Anyone who lived through the '90s may find themselves yearning for a little nostalgia from time to time. There's something comforting about stepping into the past, and from a storytelling point of view, it can be more interesting to explore life before smartphones and social media. There are several games set in the '90s that manage to capture the spirit of the decade in a way that feels genuine, rather than forced. Players will enjoy spotting references to pop culture, history, and fashion in the following games.

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A note on the word 'modern': for the purposes of this article, we will be referring to games that were released in 2010 or later (the earliest game on this list, Gone Home, was released in 2013). While it feels unbelievable that the '90s were so long ago, here are some incredible games that will bring back memories.

6 Gone Home (2013)

Gone Home tells the story of a young woman, returning to her family home, only to discover the house is empty. The player must explore the house, clicking on items to slowly uncover the story of a dysfunctional family and a teenage girl grappling with her own identity. It's an absorbing game with incredible environmental storytelling.

Gone Home is packed with retro references: the TV listings in the living room, the movie collection on the shelves, the magic eye pictures, the magazines, and the comic books. The homemade zines, made by the main character's sister, Sam, feel authentically retro to those of us who lived through the '90s. Gone Home was praised for exploring the difficulties of being an LGBTQ teenager in the '90s, and it deals with this topic with sensitivity and care.

5 Hypnospace Outlaw (2019)

Hypnospace Outlaw will feel very familiar to anyone who used Internet Explorer in the '90s! Set in 1999 in an alternative universe, the player takes on the role of an 'Enforcer', tracking down internet criminals and deleting unwanted content. Using the in-game browser, players will stalk message boards and earn Hypno Coins, which can be spent on extra items (like virtual pets and wallpapers).

It has a gorgeous vaporwave color palette, and the message boards and websites feel authentic to the time period. Characters slowly reveal themselves by posting online, and it's easy to get attached to them almost by accident. It's incredibly nostalgic, and a great game to get lost in if players want to step back in time for a little while.

4 Unpacking (2021)

While Unpacking isn't technically set in the '90s (it takes place over a few decades), it does start there. Players must unpack items over years of a character's life, and the gameplay is so relaxing it's almost zen-like. Despite being a laid-back puzzle game, it has a surprisingly emotional story, and it's an interesting look at how a game can present a story to a player without actual narration.

The first room players must unpack is a childhood bedroom, and it's packed with small details that any '90s kid will remember: a technicolor Lisa Frank-style poster, a Rubix cube, a boom box, a troll, and a My Little Pony. It's an endearing game about growing up and moving on, and the pixel art is beautiful.

3 Broken Reality (2018)

Set in a 3D parody world, Broken Reality inserts the player directly into a vaporwave-style internet. Players can explore new areas, meet an interesting range of characters, collect likes, play mini-games, and even slice ads into pieces with a katana. It's a fun, lighthearted, non-violent game, and it feels like stepping directly into a '90s PC for a few hours.

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It's a surreal game, and it's not perfect: some of the quests feel a bit pointless, for example. However, it's fun, weird, and excellently retro. If players want a nostalgia hit, this is the one to go for.

2 Her Story (2015)

An FMV game from creator Sam Barlow, Her Story presents the player with a series of video clips, which they must investigate closely in order to solve a mystery. Using a database, players must sort and search through a series of interviews with Hannah Smith, answering questions about her missing husband. Players can search for keywords, which will bring up short sections of each interview, in order to figure out what happened.

It's an intriguing mystery set in 1994, and the police interviews feel authentic. While it's not the most overtly '90s - there aren't a ton of references to the decade if that's what players are looking for - it gets a spot on this list for being an excellent game with unique mechanics and an absorbing story. A must-play if players want a juicy mystery to get their teeth stuck into.

1 Kathy Rain (2016)

Kathy Rain is a point-and-click adventure game starring Kathy, a journalism major looking into the death of her grandfather. Players will investigate a small town, uncover sinister secrets, and solve puzzles. It will feel familiar to anyone interested in classic point-and-click adventure games.

It's set in the '90s, with some nice references to the time period (particularly in Kathy's dorm room - spot the dream catcher on the wall) but the graphical style evokes the feeling of losing hours to the Monkey Island games in years gone by. It's worth picking up for the excellent, slightly eerie storyline.

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