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The Best Amiga Games Ever Made

Best GamesCommodore Amiga

Written by

Matt James

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So, another best Amiga games list, it’s not as though it’s not been done before has it! But that said, it is hard to resist putting together my own list of classic Amiga games, like with many classic retro systems, it is hard to whittle down to a concise list of my favourite Amiga games.

Before we start though, if you want to relive some of your Amiga gaming memories, check out our guide to setting up WinUAE as well as our best Amiga Emulator guide. This quick guide will have you up and running in no time, ready to play.


Best Amiga Games

The Commodore Amiga range of computers had many variants, with some being able to play AGA enhanced games such as the Amiga 1200, 4000 & CD32.

But sometimes the opposite occurred, many older OCS games would not work on the likes of the newer AGA machines mentioned previously, so would require a kickstart disk such as ‘Relokick’, so that the newer Amiga’s would be compatible with a wider range of older games.

The following games are all standard ECS/OCS compatible, so all work with the trusty Amiga 500. So, here are some of the very best Amiga games.

Lemmings – 1991

The original and arguably best Lemmings game. Lemmings was a breakthrough at the time for Psygnosis in terms of sales and the legacy it has left behind.

First released on the Amiga and then ported to pretty much every other system at the time, Lemmings has secured its place in gaming history.

The game has you guiding Lemmings across each level to the exit, using a range of skills that are limited to a fixed number of uses. And that’s it, easy to pick up, with a good learning curve.

That is the beauty of this game, the perfect balance of challenge and fun with excellent visuals and music to entertain you. One of the best Amiga games without a doubt.

Best Amiga Games - Lemmings
Lemmings

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe – 1990

A futuristic blend of sports culminates in the cyberpunk game of Speedball. Sequel to the original Speedball game, Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe has a much more zoomed-in field of view now with 9 players on your team rather than the original 5.

The action is fast and challenging as you try to beat down opponents and steal the ball from them.

Speedball 2 has some excellent visuals, music and sound, the ambient sounds in the game such as the announcer, crowd noise and ice cream sellers make this game immediately identifiable from the audio alone! A really great game both in single and multiplayer.

Best Amiga Games - Speedball 2
Speedball 2

Super Skidmarks – 1995

The sequel to the original isometric racer, Skidmarks 2 gives you more of the same, but more of it! As well as a good selection of quirky vehicles, it is one of the few AGA games that brings improvements such as increasing multiplayer up to 4 players simultaneously, you can even network two AGA Amiga’s together for up to 8 players!

Gameplay can initially be a bit frustrating since you collide with the circuit’s boundaries rather than being able to run off the track, but once you get the hang of things, this only adds to the feeling of carnage! A late game in the Amiga’s life, but a must play.

Best Amiga Games - Super Skidmarks
Super Skidmarks

Another World – 1991

Another World is a cinematic action-adventure game and one of many classic Amiga games. You play as Lester, a physicist who is teleported to an alien planet when the particle accelerator he is working on is struck by lightning.

Waking up locked in a cage, the aim is to then escape and get out of the prison camp you have been placed in. A very simple premise but made very gripping by the excellent soundtrack and cinematic environments.

Another world is notable for its use of rotoscoping, an animation method where the target object is traced by using actual video footage, resulting in a fluid, lifelike animation. A must have game.

Also, check out the remastered version of Another World for the PC on Steam.

Best Amiga Games - Another World
Another World

Cannon Fodder – 1993

One of many classic Sensible Software games that first saw its release on the Amiga, Cannon Fodder is a top down shoot ’em up. The game has you controlling a small squad of soldiers around each level typically killing enemies, destroying buildings and rescuing hostages.

Cannon Fodder is a really challenging game spread across 72 levels and will have you applying more strategy to your approach as you progress through the game.

The game has all the hallmarks of a Sensible Software classic Amiga games with their unique small but beautiful graphics, a great soundtrack and excellent in game audio. An absolute must-have and you’ll be hard pushed not to find it on any top Amiga games list.

Best Amiga Games - Cannon Fodder
Cannon Fodder

Prince of Persia – 1991

Prince of Persia, although well known on many other platforms, really found a lot of fans on the Amiga. You find yourself imprisoned in a palace dungeon and need to escape to defeat Jaffar and rescue the Princess.

The whole game needs to be completed within a set time limit, this is what really sets the tone of the game.

You will find yourself wanting to tentatively explore the palace, being careful not to set off various traps, but you have to keep moving at a reasonable pace to ensure that you beat the timer. It is a game of skill with lots of timed jumps, puzzles and sword fights.

The game has a lovely ambience achieved with it’s fluid rotoscope animations as well as excellent reverberated sound effects, which makes you feel as though you are in that  large stone palace. Prince of Persia holds it’s own in the wealth of Amiga platform games that are out there.

Best Amiga Games - Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia

Sensible World of Soccer – 1995

Another Sensible Software classic. Sensible Soccer for many is the best series of Amiga football games.

I am going with Sensible World of Soccer due to its evolution into something more of a beast of a game, including a full career mode, a huge list of teams covering the whole globe and the addition of the now classic, Goal Scoring Superstar Hero theme song!

The game retains all of the mechanics that made Sensible Soccer great in the first place but now with all that extra depth.

The real beauty of Sensible Soccer is that you do not have to be either a fan or knowledgeable of football to get a great deal of enjoyment from the game. The use of a single fire button to perform shots, passes and tackles smoothly is amazing, a perfect example of a simple yet deep game. One of the finest examples of Amiga football games.

Best Amiga Games - Sensible World of Soccer
Sensible World of Soccer

Syndicate – 1993

Syndicate is an isometric real time strategy game from Bullfrog. The game sees you take control of a four strong team of cyborg agents, carrying out rescue missions, assassinations and taking out the other enemy syndicates.

There are many aspects to the game such as carrying out R&D of upgrades and weapons for your team, and managing tax levels for territories you have taken over while making sure these territories do not revolt against you.

The game has some really nice features including the use of a ‘persuadertron’ which can be used to recruit and gain control of other people in the game. Syndicate is a really nice RTS game for the Amiga and should definitely be given a look.

Best Amiga Games - Syndicate
Syndicate

Wiz ‘N’ Liz – 1993

A lesser-known game, as it was released relatively late in the Amiga’s life and only received one port, onto the Sega Mega Drive. Wiz ‘n’ Liz is a platform game which takes place across eight different worlds where you rescue the ‘wabbits’ that have been taken away by a spell that has gone wrong.

You can either play as Wiz or Liz, running across each level collecting the wabbits before the timer runs out. Wabbits then release a letter which spells out the magic word, once this has been spelt, the player has to collect the remaining wabbits to unlock the exit.

There is also a 2 player mode to add to the fast paced action! A fine choice when it comes to Amiga platform games.

Best Amiga Games - Wiz n Liz
Wiz n Liz

Stunt Car Racer – 1989

Stunt Car Racer is a 3D racing game by Geoff Crammond where you race a dragster-style car across a number of elevated tracks.

Stunt Car Racer is renowned for its realistic physics and challenging gameplay which see’s your car flung into the air by the various jumps and cambered corners. There are 8 tracks to choose from, as well as a league mode where you race against an opponent on each track, trying to progress through the 4 divisions.

The Amiga is often not the best system where as 3D games are concerned, but Stunt Car Racer proves it’s possible and ends up being one of the top Amiga games as a result.

You can even race against a friend on their own via a null modem cable. Not only that, Amiga users can link Stunt Car Racer with those who own it on the Atari ST for cross-platform multiplayer!

Check out our Stunt Car Racer Amiga Review.

Best Amiga Games - Stunt Car Racer
Stunt Car Racer

The Chaos Engine – 1993

Released in 1993, The Chaos Engine is a well-revered title. Another game launched first on the system.

The Chaos Engine is a top-down view run and gun game where you can choose one of six characters to work through the game to defeat Baron Fortesque and his Chaos Engine.

All the characters have unique strengths and weaknesses and each come at its own price to hire. You play through each level collecting power-ups, coins and keys, working through the maze-like levels. To progress to the next level, the nodes on each stage have to be activated by shooting at them to unlock the exit.

Like with many Bitmap Brother games, The Chaos Engine is known for its excellent visuals and classic soundtrack and is another game you’ll frequently see in people’s favourite Amiga game lists.

Best Amiga Games - The Chaos Engine
Amiga – The Chaos Engine

Pinball Fantasies – 1992

The sequel to Pinball Dreams by Digital Illusions, Pinball Fantasies again has 4 different themed tables to play.

I personally prefer this over Pinball Dreams because of the 4 tables available, although there is very little between the two games in terms of enjoyment and game mechanics.

The game has excellent physics and smooth scrolling, making shooting the ball around the table challenging but not frustrating. Each of the tables has its own theme and you will find that all of the visuals, soundtracks and sound effects are all matched to their environment.

You will find all the classic hallmarks of pinball here, with skill shots, multipliers and even a tilt function which can be used to dislodge the ball. Still enjoyed by many, this game is part of a series which redefined the Pinball genre on home computers and consoles.

Best Amiga Games - Pinball Fantasies
Pinball Fantasies

Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 – 1991

The Lotus series on the Amiga was, without doubt, one of the leading racers on the system, and Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 is my favourite in the series.

Moving away from circuit racing for positions, Lotus 2 adopts an arcade-style point-to-point race against the clock. Right from the moment you load the game, the presentation with both the intro music and design stands out.

The game moves at a great pace and is an exceptionally smooth racer, many attempts at driving games on the Amiga were often sluggish, but the Lotus games showed what could be done on the system.

Lotus 2 is full of nice features and a good level of challenge to keep you coming back years, even decades later.

Best Amiga Games - Lotus Turbo Challenge II
Lotus Turbo Challenge II

North & South – 1989

North and South is a humorous strategy game based on the American Civil War. The game combines light strategy elements combined with more hands-on arcade-style gameplay.

You take part in battles and side-scrolling action where you capture enemies’ trains and forts. Choosing either to play as the North or the South, you battle to take over each other’s territories on the game map as you tactically move your players around the board.

North and South is filled with funny little touches which make this a joy to play. It is also great fun for 2 players, so grab a friend for this one.

Best Amiga Games - North & South
North & South

Dynablaster – 1991

Also known as Bomberman on other systems, Dynablaster on the Amiga is an excellent conversion of the PC Engine original. It boasts a decent single-player mode where you blast your way across 8 worlds.

In each world, there are 8 levels, with a boss battle in the final level of each world. You progress through each level by blowing up all the blocks until you locate the exit, collecting power-ups along the way.

Multiplayer though is where this game really shines. You can get up to 5 players at the same time, achieved with the addition of a parallel port adapter which provides 2 additional joystick ports, as well as a 5th player using the keyboard.

One of the best multiplayer classic Amiga games!

Best Amiga Games - Dynablaster
Dynablaster

The Secret of Monkey Island – 1991

The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic point-and-click Lucasfilm graphic adventure game. You take control of Guybrush Threepwood who spends his time pursuing his dream of becoming a pirate.

The game is filled with puzzles, exploration and lots of funny dialogue when you engage with other characters. There is a real sense of freedom which is cleverly implemented with the multiple choices you can respond with when having a conversation.

Monkey Island is a perfect game to escape into and relax with its slower-paced, but engaging gameplay. One of the top Amiga games of the time.

Best Amiga Games - The Secret of Monkey Island
The Secret of Monkey Island

Pang – 1990

Pang is a very faithful port of the arcade original with the Amiga version showing virtually no compromises.

You play as one of the Buster brothers (or as both of them in 2-player mode), travelling across 17 locations across the world working through each level, destroying the balloons that bounce around. Each shot you take at a balloon will make it split into 2 more balloons until it gets to the smallest which then can be totally destroyed.

There are loads of power-ups to help you along your way including double wires, force fields, a freeze time clock and dynamite which pops all the balloons to their smallest size.

A really enjoyable game and a great example of what the Amiga was capable of.

Best Amiga Games - Pang
Pang

Formula One Grand Prix – 1991

Formula One Grand Prix, also known as World Circuit, is a 3D racing simulation by Geoff Crammond. Revolutionary at the time, it really set the standard for all credible racing simulations from that point forward.

Even though the Amiga typically struggles with 3D games, F1GP managed to pull it off and remains one of the best 3D Amiga games.

The game has a full World Championship mode where you can race a full season across all 16 tracks of the time, a complete roster of drivers (although you have to type in the real-life names yourself!) and an in-depth physics system where you would feel the tyre wear, wet track conditions and effect on the car if damaged. It looks basic by today’s standards but still plays great.

Check out our Formula One Grand Prix Amiga review.

Best Amiga Games - Formula One Grand Prix (F1GP)
Formula One Grand Prix

Worms – 1995

A classic game across many systems at the time, Worms was first launched on the Amiga in 1995 by Team 17 to great acclaim.

Worms is a 2D turn-based tactical artillery game where you control a team of tiny worms, with each team taking a single turn to kill the opponent’s worms.

There are over 50 weapons and tools to utilise, ranging from bazookas to ninja ropes, to exploding sheep. The destructible environments can be used strategically, often to hide away from being corned by your opponents.

Worms is huge fun in single-player, but it really stands out as one of the all-time classic amiga games, a multiplayer beast and one of the best Amiga games available at the time.

Best Amiga Games - Worms
Worms

Theme Park – 1994

A hugely anticipated game at the time, Theme Park is a building and management sim by Bullfrog.

The premise is simple, choose your plot of land, design your theme park, and build everything from the paths, rides, and shops, adding plants, hedgerows and the like.

You also are in control of the management of the park, controlling elements such as employee wages, research and development budgets, right through to how much salt you put over your fries which in turn can make your visitors thirsty for a drink and stumble straight into your next shop to quench their thirst!

The aim of the game ultimately is to build a successful enough park to increase its value, sell it at a huge profit and then move on to other parts of the world and do it all again.

An excellent example of the sim-management genre on the Amiga. The AGA version is also definitely one of the best amiga 1200 games available, with its improved graphics over the ECS version.

Best Amiga Games - Theme Park
Theme Park

Turrican 2 – 1991

Last, but by no means least, Turrican 2 is the sequel to the popular original. Although the gameplay is similar to the first title, the improved visuals and famous Chris Huelsbeck soundtrack add a lot more to the overall feeling of the game, making this my favourite of the series.

The game has many qualities and has had comparisons made to the likes of Metroid thanks to its large-level design. You progress through each sprawling stage destroying enemies, and collecting power-ups until you reach the end of the level boss, pretty straightforward stuff!

You have a primary weapon, of which there are lots of power-ups to collect changing its firepower, a secondary laser beam and a special super laser blast which are limited to 3 uses. You can also use another special attack where you turn into a small indestructible wheel, destroying all smaller enemies in your path.

The game is a very tricky one, but certainly, something which you will want to come back to.

Best Amiga Games - Turrican II
Turrican II

Best Amiga 1200 Games

The Amiga 1200 and Amiga 4000 launched in 1992 with the biggest leap in hardware since the Amiga’s launch.

Sadly, it was too little too late as console and PC technology had already started to surpass what the new Amiga AGA computers had to offer. But that doesn’t mean that there were not some fantastic AGA games produced for the Amiga 1200 & 4000.

Here are some of the best Amiga 1200 games that you should absolutely play.

Banshee – 1994

Banshee is a top-down vertical shooter released quite late into the Amiga’s life in 1994. It appeared on both the CD32 and Amiga 1200 utilising the systems AGA chipset.

With the storyline consisting of wanting to take vengeance because your father was murdered, due to his refusal to invent the microwave oven, Banshee does come up short in the story department. This however makes no difference to the gameplay.

Banshee is a beautiful-looking traditional shooter where you blast your way through enemy waves, and boss battles collecting power-ups along the way. It’s nothing new in terms of game genre, but it pulls it off wonderfully. One of the best Amiga games for the A1200.

Best Amiga 1200 Games - Banshee
Banshee

Deluxe Galaga – 1995

Deluxe Galaga is actually a PD game (Public Domain) and a very good one for the Amiga 1200.

A port of the Namco arcade original, Deluxe Galaga is a delightfully simple but addictive game. Collect power-ups and money when you shoot the enemies who dive bomb towards you, whilst avoiding their bullets.

The whole thing feels like an authentic Galaga game, which it has to be said on the Amiga, its arcade conversions typically left something to be desired.

Best Amiga 1200 Games - Deluxe Galaga
Deluxe Galaga

Complete with bonus rounds, excellent sound and graphics, Deluxe Galaga is not just an Amiga public domain classic, but an all-time classic.

This one definitely sets off the nostalgic feelings!

XTreme Racing – 1995

Xtreme Racing clearly is a bit of a Mario Kart wannabe, with its SNES ‘Mode 7’ effect, albeit much blocker.

But XTreme Racing actually was half decent for the time and had Amiga owners feeling that maybe the end wasn’t in sight for their beloved machines.

With its 3D texture-mapped graphics and pretty good frame rate, XTreme racing was a blast with friends where up to 4 players could play at the same time. This increased up to 8 players if you utilised a null modem cable for a link-up between two Amiga systems.

XTreme Racing has plenty of charm and gave Amiga gamers one last glimmer of hope before the inevitable happened over the next couple of years. It was a great time whilst it lasted.

Best Amiga 1200 Games - XTreme Racing
XTreme Racing

Slam Tilt – 1996

A very late game in the Amiga’s life harked back to the glory days of Pinball Dreams & Pinball Fantasies. Slam Tilt is pure classic Amiga pinball fun. It has some really nice visuals, great sound and really fast-paced action.

Carrying on the previous tradition by including 4 tables to play, Slam Tilt is more of the same on the Amiga, but it is very much appreciated still. It all comes across as very polished and slick, very commendable on the developer’s part when you consider the potential sales numbers at this stage in the Amiga’s life.

Best Amiga 1200 Games - Slam Tilt
Slam Tilt

One of the big differences between Slam Tilt and the likes of Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies, the LED score panel plays more of a part in your game, which is much more like real pinball tables of the era. There are small interactive pieces that play out on the LED score screen on the tables which is a great touch.

Slam Tilt is an excellent title and certainly one of the best Amiga games for the A1200.

Super Stardust – 1994

Super Stardust is an enhanced sequel to the original 1993 game, Stardust.

It is essentially a polished version of asteroids with additional features such as shields, power-ups and some really cool-looking tunnel levels which see you hurtling down a tunnel and shooting at enemies coming towards you.

The game’s selling point was primarily the use of ‘ray-traced’ graphics, which gave the game a really cutting-edge look and feel. The techno soundtrack certainly complemented the visuals and gave the same kind of vibes that Wipeout for the PS1 would later deliver.

Best Amiga 1200 Games - Super Stardust
Super Stardust

Stardust was already a great game when released the previous year, but Super Stardust is allowed to stretch its legs that little bit more, utilising the additional power of the Amiga 1200.

A game that still stands up today.

Best Amiga CD32 Games

The Amiga CD32 was the final system released by Commodore before they went bankrupt, a final roll of the dice.

Essentially an Amiga 1200 without a keyboard and a CD drive instead of a floppy disk drive, the CD32 launched in 1993, just before the 3DO which could be considered its main competitor.

But in typical Commodore style of that time, the launch was essentially botched due to the limited power of the system and the limited time developers had to familiarise themselves with the hardware to innovate.

One of the more humorous things to note with games on the CD32 is that they were often just ports of Amiga games, with the actual game only taking up a few megabytes

All this being said, it wasn’t all doom and gloom (well, CD32 gamers wished it was more doom than gloom – see the game ‘Gloom’ below if you don’t understand that joke!). The CD32 did have a bunch of decent games and has become quite an expensive system to collect now.

Here are my top picks for the best Amiga CD32 games.

Gloom – 1995

At a time when Amiga owners were just plain desperate for Doom on their system, Gloom came along just in time before many took the jump to the PC. let’s face it, there was no chance at the time that Doom was going to be possible on the Amiga, so Gloom was actually well received, and quite rightly so.

Best Amiga CD32 Games - Gloom
Gloom

It is a technical marvel considering the hardware it runs on. Sure, there are compromises such as a reduced size window and large chunky pixels, but beneath all this, Gloom plays well.

Gloom has a good atmosphere and quite frankly, hilarious gore effects with bodies exploding into chunks as you shoot them. A great effort in bringing the 3D FPS genre to the Amiga system.

Beneath A Steel Sky – 1994

The classic point and click adventure arrived on the CD32 in 1994, complete as a full ‘talkie’ version. The CD medium is being fully utilised here, so we now get actors reading the scripts as opposed to just the text on the screen.

This transforms the game and helps it become even more engaging, but there is no getting away from the fact that the main benefit the CD32 brings to the game is that you will not have to deal with swapping the 15 disks of the original Amiga version!

Best Amiga CD32 Games - Beneath A Steel Sky
Beneath A Steel Sky

The game sees you control Robert Foster who has been captured by soldiers, but their helicopter transporting him crashes. You need to escape the city, but uncover some secrets about ‘LINC’, the computer which powers the city.

Beneath A Steel Sky was already a classic but just made even better with the voice acting and no disk swapping. Definitely one of the best CD32 games.

Guardian – 1994

A 3D vector game, whilst visually drawing on inspiration from Star Fox on the SNES, Guardian’s gameplay is based on the arcade original, Defender. It turns out it’s a pretty good combination.

Guardian is a fast-paced shooter where you battle waves of enemies, protecting as many of your bases as possible. The more you defend, the more lives you gain. There are plenty of power-ups and shields to utilise to help you in your battle.

Best Amiga CD32 Games - Guardian
Guardian

Guardian plays reasonably well and still looks pretty good in a retro 3D kind of way. Its fast gameplay keeps you engaged and is a real novelty to see a decent 3D game running so well on the CD32.

Flink – 1994

Flink is a 2D platform game which was also released on the Mega Drive & Mega CD. So, it is exclusive for the CD32 in terms of the Amiga platform.

2D platformers are right up Amiga’s street, so Flink is off to a head start already. Flink has some excellent graphics, which are all nicely drawn and move well. Some would argue that the game is, well, not that original due to its fairly plain platform game mechanics.

I guess this would be an easy criticism back when it was released, but looking back on it now, it’s actually an inoffensive and enjoyable platformer!

Best Amiga CD32 Games - Flink
Flink

There’s nothing here except the audio that really requires it to be a CD32 exclusive, it could have easily found its way onto the Amiga 1200, or even Amiga 500 has they just scaled back the colours slightly.

But, in terms of this system, this can go down as one of the best CD32 games.

Roadkill – 1994

Another type of game in which the Amiga excelled was the top-down racer, there are plenty of these around, so what does Roadkill on the CD32 has to offer?

Well, in standard 1994 fashion, a pre-rendered FMV intro is on some versions of the game, so that’s a good start! But in terms of the game, Roadkill is a top-down racer/shooter, more like a futuristic faster-paced version of Super Cars because of the missiles you can shoot at your opponents.

Best Amiga CD32 Games - Roadkill
Roadkill

Roadkill is visually nice with a good soundtrack and sound effects, but it has to be said is very difficult. Mainly because of the zoomed-in view, not allowing you to see corners approach at high speed, but this is the same with many other top-down racers of the era.

Whilst nothing ground-breaking, Roadkill is great fun and represents the CD32 well.