Games like 198X
If 198X is your kind of game, the closest matches are Holua's Arcades, Ping Pong Space - Retro Tennis and Thunderflash — picked from the ranked list below. Reviewers single out its atmospheric, emotional and melancholic. Each pick is ranked by what players of this game also play, shared genres and tags, and review-mined similarity — not a generic popularity list.
Get personalized picks →About 198X: Part 1 of arcade epic 198X. A coming-of-age story told through multiple games and genres. Experience the thrill of shooting, driving, jumping, fighting and role-playing in 5 full-blown arcade stages – combined with cinematic pixel-art storytelling.
Players who liked 198X also play
Steam players who put hours into 198X also tend to own these titles — a signal called collaborative filtering. imho.run cross-references millions of library ownership patterns to surface games whose real audiences overlap, regardless of whether their genre tags match.
Holua's Arcades
WHY THIS
Top pick for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
Master the golden age of the arcade! Holua’s Arcades packs four pixel-perfect challenges into one digital cabinet. Dominate a brutal 90s beat 'em up, survive a cosmic bullet hell, execute a stealthy ninja heist, and conquer a co-op precision platformer. Climb the global leaderboards today!
Ping Pong Space - Retro Tennis
WHY THIS
Second-strongest match for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
Ping Pong Space is a modern incarnation of the classic Pong game, set in space. Accept the challenge to defeat the AI robot and become the retro tennis champion of the galaxy!
Thunderflash
WHY THIS
Third-strongest match for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
Thunderflash is a "love letter" to the arcade games of the 80s. It is a Run 'n Gun game inspired by gems like Ikari Warriors, Commando and Heavy Barrel.
Rampage Miami
WHY THIS
Ranked #4 for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
Find yourself diving into a retro-futuristic city infested with bad guys!
Martian Invaders
WHY THIS
Ranked #5 for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
WE HAVE ALIENS, YOU DON'T—Blast Martian invaders and flying saucers across 30 stages with robotic voice effects. Use your destructible shield, rescue army men for bonus points, and chase the high score.
2nd Shot
WHY THIS
Ranked #6 for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
In the vast depths of space, lies a man with a dark past. Setting himself apart from that old life, and seeking justice against wrongdoing instead of being the cause of it, Captain Righteous uses the Freedom Fighter, his trusty space fighter to search for and combat the evil Captain Buster!
Draginsanity
WHY THIS
Ranked #7 for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
Welcome to the magical realm Draginsanity. It is full of dragons. And it is totally insane! Fly and hover through the air. Spit fire at dragons, spiders and demos. If you find the right mana you can do all of this!
HUNTDOWN
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with 198X.
Ranked #8 for 198X fans by collaborative filtering across millions of Steam libraries. Shares Indie with 198X.
In the mayhem-filled streets of the future where criminal gangs rule and cops fear to tread, only the bounty hunters can free the city from the corrupt fist of felony. Lay waste to the criminal underworld and make a killing in this hard boiled action comedy arcade shooter.
Reviewers mention these as similar to 198X
Surfaced from review text: when other players write 'if you liked X, try Y', we catch the name and resolve it back to a Steam game.
Streets of Rage 4
WHY THIS
Shares a nostalgic mood with 198X.
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with 198X.
Amongst the best beat’em up series ever created, jammin’ ‘90s beats and over the top street fighting, the iconic series Streets of Rage comes back with a masterful tribute to and revitalization of the classic action fans adore.
OutRUN
WHY THIS
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with 198X.
You play as two different people in the same creepy motel, and everything you think you know keeps changing. One moment you're Allison, running from something in her past, and the next you're Emma doing a late-night cleaning shift. You see the same events from totally different angles. You're JUDGE!
SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Classics
WHY THIS
Shares a nostalgic mood with 198X.
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play.
SEGA’s collection of Mega Drive & Genesis Classics comes to a new generation, now updated with even more features: online multiplayer, achievements, mirror mode, rewind, save states, VR and more! Over 50 classic games in one great package. Get into the classics!
WOLFLAME
WHY THIS
Shares an atmospheric mood with 198X.
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with 198X.
Brought to you by the makers of GIGANTIC ARMY, Supercharged Robot VULKAISER, and SATAZIUS, WOLFLAME is a return to the form of glorious 2D vertical vertical shooters like Raiden, Raptor, and Twin Cobra.
Warriors of the Nile
WHY THIS
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with 198X.
Choose skill tablets to build your unique squad. Show your tactics in fast-paced battles. Lead the warriors blessed by the Egyptian gods to challenge random levels and powerful bosses. Defeat the Serpent Apophis and bring back the sun.
California Games (C64/DOS/Atari/Lynx/NES/SMS/Genesis)
WHY THIS
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play.
Ask anyone who considered themselves a true gamer in 1987 and the chances are they will fondly remember California Games. Now on Steam for the very first time, you too can enjoy six radical and awesome events: the half-pipe, roller skating, surfing, BMX, footbag and the flying disc.
R-Type Final 2
WHY THIS
Shares a nostalgic mood with 198X.
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play.
R-Type has returned! The legendary side-scroller is back and better than ever with beautifully rendered 3D graphics, exhilarating shoot-'em-up gameplay, and a multitude of stages, ships, and weapons that will allow you to conduct a symphony of destruction upon your foes.
Don't run out of Soda
WHY THIS
Reviewers of 198X cross-mention this title as a similar play. Shares Indie with 198X.
Can you escape a humble cook? If you don't, you will become his meal. You have five tries.
Cheaper alternatives
Games in the same vein priced at least 40% below 198X at current Steam store prices.
Garry's Mod
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
Garry's Mod is a physics sandbox. There aren't any predefined aims or goals. We give you the tools and leave you to play.
Vampire Survivors
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
Mow down thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn! Vampire Survivors is a gothic horror casual game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you. Be the bullet hell!
Cookie Clicker
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
An idle game about making cookies! Originally released in 2013 on the web, and actively developed since then. This is the official version for Steam.
WEBFISHING
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
WEBFISHING a multiplayer chatroom-focused fishing game! Relax and fish (on the web!)
POSTAL 2
WHY THIS
Priced ~90% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
Live a week in the life of "The POSTAL Dude"; a hapless everyman just trying to check off some chores. Buying milk, returning an overdue library book, getting Gary Coleman's autograph, what could possibly go wrong?
Buckshot Roulette
WHY THIS
Priced ~70% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
Play Russian roulette with a 12-gauge shotgun. Four enter. One leaves. Roll the dice with your life. Good luck!
Brotato
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
Brotato is a top-down arena shooter roguelite where you play a potato wielding up to 6 weapons at a time to fight off hordes of aliens. Choose from a variety of traits and items to create unique builds and survive until help arrives.
Your Only Move Is HUSTLE
WHY THIS
Priced ~50% under 198X on Steam right now. Shares Indie with 198X.
Master your technique, execute flashy combos, and outsmart opponents across the world, frame-by-frame. Slow down the clock to fine-tune your fighting style in this innovative, turn-based combat simulator. Pulverize your friends and choreograph spectacular fight scenes. No training mode required.
Free alternatives
Free-to-play games that recommended players of this title also tend to enjoy.
Life is Strange - Episode 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it.
Episode 1 now FREE! Life is Strange is an award-winning and critically acclaimed episodic adventure game that allows the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future.
Indigo Park: Chapter 1
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with 198X.
Explore the abandoned childhood wonder of Indigo Park! Guided by Rambley the Raccoon, help restore power to the destroyed amusement park while you run from the reason it shut down.
Sheepy: A Short Adventure
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with 198X.
A Short Handcrafted Pixel Art Platformer that follows Sheepy, an abandoned plushy brought to life. Sheepy: A Short Adventure is the first short game from MrSuicideSheep.
Grimm's Hollow
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with 198X.
A spooky, freeware RPG where you search the afterlife for your brother. Reap ghosts with your scythe, explore haunted caves, and eat ghostly treats on your journey through death.
The Expendabros
WHY THIS
Free-to-play pick from the same recommendation pool — no purchase to try it. Shares Indie with 198X.
The Expendabros have assembled and set their sights on the forces of ruthless arms dealer Conrad Stonebanks in the forests of Eastern Europe.
Narrow it down
Head-to-head comparisons
Frequently asked about 198X
- Is 198X verified for Steam Deck?
- Yes — 198X is Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve has confirmed it runs well on the Deck with full controller, text legibility, and default configuration support.
- How much does 198X cost?
- 198X is listed on Steam at 9.99 USD (current store price; Steam sales may reduce this temporarily).
- What games are most similar to 198X?
- Based on Steam play patterns and shared genres/tags, the games most often recommended alongside 198X are Holua's Arcades, Ping Pong Space - Retro Tennis, Thunderflash.
- Who developed 198X?
- 198X was developed by Hi-Bit Studios.
imho.run ranks Steam game alternatives using a mix of collaborative filtering (ALS / iALS / EASE / LightGCN), content scoring over genres, categories, Steam tags, developers, and publishers, plus AI-extracted vibes mined from review text. The page above is generated in seed mode anchored on 198X.
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