

Boulder Dash was a huge hit when it came out, and it has since been updated, rebooted, and even made into an arcade game. Players take on the role of Rockford, an explorer who must make his way through caves full of boulders in order to collect diamonds.

Rockford has to get enough diamonds to open the exit, but it’s not as easy as it looks. Digging tunnels through the caves allows boulders to fall at a terrifying speed, which can either squash or stop Rockford from moving forward.

If you don’t get the diamonds in time, you’re going to die. Each dig is a nail-biting race to get the diamonds and avoid certain death, with smooth, fast-paced gameplay that keeps people coming back for more. And it still does, even after all these years!

4. Dropzone (1985)

Archer Maclean isn’t the only game creator on this list, but Dropzone is his most well-known. It’s basically a clone of the arcade classic Defender, and it even has the same font as the Williams Electronics arcade game. Players fly left, right, up, and down at high speeds in order to rescue humans who have been taken from the planet surface by evil, deadly, and very persitive aliens.

When it comes to this game, purity is important. The gameplay is very similar to what you would do in an arcade. The game can be learned quickly and easily, but it will take a lot of time and effort to truly master the difficult stages.

The game moves very quickly, and even though you’ll die a lot, it’s never because you can’t see what’s going on because there’s so much going on. Straightforward, simple, and a lot of fun.

5. Wasteland (1988)

Wasteland (1988)

What kind of game did the Commodore 64 have in 1988? Impressive, isn’t it?

Wasteland was one of the very first video games that had a persistent world, which meant that the player’s actions and choices had an impact on the state of the game. Fallout was originally made as a spiritual successor to Wasteland when the original creators lost the rights to use the Wasteland name.

It was mind-boggling when you came back to a single screen in a game in the late 1980s and found that it had been completely changed. Wasteland also had a lot of different ways to solve problems, many of which relied on the player’s own ideas. This made the game seem like it had more depth than other games.

A manual with a lot of in-game story and background information, which players would have to refer to during the game, was necessary because the computers of the time didn’t have enough space to fit all of the text in the game itself. It’s an impressive game, but it’s also very difficult.

Wasteland is one of the best Commodore 64 games even though it looks old and simple today. It was one of the first open-world games and one of the best technical achievements of the era.

6. Buggy Boy (1987, Elite)

I bought Buggy Boy for my Commodore 64 because it was one of many cheap games I bought. For the budget version I think I paid £2.99. It was worth every penny. Most home computers in the late 1980s could play this game because it was made for arcades and then made for them. What I like about the Commodore 64 port is that it is so easy to play. I can play this game for hours. I race my buggy around each track, collecting flags and points. I think this is the best racing game for the Commodore 64 because it’s easy to play but still very good.

7. Batman (1989, Ocean)

Batman (1989, Ocean)

Ocean is based on the 1989 movie “Joker.” The first level is inside the Axis Chemicals building, where you will shoot down Jack Napier, who will then fall into a vat of acid and become the Joker. When the movie ends, there is a Gotham Cathedral scene in the game. You also get to drive a Batmobile, solve puzzles, and fly a Batwing.

If there aren’t a lot of levels in this game, it will take a while to get good at. Back in 1989, Batman was huge, so this is a very nostalgic pick. I’ve always liked the game, and it’s one of the best Ocean Software movie games.