Today it has been 40 years since the Amiga was first unleashed upon the world. Although the first model, the Amiga 1000, failed to reach its audience, the budget friendly Amiga 500 took the world (mostly Europe) by storm and eventually gave rise to a multitude of amazing games and started many of today’s greatest developers. While the system was also a great home computer with incredible production quality software like Deluxe Paint, Brilliance, Soundtracker, Imagine and Lightwave, it was most famous for the games. This is my definitive (until I get to rethink the list again for the 50th anniversary) top 40 list of the very best Amiga games.
As will be very obvious, developers quickly found their footing with ambitious new games, and generally tended to make an even better sequel, so many of the best Amiga games have the number 2 in them. During an active commercial period of roughly a decade we saw amazing improvements, from the early rough ports that barely improved on the original C64, IBM PC or Atari ST versions, to games that were comparable to the fancy graphics of the console 16 bit generation. I will be focusing on the first generation of Amiga games before the AGA systems (Amiga 1200, Amiga 4000 and CD32), as those games mostly only tended to be prettier with more colours.
40. Space Crusade (Gremlin, 1992)
A gritty turn based strategy game based on the Warhammer 40K world, with brutal battles in tight corridors.
39. Super Cars II (Magnetic Fields/Gremlin, 1991)
A top-down racing game with a long, tough campaign made more difficult by missile ramps making your repair costs skyrocket.
38. Nuclear War (New World Computing, 1989)
This satirical light strategy game had parodies of 80’s world leaders endlessly stockpiling nukes until the inevitable apocalypse.
37. Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon (Westwood/SSI, 1992)
Years before Baldur’s Gate, this first person RPG was the best way to explore the Forgotten Realms on a home computer.
36. Bubba’n Stix (Core Design, 1994)
Extremely pretty cartoon graphics and weird puzzles made this platformer a great example of the Amiga’s power.
35. Bubble Bobble (Taito/Ocean, 1987)
While the original is one of the best games ever made, this port has some issues. It’s still Bubble Bobble though.
34. Micro Machines (Codemasters, 1993)
Approachable and chaotic top-down racer across everyday environments, made even better with two players as usual.
33. Pinball Illusions (Digital Illusions/21st Century Entertainment, 1995)
The last and most ambitious in the trilogy, although this version is let down slightly by the lack of the best table, The Vikings.
32. Battle Chess (Interplay/Electronic Arts, 1988)
Chess is always great, but it doesn’t get less so when the chess pieces are awesome fantasy characters hacking each other to bits.
31.Sid Meier’s Pirates! (Microprose, 1990)
An early computer classic that gave players complete freedom to make up their own pirate epic in the Caribbean.
30. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (Lucasfilm Games, 1992)
After three classic movies, Indy kept up his daring Nazi-thwarting escapades in this ambitious and pretty point-and-click.
29. S.W.I.V. (The Sales Curve/Krisalis, 1991)
A vertical shooter heavily inspired by early Toaplan classics, this gem ”borrowed” the helicopter and jeep pairing from Silkworm.
28. Syndicate (Bullfrog/Electronic Arts, 1993)
Most players struggled to master this real-time strategy tactical shooter, with an intense cyberpunk style and brutal difficulty.
27. Chaos Engine (Bitmap Brothers, 1993)
One of the most enduring Amiga games, this action packed co-op shooter was packed with style and extremely challenging.
26. Premiere (Core Design, 1992)
While slightly stiff, Premiere more than made up for it in style. Fantastic cartoon graphics made this a great platformer.
25. Benefactor (Digital Illusions/Psygnosis, 1994)
A forgotten gem from the late Amiga era, where the pinball masters branched off into a polished, gorgerous platform puzzler.
24. North & South (Infogrames, 1989)
This action strategy game based on a French comic about the American civil war provided intense arcade battles and lots of comedy.
23. Parasol Stars (Taito/Ocean, 1992)
The second sequel to Bubble Bobble had a brand new gameplay style which wasn’t as polished, but the Amiga version was amazing.
22. Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders (Lucasfilm Games, 1988)
This quirky point-and-click adventure combines down to earth environments with epic adventure across four different characters.
21. Pinball Dreams (Digital Illusions/21st Century Entertainment, 1992)
The debut game by Swedish demo group turned game developers, which created an excellent pinball simulation with four great tables.
20. The Secret of Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games, 1990)
Despite looking its age, this witty point-and-click masterpiece already had the genre pinned down with cutting insults.
19. Loom (Lucasfilm Games, 1990)
A cult classic overshadowed by Lucasfilm’s more popular titles, this gorgerous music-themed adventure has a unique feel to it.
18. Cannon Fodder (Sensible Software, 1993)
Approachable arcade strategy with a big helping of wry British humour. War has indeed never been so much fun.
17. Lemmings (DMA Design/Psygnosis, 1991)
This classic real-time puzzle/sadism simulator was both the start of a great franchise and the biggest game maker ever: Rockstar.
16. Another World (Delphine Software, 1991)
Intense, brutal and cinematic action adventure that inspired a new generation of legends and still keeps getting re-released today.
15. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (Lucasfilm Games, 1992)
The greatest of Lucasfilm’s early point-and-click adventures with tons of charm, creativity and strange puzzles.
14. Pinball Fantasies (Digital Illusions/21st Century Entertainment, 1992)
After grabbing a quick vacation, the Digital Illusions team released their second pinball masterpiece the very same year.
13. The Settlers (Blue Byte, 1993)
This strategy classic provided a cozy medieval setting filled with lovely detail, and even managed to have a great versus mode.
12. Rodland (Jaleco/The Sales Curve, 1991)
A sugar sweet arcade port for two players built on the Bubble Bobble formula which managed to actually improve on the coin-op.
11. Worms: The Director’s Cut (Team 17, 1997)
Although it ushered in the end of the Amiga, this amazing tactical party shooter was the final feather in the cap for the system.
10. Lemmings 2: The Tribes (DMA Design/Psygnosis, 1993)
Improving on the original in every way and introducing dozens of fun and creative powers, this sequel provided endless fun.
9. Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe (Bitmap Brothers, 1990)
The epitome of the Bitmap Bros’ trademark mix of style and gameplay, with a smooth, exciting future mix of rugby and pinball.
8. Moonstone: A Hard Day’s Knight (Mindscape, 1991)
Brutal and gritty, cruelly random but highly rewarding, this four player RPG/beat’em up hybrid was the Dark Souls of the Amiga.
7. Sensible Soccer (Sensible Software, 1992)
The gameplay is simply amazing. Possibly still the best football game ever created, and endlessly fun with two players.
6. Turrican II: The Final Fight (Factor 5/Rainbow Arts, 1991)
Smooth, gorgerous but challenging platform shooter with the best music that ever flowed out of the four channels of an Amiga.
5. Sid Meier’s Civilization (Microprose, 1992)
Setting a standard that survives to this day, this incredible open-ended strategy game was almost perfect from the very beginning.
4. Gravity Force 2 (Bits Productions, 1994)
This freeware indie versus shoot’em up provides endless fun with a huge range of levels, weapons and customizations.
3. Simon the Sorcerer (Adventuresoft, 1994)
Perfecting its inspirations, Simon the Sorcerer is an amazing point-and-click adventure in a silly but endearing fantasy setting.
2. Flashback (Delphine Software, 1992)
Smooth, cinematic and with an incredibly tight control scheme, Conrad B. Hart’s sci-fi adventure is a must-play even today.
1. Frontier: Elite 2 (David Braben, 1993)
The endlessly ambitious open world game allowing you to explore, battle and trade your way across the galaxy on a single floppy. Unlike games like Flashback and Simon the Sorcerer, there’s absolutely no reason to play it today and endure single digit frame rates when games like No Man’s Sky and Elite: Dangerous exist. But what this game provided in 1993 was ridiculously ahead of its time and marvellously intriguing. You had to be there, and I’m so glad I was.