The Return of Browser Games

There was a time when games you could play in your browser were huge. Miniclip, Habbo Hotel, Neopets – they were the lifeblood one all tweens in the early 2000s. With the rise of mobile, those days disappeared. Now it seems they’re coming back.

And for those of us old enough to remember IT classes spent playing crappy Flash games, we got the short straw. Gone of the days of slow loading and terrible graphics. Us fogies are now secure enough to have fancy consoles and high-end gaming PCs, so we might not have realised it. There’s a renaissance going on in browser-based games.

And it’s really impressive.

Browser Games For All Moods

Your choice isn’t limited to a few popular sites. Almost anything you fancy playing is available at a few clicks. For starters, you still have the kinds of games you used to get – built around simple minigames that are fun for those few moments in the day where you have a breather. Things including Desert Riders, where you take on raiders in a post-apocalyptic world. They remind us of the kinds of games we used to play, but without being quite as clunky.

When mobile took off so quickly, these kinds of mini games went by the wayside, replace by apps. The games didn’t change that much in many cases, but it meant you could play them on the move and, almost as importantly, locally. You didn’t need to connect to a website and then load a separate Flash panel to play your game, and you didn’t have to muck about too much if it crashed. Most effected were puzzle games. With games like DOP 2: Delete One Part, you can once again play great puzzle games in your browser.

But that’s only the beginning. Because the options for those who want to play games in their browser are almost endless.

Full Titles, No Downloads

And I mean almost endless. There are two areas that have seen massive growth in the last few years: retro games and streaming.

In the former case, you’re able to play all sorts of old games in your browser. Often this is unofficial and not supported by the original publishers, but there are some other options appearing quite regularly. Either way, if you’re fancying something you used to love and don’t want to dig through roms and emulators, entire catalogues are usually just a Google away. Legality aside, that’s something we really could have used back in the early 2000s.

But why stop at retro games? Thanks to streaming services like GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming, you can now play demanding PC games from your browser. This requires a subscription, but being able to play within the browser is a nice bonus. In fact, it’s a must if you’d like to play certain games on your Steam Deck, Xbox or other device where access to a browser allows you to reach an entirely new streaming platform.

Browser Games – Conclusion

Once upon a time, playing games in your browser was something you did when you had no choice. It was play something terrible or listen to the teacher and there’s only one way that was going to go. Then it wasn’t necessary at all, and people shifted their attention to their phones.

With massive improvements in tech, the browser game is now more viable than ever. And although people will still habitually reach for their phone or to a dedicated app, for many of us the chance to just load up a website and play something cool is a welcome one.