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Old web games can still be played in 2024!

     I recently rediscovered a program I used to use a couple of years back when I was still in high school. We used to want to play games on our computers but of course, games would get removed from sites after a while or my school would find out about a site we played on cause one of our "less popular" classmates would narc on us and we'd lose our free time activities. That all changed when I found Flashpoint Infinity, probably the funnest and most precious program I will always need on my computer. 

One of the great thing about this program is just how massive it's library actually is. Currently Flashpoint has archived and hosts 193,529 games in it's library, and that number keeps growing with every update. When you first get the program you have two options of download, you can download Flashpoint Infinity (like I did) which let's you choose and download games as you play them or if you're especially adventurous, you can download Flashpoint Ultimate which saves all 1.38 terabytes of games in the library to your computer for offline use. If you're someone who loves to archive and catalogue things, Flashpoint Ultimate is the obvious choice, but for most of us average chooms Flashpoint Infinity is the way to go.

When I booted up the program, I started to browse around its library a little bit, just to get familiar with what they had. Their library includes learning, kid-friendly and casual games right off the bat, but it does also offer "adult-oriented" game titles (the NSFW option for games is disabled by default, so you will have to go into the config settings to enable them). Overall it's a very fun experience to dive deep into the library and unlock core memories of games you used to play. One of the first games I tried was a game I played in middle school called Parking Fury (not a very stimulating title these days) which is a top-down view parking game that has you park in strange places, sometimes requiring you to use the utmost care when moving. It's fun for me but if it's not your cup of tea, you will most likely find it on Flashpoint. 

Over all these old web games and many other retro games like those on legacy consoles and 90's handhelds just help give that nostalgic feeling you don't often find anymore in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Open source groups like Flashpoint or even Ruffle are both prime examples that these types of games matter just as much as the next Final Fantasy or Call of Duty games do, but these games are, or at least used to be the first exposure to games kid's could get without a console and they should be treasured and remembered for as long as possible. Flashpoint can be downloaded here for free and if you'd even like to support their team and help them continue to archive games from across the web, the link for their donation page will be right here. Happy Holidays everyone!


  

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