Classic Games Worth Playing In GOG's Anniversary Sale

Turning 18 is a pretty big milestone. You're officially an adult, you can vote, and you can finally do all sorts of things you've probably been doing for years anyway. For GOG, which is celebrating its 18th birthday this October, we reckon the best way to celebrate adulthood is to keep playing video games.

Over the past 18 years, GOG has helped keep countless classics alive, making it easier than ever to revisit old favourites or discover games you might have missed the first time around. To celebrate, we've gathered a bunch of our writers to pick a list of their favourite games from GOG's library. Some are genre-defining masterpieces, others are personal favourites, but every single one has earned its place on this list.

Even better, GOG is offering special discounts on our selections as part of the celebration, so whether you're looking to relive some fond memories or find your next obsession, there's plenty here worth checking out.

14 Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc - George Foster

Rayman is my all-time favourite platforming series and, while his two most recent games are making a grand comeback in December, his equally legendary early outings are a little hard to come by. That’s where GOG comes in, as all of Rayman’s original games are right there and ready for you to fall in love with.

Out of those games, Rayman 3 is easily my top pick. While it’s not as generally beloved as Rayman 2, Hoodlum Havoc is a delightfully wacky (or ‘Madder’, if you take the intro to heart) adventure that set the tongue-in-cheek tone for the series going forward and put as much focus on the combat and platforming as it did on wild set pieces. It’s an underappreciated classic that introduced me to a series that I still hold near and dear to my heart.

13 Fallout: New Vegas - Allyson Cochran

I was 12 when Fallout: New Vegas came out, and I don’t think I fully understood how great a video game could be until I played it. I still remember Higgs Village so vividly. What started as an exploration became something much more compelling: an archaeological dig through the ambitions, egos, and tragedies of the people who shaped it. The scientists’ backstories gave the wasteland a tragic sense of history. New Vegas taught me to appreciate games as spaces for storytelling. Fifteen years later, I still think about it. It still remains a very strong contender for the best Fallout game ever made.

12 Theme Park - Josh Coulson

Like most people who play video games in their 30s and 40s, my introduction to gaming was through Sonic, Mario, and various other colorful platforming mascots from the '90s. It wasn't until the latter half of that decade that I realized games could be so much more, and it was Theme Park that kickstarted that realization.

Amusement park management sims are their own genre nowadays, and everything that has come since has Theme Park to thank. A truly innovative title that spearheaded a hugely popular and profitable branch of the video game tree, and it still holds up. I recently played Theme Park for the first time in close to three decades, and while it might look like an old game (which isn't a bad thing), it certainly doesn't feel like one. Its deep roster of rides and stalls combined with the unpredictability of what might happen next, make it endlessly replayable, and it remains one of the best games in the genre 30 years later.

11 Deus Ex - Niall Walsh

Deus Ex is an iconic role-playing game whose influence is still being felt in modern gaming. The sense of freedom you feel when playing this game was unheard of at the time, and it's something games still struggle to capture in 2026. Non-linearity wasn’t its defining feature, though; it had an impeccable story with so many little details that were easy to miss if you didn’t do all the side missions.

Best of all, Deus Ex still holds up today, and while it may look dated, the gameplay is just as relevant as it was in 2000. If you want to know where your favourite RPG took its inspiration from, whether it’s gameplay, dialogue, story, or setting, then play Deus Ex, and it will soon become clear.

10 Dragon Age: Origins - Ryan Thompson-Bamsey

There's a reason Dragon Age: Origins is still held up as one of BioWare's finest RPGs. It's a sprawling, wonderfully realised dark fantasy adventure that gives you an extraordinary amount of freedom to shape your character, your relationships, and the fate of Ferelden itself. Even the opening hours are different depending on which of the game's six origin stories you choose, giving each playthrough a distinct identity before the main adventure has properly begun.

But it's the companions that really make Dragon Age: Origins special. Alistair's dreadful jokes, Morrigan's cutting remarks, and Leliana's stories are just as memorable as the battles against the darkspawn. Between political intrigue, difficult moral decisions, and some genuinely challenging tactical combat, there's an astonishing amount to sink your teeth into.

Dragon Age has changed considerably over the years, but Origins remains a brilliant example of what makes a great party-based RPG: a world worth saving, characters worth caring about, and decisions you'll be second-guessing long after the credits roll.

9 Mad Max - Steven Garrard

While it might not be the best action game of the 2010s, Mad Max is still far more than a simple movie tie-in game, and one that I firmly believe doesn’t get nearly enough love. Each piece of the experience, from familiar fast-paced brawls to explosive vehicle battles, all wrapped up in a memorable setting, managed to capture the feeling of the films in a way that just clicked for me, while scratching an itch to create the post-apocalyptic hot rod of my dreams that I never knew I had before playing for the first time.

Even a decade after release, Max Max still feels incredibly satisfying to play and isn’t too bad on the eyes either, despite its age, with desolate vistas (that I’ve taken far too many screenshots of) and the roaring sounds of engines being strangely comforting to revisit for a quick joyride all these years later, despite having already seen everything it has to offer more than once.

8 Bioshock Remastered - Aleksandar Perisic

I remember getting this game for my Xbox 360 thinking it will be just a creepy FPS. While it’s definitely creepy at times, Bioshock is so much more than that. Imagine gathering the smartest and most creative people in the world, and putting them all in an underwater city and telling them to make it the best place to live. What could go wrong? Well, you get to see the aftermath of everything that went wrong.

Now even though Bioshock plays like an FPS, it’s also a game that rewards careful playing and exploration. There’s just something so satisfying about scavenging for extra supplies, and dominating the next area because of how well you’ve prepared. Did I mention you also have super-powers where you can shoot a lightning bolt and even bees out of your arm? Now, would you kindly stop reading this and just go and play Bioshock Remastered.

7 Worms: Armageddon - Sam Woods

You can’t convince me that there was a better time for gaming with friends than the late 90s/early 2000s. Bomber Man, Mario Party, Hogs of War, and arguably the pinnacle: Worms: Armageddon. I spent many a late night with friends going head-to-head, rocking up to school like a zombie the next day because of an unruly sleepover.

There was always something special about Worms: Armageddon. It was such a dumb game, armies of worms fighting each other, using Bananas, Holy Hand Grenades, and Concrete Donkeys as weapons, but it always got so competitive. The physics were hilarious, and every match felt different. Now, with the game discounted, there is never a better time to party like it’s 1999.

6 Sleeping Dogs - Collin MacGregor

Perhaps one of the most underrated open-world games of all time, Sleeping Dogs is a love letter to Hong Kong action and crime movies. While it’s easy to dismiss this title as another GTA clone, Sleeping Dogs elevates itself thanks to phenomenal writing, voice acting, and its unique, stylized action that emphasises hand-to-hand combat over just shooting people.

I mean, how many games let you impale a gangster on a frozen swordfish or shove their head into an air conditioner? It’s a game that revels in over-the-top martial arts combat, while telling an enthralling story about betrayal, brotherhood, and revenge. Plus, you can slow down time, jump out the door, and hijack another car while driving, which is just objectively cool as hell.

Why are you still here? Go buy the damn game, thank me later.

5 Sensible World Of Soccer 96/97 - David W. Duffy

If there’s one genre of games we should look to the past and revere, it’s that of sports games. The sheer joy of getting one-up over your friends, in person and without having to worry about opening packs to be competitive or servers dropping off mid-game, is something we take far too much for granted these days.

Sensible World of Soccer is the absolute pinnacle of football games. Despite being more than three decades old it still feels as fresh an experience, its excellent, easily accessible gameplay capturing that jumpers-for-goalposts joy we all had as kids kicking a ball around the local field. This 96/97 final update boasts over 1,500 club-and-country teams, a database of over 24,000 real players, more than a hundred different competitions, and a two-decade career mode. It even has a dedicated modding community that has kept the database fully updated with current players and teams. Goooooal!