Shack Chat: What is your favorite game that has been delisted or is no longer available?

The topic of delisted games came up among the Shacknews staff earlier this week after we briefly discussed Marvel's Avengers and its final days on PC and console storefronts. We thought about other games that were delisted and could no longer be purchased by the gaming public. What's a game that we want to play, but can sadly no longer purchase on digital storefronts?

The answers... well, they're pretty sad, but will hopefully spur some fascinating discussion. Check out the answers from the Shacknews staff.

Question: What is your favorite game that has been delisted or is no longer available?

Rumbleverse - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Delisted Editor

I almost hate this topic, because it brings back a lot of pain. I like it in the sense that truly great games should never be forgotten, even if they can never be played again.

I briefly considered making my answer Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, because that was some of Telltale's finest work, but the more I thought about it, the more I don't want anybody to ever forget what a beautiful game Rumbleverse was. This was a fantastic twist on the battle royale, encouraging players to get up close and brawl. Victory meant exercising a different kind of strategy, one often pulled from the realm of fighting games. Could you read your opponent? Could you punish them if they carelessly threw out moves all willy-nilly? Could you recognize which moves had priority over certain other ones?

Plus, Rumbleverse had personality for days. It was cartoony, colorful, and almost whimsical for a game based on pounding 39 other players to a pulp. It is tragic how quickly Epic pulled the plug on this and salted the earth around it so that it could never grow again. I don't rule out that there will be an imitator down the road, one who recognizes this concept for its great potential and tries to make something out of it, but it can never be what Rumbleverse was.

Try and find another game like this out on the market. You can't.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - TJ Denzer, Charlotte Main

I absolutely loved the 2D Metroidvania era of Castlevania, and I loved it even more when I could play it with friends. Harmony of Despair was a patchwork celebration of decades of the franchise and a really addictive one at that, mostly because it was a tough game that required players to navigate immense levels and help each other open paths and secrets through it. It could be run solo, but it became all the harder if you did because of the co-op focused level design. More than that, I loved that each character came with many of their unique battle mechanics intact and upgrade across numerous sessions.

I’m pretty proud to say I filled out Charlotte’s spell book (not an easy thing to do) and made her into an overpowered force to be reckoned with. I would happily do it again. Alas, the only place this game is available is on Xbox through backwards compatibility, and I don’t currently have access to the Xbox consoles. It never made its way to PlayStations past the PS3 and remains out of reach on that side of the virtual playground.

Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

Now that F-Zero 99 is out and delighting fans all over the world, my new goal is to spread the good word of Duke Nukem in these Shack Chat feature articles. If you were smart enough to scoop up Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition before it was delisted on Steam, this may not concern you, but think of the people that didn’t buy the best PC version of Duke3D.exe? It’s a shame that Gearbox, 3D Realms, and whoever else is holding back Duke from returning couldn’t come to an agreement that would have let the Megaton Edition remain for sale. Instead, players seeking Duke Nukem 3D have to buy the 20th Anniversary edition, which is not as good.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars - Sam Chandler, Mamma-mia

Nintendo sure does make some odd decisions. I can’t pretend to understand the logic behind some choices and yet the company continues to make money hand-over-fist. One thing that will forever puzzle me is Nintendo’s choice to stop selling Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a collection of three of the best Mario games ever released: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy.

If you want to play this game now you either have to already own it, purchase it pre-owned, pirate it, or play it through some emulation software. It just beggars belief why Nintendo would choose to stop selling this fantastic title, even with some of its porting woes.

EVOLVE - Dennis White Jr., Resident Beast Hunter

Evolve was so much fun for me and my friends. The unique team combat full of interesting abilities that have to be used to keep you or your friends from being mangled, crushed, or eaten really made me stick with the game longer than plenty of others. Turtle Rock Studios moved on from the game after a brief revival and servers are officially down as well.

The game clearly had some issues, especially when it came to balancing some of the monsters that terrorized players for months. But there were plenty of exciting moments that really made me excited to play more with my friends while developing unique hunting strategies for each monster. I also thoroughly enjoyed playing as different creatures and got pretty efficient at taking out hunter teams and dodging laser beams and traps. The art direction was great and so was the creature design.

Knockout City - Donovan Erskine, Retired Dodgeball Champion

Knockout City deserved better. It was one of the few free-to-play live-service games that actually broke away from the crowd and did something unique. Gameplay was a lot of fun, and those games got super competitive. It wasn’t perfect, and the game was a bit dry in terms of content variety, but why does that have to be a death sentence? Why can’t we just have above-average multiplayer games anymore?

Simpsons Arcade - Steve Tyminski, Stevetendo show host - Don’t have a cow, man!

What is my favorite game that was delisted or not available to play anymore? I’m going with the Simpsons Arcade game for this one. I loved playing this game in the arcade as a kid. It was available digitally on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 about ten years ago. That being said, you can buy a Arcade1Up arcade cabinet with the Simpsons Arcade playable but it’s rather pricey compared to the game being a digital download. I’m sure it’s a licensing issue that’s preventing the game from coming back but Scott Pilgrim, a game we never thought would come back, was indeed brought back for a modern crowd.

Those are our picks. What game would you like to jump into, but can't anymore because it's no longer available to play or purchase? Join the conversation and let us know in the comments. You can also take the conversation over to the Official Shacknews Community Discord.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.