We can’t all take home the gold, OK?
As the Olympic Games take over Paris this summer, it’s easy to get FOMO watching top-of-their-class competitors when some of us didn’t exactly make the qualifiers. No matter: With a graphics card and a dream, anyone can be an Olympian at home.
Here’s a sampler of video games past and present that will let you get in on the action and taste some sweet, albeit pixelated, glory.
Official Olympics Entries
While previous games that received the International Olympic Committee license were released for traditional consoles and desktop computers, Olympics Go! Paris 2024 is a casual sports mobile game. Players can compete in 12 Olympic events and fight for spots on a global leaderboard.
It’s also a city simulator, where players can get a taste of the enormous financial undertaking for a city hosting the Olympics by developing properties around venues in order to boost attendance at sporting events.
As a mobile game, the sports gameplay in Olympics Go! Paris 2024 is all tapping, whether you are keeping up pace to swim or playing a rhythm-game version of fencing. People looking for a more traditional video game experience are out of luck with this year’s official licensee, but they can go back four years to find two options: Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
While the International Olympic Committee did not book Mario and Sonic a ticket for Paris, their Tokyo jaunt bundled newer events like karate and skateboarding with ones from previous games such as fencing, archery and discus. A 2-D mode that hearkens back to retro sports arcade titles features classic sprites of Mario and Sonic characters in track and field events, playable only with button controls.
If cartoon Italian plumbers aren’t your thing, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 offers 18 playable events and customizable avatars. Players can run the 100-meter dash as an astronaut or deliver a mean tennis backhand as a cowboy.
Unofficial Sports Samplers
Though not technically an Olympics licensee, California Games has sports competition in its DNA. Released in 1987 after the developer Epyx’s previous titles Summer Games and Winter Games, California Games leans into chill vibes. Events include surfing, BMX racing, roller skating and hacky sack.
While Konami’s arcade game Track & Field was an official 1984 Summer Olympics licensee for its Japanese release, the American version carried no such credentials. Players can use two buttons, “run” and “jump,” to compete in six events including the 100-meter sprint, the long jump and the javelin throw.
Multi-event sports games go beyond retro titles. The role-playing game Sports Story is a sports game cross-pollinated with the cozy farm simulator Stardew Valley. The action mostly revolves around golf and tennis but also features BMX, fishing, cricket and more.
Hyperspecific Simulators
When thinking of summer Olympic sports, standard events like the 200-meter individual medley or pole vaulting come to mind. But what about judo or breaking? Lovers of more offbeat Olympic events can still find options.
For Ping-Pong aficionados, there’s Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis, which turns the sport into high drama by slowing down time just enough for you to make the perfect shot — or to see it pass you by.
Golf lovers, long catered to with the deluxe graphics and fine-tuned control of every swing in the EA Sports PGA Tour series, can find out-of-the-box play with the sports roguelike Cursed to Golf or the narrative R.P.G. Golf Story.
Skateboarding fans, of course, can turn to the remastered Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 for both a nostalgia play and competitive action. Those looking for a fresher take can check out OlliOlli World, a side-scrolling skate platformer set in a candy-colored environment.
For some, the call of the flashy video game simulation remains unanswered. Water polo fans will have to be content with Final Fantasy X’s Blitzball.
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