Video Games From 2006 That Are Now Modern Classics 20 Years Later

What does it mean to be a classic? Often, it implies something from a long time ago, that has aged like a fine vintage. It’s quite subjective and personal, but one thing we can all agree on is that 2006 seems like an eternity ago, a simpler time that we might wish we could go back to. If for no better reason than to once again experience some truly fantastic games for the first time.

In 2006, Nintendo’s understated yet formidable and gimmicky Wii launched, prompting all kinds of games with superfluous motion controls (and some that utilized the tech brilliantly and appropriately, of course). Some now-legendary series took their first brave steps this year, and some established ones took curious new directions. It was quite the year for video games, all told, and here are some of the very best.

10

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

One Of The Series’ Darker Chapters

When The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was revealed, its visuals were so different from that infamous ‘realistic’ trailer of Link and Ganondorf that it proved very controversial. It was ultimately a huge success, but some of the ire about the game’s cel-shaded visuals surely got back to Nintendo. Next, the series brought us The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which took a rather more realistic route. Like Majora’s Mask, it’s a grim, foreboding adventure, in which our Hylian Hero must thwart the machinations of both Zant and Ganondorf.

Doing so requires frequent passing through the Twilight Realm and embracing Wolf Link and new companion Midna. The tragic plight of some of the spirits in this realm, along with the monochrome style, lend it a truly haunting atmosphere, and the more sophisticated and involved combat was a significant step for the series. Twilight Princess remains among the most beloved Zelda titles ever made.

9

Dead Rising

Absolute Capcom Carnage

Unsurprisingly, zombies lend themselves very well to horror. it’s quite rare to see them in more of a humorous environment, but Capcom tried to balance both of these aspects with Dead Rising. On the one hand it’s difficult to imagine a predicament more terrifying than the one Frank West finds himself in. On the other, marauding zombies pursuing him through a shopping mall means he has all kinds of absurd makeshift weapons to defend himself with.

Sometimes, we just need a blast of pure arcade silliness. Dead Rising doesn’t set out to overwhelm the player with a lengthy, engaging, tragic story. There’s a little intrigue regarding the zombie outbreak and the experiments that were taking place in the town of Santa Cabeza, where it originated, but other than that, it’s all about the action. Weapons eventually need replacing, and the constant improvisation and scavenging keeps fights varied. It’s a blast just to experiment with different things, while the ability to rescue certain human survivors lends its own kind of pressure to proceedings. When the story’s complete, players can spend much more time in the survival mode that’s unlocked, adding more value to a package that stuck the landing and laid the foundations for a successful series.

8

New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo’s Hero Goes Back To Basics

By 2006, Mario had come a long way in the 3D arena. 2002’s Super Mario Sunshine, as controversial as it can be, represented a huge leap in terms of presenting a vast and interconnected series of areas to explore. Four years later, New Super Mario Bros. offered a new refinement, in the shape of a 2.5D adventure that blended the old and the new.

The central concept of Mario pursuing Bowser to rescue Peach from his clutches is nothing new, but it’s the presentation and gameplay that really shines. A map screen reminiscent of Super Mario World‘s marks your journey across each world and stage, with each of the former offering a classic platforming motif: The ice world, the desert world, and so on. The 3D characters against a 2D backdrop really added some contrast and made the action stand out, while the three special coins to obtain in each level gave dedicated players something to really scour each level for. The New Super Mario Bros. series that developed later may well play things a little too safe, but there are still brilliantly-designed platforming levels and surprises to be found throughout.

7

Company Of Heroes

An Acclaimed Real-Time Strategy Title

World War II is a setting that has been utilized in many FPS games. The historical accuracy of such titles has been rather mixed, but in their impact, in their presentation of the scale and brutality of the conflict, they’ve done an excellent job. Company Of Heroes shares this setting, but takes a rather different approach to it.

This is an RTS defined by intense action, right from the very beginning. It opens with the Allied landings in Normandy, forcing players to immediately learn the intricacies of unit movement, progressing from limited cover to limited cover, and manage resources in order to most efficiently take down heavy enemy fortifications. It’s a scenario that would probably be a final stage in a lot of games of its type, but in reinforcing to the player the harsh conditions they would face, it’s an intense and unforgettable opening. The campaign sees the player control both Able and Fox Companies during these latter stages of the war, and multiplayer matches are also offered. Company of Heroes is well known for being deep and strategic, and for telling an emotional story that elevates it far beyond a simple action game. The series is ongoing, with the most recent release being 2023’s Company of Heroes 3.

6

Gears Of War

The War Against The Locust Horde

Along with Halo, the Gears of War series is widely regarded as one of the defining properties of Xbox systems. As of 2026, it’s now twenty years old. The original installment introduces the Coalition of Ordered Governments, its military forces, the Gears, and the menace of the Locust horde, which is determined to wipe out what remains of humanity. The campaign sees Marcus Fenix and his COG allies devise a plan to infiltrate a Locust tunnel network and destroy it by means of a Lightmass Bomb. In order to do so and effectively deploy it, of course, they’ll need to descend deep into heavily defended Locust territory, which means only one thing: Absolute carnage.

As visceral as the game’s combat is, it’s not a title in which simply rushing in and blasting away is sufficient. Strategic use of cover is key in this intense TPS, and though the action is relentless, you’re encouraged to pick your moment, time your attacks, and even your reloads: the Active Reload mechanic can be used to increase your damage output with a clip if you time it right. A brilliant mix of satisfying action and deeply emotional moments, it’s little wonder that Gears of War became a phenomenon.

5

Okami

A Stunningly Creative And Colorful Adventure

At the Game Awards 2024, an Okami sequel was revealed to thunderous applause (and on-stage musical accompaniment). This was a release that many just couldn’t see ever coming, so long after the original’s release. Nonetheless, the first game was so adored that many have simply never been able to let go of hope for a return to this beautiful watercolor world.

Clover Studios’ Okami is the fantastical tale of Amaterasu, who must fight to rid the world of a terrible affliction that is spreading across the realm of Nippon. Foul, shadowy enemies are stalking, and to dispatch them, Amaterasu must call upon the powers of the Celestial Paintbrush, which allows her to bind enemies in place, solve puzzles, and find objects of importance. This drawing mechanic, in which the player must ‘paint’ targets and objects in order to use or reveal them, plays perfectly into the artistic style of the game’s visuals, and also ensures it feels entirely unique to play. There’s an art to controlling Amaterasu and the brush simultaneously, but with practise, the brilliance of the system becomes clear. Another factor that draws so many to Okami is its Zelda-like charm and puzzle-solving dungeon structure, making for a game that still manages to feel comfortably familiar.

4

Garry’s Mod

Gaming, Your Way

Sometimes, games provide very strict parameters for your experience. There’s one particular route to take to complete each level, and every one is part of the linear progression from beginning to end. This makes absolute sense in all kinds of genres, of course, but what was so notable about Garry’s Mod in 2006 is that it leaves all of that behind. What do you do in the game? Whatever you choose to, really.

One of gaming’s most iconic sandboxes, it allows you to freely fiddle with its Physics Gun and the boundless freedom it provides to set up silly scenes. It would grow stale if this was the limit of things, but the real strength of the experience is the sheer amount of different play modes available that have been created by the community. It’s so many different games in one, and though the quality of them may well differ depending on which you try out, the title grew from a mod of Half-Life 2 to its own multi-faceted experience. In turn, Garry’s Mod inspired other sandboxes that followed in its wake, as well as simply titles that have their own unique physics to manipulate.

3

Metroid Prime Hunters

A Brilliantly Experimental Turn Towards Competitive Metroid

When purchasing a Nintendo DS, you might have found a real curiosity bundled in with it: Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt. This was a demo of the then-upcoming Metroid Prime Hunters, introducing the idea of first-person aiming and shooting using a combination of stylus controls and button presses. The launch of the DS was an experimental time for developers, and though the First Hunt demo focused on the singleplayer aspect, the main game would become known as something suitably unique: A multiplayer FPS in the Metroid universe.

Of course, when a mysterious signal is broadcast into space announcing the location of a tremendous power, bounty hunters of Samus’ caliber are quickly going to be all over it. This is how Weavel, Trace, Spire, Noxus, Kanden and Sylux, all members of different races with their own unique weapons and abilities, gather along with Samus to fight among themselves and claim it. It was a bold move for the franchise, but the unique competitive game modes and each bounty hunter’s alternate form (they needed an equivalent to Samus’ Morph Ball) lent tactical and traversal options to proceedings that really set it apart. Nothing much has really been done with these other bounty hunters since (aside from Sylux’s importance later in the Prime series), but this was a real gem of the Nintendo DS lineup and an idea well worth revisiting.

2

Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin

A Unique Spin On A Familiar Formula

The Castlevania series represents one half of the famous Metroidvania formula. What this means for series fans is that there’ll typically be an enormous Dracula’s Castle to explore, with more and more of it steadily becoming accessible as you obtain new abilities. Often, destroying a boss will be necessary to pick up the next new skill. Portrait of Ruin, however, did something rather different. While all of that is present, a significant amount of the action doesn’t take place in the castle itself. It contains several paintings, and they each act as gateways to different areas, a la Peach’s Castle in Super Mario 64.

Some truly unique areas await, such as the Nation of Fools, an eerie horror trope of a circus. The villainous Brauner created these portraits, another vampire antagonist who seeks to use the strength of Dracula to fuel his own. It’s an interesting twist on the way the narrative of Castlevania titles play out. The mechanic of controlling two characters, both Jonathan and Charlotte, spices things up too, as there are several different ways to combine their talents to advance and for them to augment each others’ capabilities. An unusual chapter in series history, but a very memorable one.

1

Wii Sports

One Of The Biggest Icons Of Recent Years

Many wondered whether the motion-sensing talents of the Wii would really add much to gaming, or whether it was more of a gimmick. Well, then grandma scored two strikes in a row in Wii Bowling, and that question was answered. Nintendo’s mission with the Wii was to get everybody playing and having fun together, and no other pack-in game could have achieved that goal half as effectively as Wii Sports.

Content-wise, of course, it doesn’t exactly rival a 100+ hour RPG in terms of the amount on offer, but it’s an icon of its era and a lesson in pure enjoyment. Even the most gaming-averse were known to play a round or two of the boxing minigame or tennis, and many may well have been converted into fans by the experience. Even if you’d seen all it has to offer already, it was hard to resist breaking it out yet again whenever friends or family were visiting. The more everyone gets into it, the better, though wrist straps were recommended for a reason during particularly enthusiastic rounds of baseball.