10 PS1 Games That Aged Like Milk

Published Aug 2, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT Nicholas Becher is a gaming journalist with an MFA in Creative Writing from FAU. With extensive experience playing video games, he covers all forms of gaming content at Screen Rant, from breaking news to the latest fan theories. Most-played games range from Clair Obscur to Civ to Elden Ring to Halo 2 and beyond. The OG PlayStation had some absolutely incredible titles that changed the landscape of gaming forever. However, some games that were ridiculously popular back in the day when the console was a mainstay have aged like milk and are either nearly impossible to play in a modern context or very hard to understand their original success looking back. Largely, this is due to advances in technology over the years that have made certain mechanics, gameplay and art style choices, etc., obsolete, as well as how players' tastes have changed in terms of what they expect for each genre. Fortunately, many of the developers working on these games learned their lessons, releasing much improved experiences later down the road. 10 Jet Moto Jet Moto was an ambitious racing game back in 1996, but its rough edges are much harder to overlook today. The new ported version for PS4 is playable, but the hover-bike physics feel slippery and unpredictable by modern standards, while sharp turns, narrow tracks, and sudden elevation changes make races extremely frustrating. Camera angles are also extremely rough, especially on crowded courses, and the low-resolution visuals can make hazards and track boundaries impossible to differentiate. It's also way too hard for its own good, with unforgiving AI that leaves virtually no room for error. Although the futuristic racing concept is still unique today, the genre has far outgrown this classic title. Twisted Metal 3 was a commercial success when it launched in 1998, building on the popularity of Sony’s chaotic vehicular-combat series with new drivers, arenas, weapons, and a heavy-metal soundtrack. By modern standards, however, its flaws are much harder to ignore. The vehicle physics feel floaty and unpredictable, with cars frequently flipping or becoming trapped on map clutter, and the camera angles were yet again a huge issue, especially for close-range battles. Its combat also felt repetitive, with dated enemy AI and uneven character balance. While its destructive action once seemed exciting, later entries delivered tighter handling, stronger arena design, and considerably more polished combat, and Twisted Metal 3 definitely ranks as a low point in the franchise. 8 Resident Evil Survivor Resident Evil Survivor found a modest audience on PlayStation back in 2000, benefiting from the franchise’s popularity, launching the Gun Survivor sub-series, and standing out as Resident Evil’s first fully first-person game. However, its sparse environments, short campaign, clumsy controls, weak voice acting, and repetitive combat make it feel especially primitive today. The North American release was further hindered by the removal of light-gun support, forcing players to rely on a standard controller. Later first-person entries like Resident Evil 7 and Village thoroughly eclipsed it, and there's a reason Survivor has never received an official remake or remaster and likely never will. 7 South Park The original South Park game was commercially successful, with its Nintendo 64 release shipping nearly one million copies by June 1999. However, the later PlayStation port aged particularly badly, with muddy visuals, sluggish first-person controls, repetitive enemies, basic level design, and constantly recycled voice clips that really showcase the limitations of its time. The licensed FPS format also captures little of the show’s sharp satire or character-driven storytelling that we'd see in later South Park releases. Modern adaptations like The Stick of Truth and Fractured But Whole are like night and day, showcasing what's possible with actual quality writing and dialogue, and with stories written with Trey Parker and Matt Stone at the helm, and both the creators would agree that the OG South Park game didn't do the franchise justice. 6 Duke Nukem: Time To Kill Duke Nukem: Time to Kill was a decent PS1 title back in the day, with generally positive reviews for translating Duke’s gun-heavy action into a third-person Tomb Raider-style experience. However, nearly every part of the experience now feels antiquated, and it's one of several games that fell into the 3D graphics trap. The game also suffered from repetitive maps and extremely basic puzzle-solving, while Duke’s constant one-liners have lost much of their original novelty. Later third-person shooters dramatically improved in nearly every facet, leaving Time to Kill feeling like a clumsy artifact of early 3D design. 5 Bubsy 3D Bubsy 3D is arguably the worst offender in terms of PS1 games that aged like milk. Nearly every aspect of its design now feels painfully obsolete. Its tank-like controls, disorienting camera, empty environments, repetitive objectives, and awkward platforming were criticized even at launch, but modern standards make those flaws almost impossible to ignore. Unlike other early 3D games that have a bit of charm still despite rough or awkward mechanics, Bubsy 3D's technical shortcomings are glaring. Its garish visuals and annoying constant voice chatter don't help either. Bubsy 3D is universally seen as one of the best examples of growing pains in the industry’s transition from 2D to 3D. 4 The Crow: City of Angels The Crow: City of Angels has aged especially poorly because of its sloppy character models and repetitive beat-’em-up structure that were already heavily criticized at launch. The game's shallow retelling of the poorly received film also failed to capture the gothic tragedy that made the original film so beloved. The game feels even more uncomfortable in retrospect because The Crow franchise remains inseparable from Brandon Lee, who was accidentally killed during production of the original 1994 movie. Although Lee did not appear in City of Angels, the game included a hidden tribute to him, making its crude commercialization of the property feel particularly awkward today. 3 Tomb Raider While it's definitely an important title in the larger evolution of gaming and for PlayStation games writ large, the OG Tomb Raider is hard to return to after playing modern entries, even in the modern remake of the original trilogy, Tomb Raider I–III Remastered, that offered updated controls. It might even be because of the modern control option that the original stands out like a sore thumb, as the contrast between the two showcases just how clunky and frustrating the original controls were. That said, it's a good thing we have a ton of other options when it comes to Tomb Raider games, and with the upcoming release of the next mainline entry, Tomb Raider: Catalyst, it's exciting to see just how far the franchise has come. 2 Alien Trilogy It's hard to even know where to start with the Alien Trilogy game, which came out on PlayStation 1 back in 1996 and was generally well received when it launched​​​​​​​. The PlayStation version used restrictive pre-dual-analog shooting controls, and combined with the heavily pixelated enemies and murky textures that made targets hard to see, the game simply doesn't stand up to the test of time. With labyrinthine map design and confusing layouts, ridiculous key hunting features, and repetitive objectives, those who played it back in the day will remember just how frustrating it was. The storytelling was largely confined to brief mission text or short cutscenes, condensing an iconic sci-fi story into a piecemeal abomination of the original. Modern games such as Alien: Isolation, and its upcoming sequel for that matter, provide far greater immersion and capture the essence of the Alien films better than Alien Trilogy ever could, and this one is probably best left to drift into obscurity, all things considered. 1 Blasto Blasto is a bit of a cult classic when it comes to PlayStation titles, and while it definitely had its merits back in the day with its own unique blend of offbeat humor and absurd sci-fi hero premise, this game definitely suffered from the 3D curse as well. Phil Hartman’s performance was a standout, but it couldn't fully rescue an experience overwhelmed by early 3D design limitations. Blasto is just one of many PlayStation 1 games that fell victim to the industry’s difficult transition into 3D, which resulted in awkward controls, funky camera angles, crude visuals and art, and experimental design choices that have not aged well at all. Still, revisiting these old entries makes it easier to appreciate how dramatically game technology, movement, storytelling, and overall polish have improved over the years. PlayStation Classic Top Games Tekken 3, Grand Theft Auto, Final Fantasy VII What's Included Console, two controllers, virtual memory card, HDMI cable Brand Sony