CRTs have been out of the mainstream for over two decades, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t modern games that get something a little special from being displayed by a high-voltage electron gun instead of twisty liquid crystals.
From properly modern 3D games to modern retro-style indie titles, here are ten modern games that hit different if you play them on a CRT monitor.
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I would love to show you how these games look on my humble little Samsung SyncMaster CRT monitor, but no matter what tricks I try to photograph the screen, the nature of CRT scanlines and the other details of how they work just don’t result in something that looks attractive. Sadly, like many things in tech, this is something you’ll have to experience first-hand.
10
Blasphemous
Blasphemous is a dark, gritty, and grim pixel art sides-crolling fighting game. An action-platformer that will appeal to those who love the punishment of soulslike games, though it’s not strictly a clone of that genre.
The pixel art looks absolutely amazing on a CRT monitor, and although the game was not designed to be used with a CRT, it includes several CRT filter options in the game menus, so you know it’s something Team 17 had in mind when they made it. The sequel is already out as I write this, though I have not yet had the chance to try it.
The only fly in the ointment here is that the game does not support a 4:3 aspect ratio, which means that unless you have one of those rare widescreen CRT monitors, you’ll have black bars above and below the image, but it sure does look great!
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9
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk is still one of the most graphically advanced video games in existence, largely because CD Project RED has consistently updated the technology in the game to incorporate cutting-edge new graphical tech.
It’s also a game set in a retro-futuristic world based on the technology and aesthetics of the 80s, including lots of neon, and, of course, CRT displays, if only in spirit.
Playing Cyberpunk on a CRT looks incredible. It’s almost as if the game feels more authentic somehow, and, of course, since my monitor can only run the game at 1024×768 pixels, even my humble RTX 4060 laptop will let me push up the settings, which includes some nice ray tracing.
The neon glow of the game and the phosphor glow of my CRT are a match made in cyber heaven.
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8
Signalis
Signalis is an old-school horror game inspired by titles like the original Resident Evil and that includes the inspiration for its PS1-like graphics. This is another game that offers CRT filter options in the menus to try and complete the vibe it’s going for, but when you hook the game up to a real CRT there’s no comparison.
I’m not the only one who has noticed this. There are a few posts on Reddit where players with CRTs have tried the game and enjoy the vibe immensely.
7
Prodeus
shooting-enemies-in-prodeus.jpg
Prodeus is a love letter to retro first-person shooters of the 90s, though I would argue that the game has a crunchy visual style all its own. You can turn on a CRT-like effect if you like, but as I’ve seen time and time again, if you play on a real CRT monitor those graphics come to life, and the lack of motion blur inherent to CRT technology turns what can become a visual mess on a flat panel into managable chaos instead.
6
Ion Fury
One of my absolute favorite games to play on my CRT PC setup is Duke Nukem 3D by 3D Realms and Ion Fury is a modern game built on exactly the same engine technology as Duke 3D. This is basically the answer to what is possible with the old Build engine if you weren’t limited by 8MB of RAM and a resolution of 640×480.
While this game looks great on my OLED Switch, where I first bought it, playing it on my CRT monitor is by far the way to go. It takes on a completely different look and feel that’s hard to go back from.
5
Control
Like Cyberpunk, Control massively benefits from running on a CRT display and for much the same reasons. The game is set in a retro-futuristic environment, which makes the CRT look and feel very authentic, and it’s also a game with excellent yet performance-sapping ray-tracing.
Even at 1024×768 (which is the best resolution my current CRT supports at a flicker-free refresh rate) the game looks smooth with the settings cranked. This is another one that’s hard to go back to, even using my LG OLED on PS5.
4
Hotline Miami
This ultra-violent top-down fever dream of a game consumed many hours of my life when it first came out, but Hotline Miami remains as compelling to me today as it ever was. As soon as I got my CRT monitor for my retro-gaming setup, I had to try this game on it as soon as possible.
I was not disappointed. Like Blasphemous, Hotline Miami does not support the 4:3 aspect ratio of most CRTs, but I didn’t care once I started playing, with the crisp motion and lower latency making the game so much more responsive. Of course, for me, that just meant I died more quickly and I could only blame myself. Still, the pixel art graphics look stupendous, and if you have access to both this indie gem and a CRT display, it’s definitely worth your time to try this out.
3
Amid Evil
If you were ever a fan of Heretic or Hexen, then Amid Evil will be right up your alley. Even better, this is another game with otherwise basic graphics that boasts a robust ray tracing mode.
Running at 1024×768 with no anti-aliasing at all, the game looks exactly as I imagine the developers intended, and given its twitchy gameplay and plethora of particle effects and other bits and bobs flying around, a CRT really is the perfect way to enjoy this game. Incidentally, Heretic and Hexen are also best enjoyed on a CRT, and are readily available for very little money.
2
Warhammer 40K Boltgun
The Warhammer 40K universe has been hitting it out of the park with video games recently, with titles like Space Marine 2 and Rogue Trader, which sadly means that Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun has been mildly overshadowed by its bigger-budget brethren. However, this retro-style shooter is perhaps one of the best digital recreations of what it’s like to be a hulking Space Marine mowing down endless waves of the Emperor’s enemies.
The game is absolutely beautiful on a CRT, and like most boomer shooters it benefits greatly from the motion clarity and snappy responsiveness. It’s also another cheap title that goes on sale fairly often, so if you like old-school action FPS games and like the idea of mowing down monsters with a chainsword, this is the perfect game for your CRT setup.
1
DOOM (2016)
I’ll preface this by saying that every DOOM game looks better on a CRT, especially the original games from the 90s, which you won’t want to play another way once you’ve tried them the way ID Software intended, but there really is something amazing about spinning the 2016 reboot on a CRT. The gritty, dark art and graphics benefit from how CRTs create images just as much as the bright colors of explosions and powerups.
Compared to playing on my 144Hz ultrawide screen, even with a digital to analogue adapter, it still feels and looks snappier too. I think the next time I do a DOOM 2016 playthrough, it might be entirely on this little tube!
