Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

When a gaming company finally gives you a long-awaited game or product that nails your nostalgia, how does it actually work out for you?

My experience has been disappointing. By way of examples, the last few years saw the release 3 Games/Factions that I was eagerly awaiting and -based on my at my gaming history- should have been my cup-o-tea.

1) SW Legion. Positive experience playing Runewars and a sizable Imperial Assault collection should have made this a must-buy, but scale change and a price bump (would have bought anyway if not for the size difference) soured me from buying in.

2) Necromunda. As a longtime Necromunda fan (have nearly all the house gangs and alot of terrain) I was terribly excited about this. I could have swallowed the rather massive scale change, but the relative uselessness of many of my minis and the layers of rules and books required, constant power shift and such made it feel like another 40k money/time pit and not much like my experience of playing and collecting earlier versions of the game. I bought and sold the core box and Gang Wars books in fairly short order.

3) Leagues of Votaan. Have loved Squats forever and was very intrigued by the initial fluff. Have also been playing alot of Grimdark with my son and actually have the cash on hand for a current-retail GW army so I was poised to strike. However, almost everything about the Votaan design has been a disappointment (virtually no connection to Squats) such that I've stopped following the updates and probably not even going to get the codex.

All that aside, you might not be a grumpy proto-grognard like myself, so what's your experience been when your long-desired nostalgia-hit finally arrives?

This is pretty much an impossible vote.


There is no general pattern at all.


Some revivals of old things are better than the original, utterly outstanding. Others are dire creations that are abysmal and some are just so different they aren't really pressing any buttons at all.
Then there are some that are nostalgic in a generalist sense. Something that perhaps you saw and wanted but never got or interacted with come around again. So the experience is more fresh but still tingles the nostalgic elements.



Take Battlestar Galactica - a remake that I didn't enjoy as Battlestar. Yes it had the iconic ship design; yes it had character names and the theme; but the story, characters and structure were utterly different. The tone was also vastly different. Some parts were great, some not so great and some felt forced.
In the end it was so far removed it was basically its own thing.


Then take Adeptus Titanicus and Necromunda; which for me were games I hardly got to play (well Necro never) when young. Yet now they've got some blow-you-away model designs for them. Outstanding models with GW style rules that, honestly, over 30 years have remained steadfast in their level of skill and quality in general. So the rules are changed, the experience different and in some ways its different just because its more than it was back then (eg Necromunda has way more model diversity and options than in the past; esp represented as models. They are going further and that changes things).



In the end there's no general pattern. Some are great, some are so so, some are wildly different; some are terrible. You won't find a pattern across all products and ranges because of the variety in how these things are brought back; before you even touch on the individuality of different peoples interactions and experiences and impressions - not to mention our own recallings of the past.

Nostalgia is a cancer that makes grown men lose all rationality and support gak product.

Everything needs to stand on its own merit, not on pleasant reminiscence.

They got me once, on Necromunda. Yes, that was pain. Shame on me.

Generally it wears off and sometimes I've had to not just house rule, but design my own version from the ground up just to make the purchase worth it. Lost Patrol is the worst culprit while Adeptus Titanicus tried my patience at times. Kill Team'18 wasn't bad but the lack of releases meant bringing over unsupported units from 40K itself.

 Eilif wrote:
When a gaming company finally gives you a long-awaited game or product that nails your nostalgia, how does it actually work out for you?

Well, since they finally nail my nostalgia, usually pretty well. And it's generally expensive.

Things GW has succeeded with:
●Genestealer Cults.
I was quite pleased when the GSC finally returned a few years ago. Rules could be better, but I love the models & theme so I can deal with the rules.
●numerous 30k SM vehicles that are just improved sculpts of the stuff I started playing this game with 30+ years ago. And now some of them are becoming available as plastic kits vs FW resin!
●Necromunda models. I was never much a fan of the original game. And I've never played or even read the current stuff. But I love the figures. So I have a gang of each. They serve as conscripts/squads in my one IG force.
●the current edition of Dungeon Bowl.
●some of the Special Edition figures in recent years.

Concerning the Votaan:
I'm one of those Squat players who's been waiting decades for my army to return.
The Votaan? While im very interested in them, and im sure they'll soon cost me $$$.....these guys aren't my Squats.
Their creation does not strike GWs name from my personal Book of Grudges.
As they are, they'll hit my wallet, but not my nostalgia.

Necromunda as a current rules set pretty much kills any nostalgia vibes from GW for me rules wise.

Agree that the gsc models are amazing as an update as far as miniatures go.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Nostalgia is a cancer that makes grown men lose all rationality and support gak product.

Me looking on my Mutant Chronicles:Siege of the Citadel KS.

I hit my nostalgia by buying 90s GW metal miniatures and rulebooks. That works out very well (for the nostalgia hit, not the wallet).

Re-dos don't really hit the real nostalgia feeling, but I enjoy GW going into stuff like admech, necromunda and genestealers as it expands the universe, and they are good releases on their own.

With games a byproduct of a reimagining is it can spark renewed interest in the classic version as well. So even if the current version of Necromunda doesn't grab you there's every chance that in some areas its sparked some renewed interest in the classic game as well. Or if not then you might find that if you've got a classic set you could find it easier to convince others to at least give it a try.

ccs wrote:


Things GW has succeeded with:
●Genestealer Cults.
I was quite pleased when the GSC finally returned a few years ago. Rules could be better, but I love the models & theme so I can deal with the rules.
●numerous 30k SM vehicles that are just improved sculpts of the stuff I started playing this game with 30+ years ago. And now some of them are becoming available as plastic kits vs FW resin!...

I have to agree with these.
Never collected them, but the RT yellow book was the first 40k book I ever read and GW nailed Genestealer Cult when they reintroduced them.

Also, If I didn't still have and use my first 40k Marines (2nd Ed Blood Angels) that are a different size than 30k, I'd be very tempted. The aesthetic is great and definitely more my interest than current Primaris stuff.

I'm aware of the nostalgia filter. No, old things are not 'just better, just because' and often times we simply weren't aware of the shortcomings back then, or have a distorted view looking back so when we dig in with twenty years of progress and life experience, we see the gaps easily enough. But they were always there. If the current you was there twenty years ago.youd say and see the same.It's not 'the thing' that has necessarily changed, it's you.


Not gw related, but the recent-ish streets of rage 4 game combo-ed its way through every single one of my nostalgia fibres and suckered punched my heart in the most wonderful way possible. Loved the original games and sor2 is one of my all time favourites.

Some other remakes, like beauty and the beast were excellent, I loved the lion King remake but aladdin was terrible.

Sometimes things dont translate well twenty years later.

On gw, never played the original necromunda but it was always a thing I wanted. New gane - love the models enjoyed the game but recently played slightly modded version of the original game and we won't be going back to newcromunda for the rules, thanks.

Well, define Nostalgia.

Necromunda is a game I adore, and I’ve spent a lot of money on. And there’s nothing at all stopping me using the New Models with the Old Rules.

Did I spend all that money just because of Rose Tinteds? Absolutely not. I spent it because I love Necromunda, and the kits being put out are absolutely top notch.

For Nostalgia, I collect vintage toys. Not MISB, but second hand, played with. They serve no purpose beyond looking cool, and sparking memories of a pretty happy childhood.

I am a pretty big Specialist Games fan boy. I have not even bothered picking up any of the new games. They all were changed, and mostly in a way I was not expecting or interested in. Therefore, no new purchases from me on that front.

Now, I frequently see things that excite my nostalgia, but I resist them as they do not fit into my "plans". Things like Heroquest, Legion, Dr. Who, GI Joe RPG, etc. One of my big regrets was letting Robotech RPG Tactics get to me. At least I waited until retail BUT it taught me a lot about the error of nostalgia buying.

 Easy E wrote:
One of my big regrets was letting Robotech RPG Tactics get to me. At least I waited until retail BUT it taught me a lot about the error of nostalgia buying.

That one (at retail) was a purchase of economical practicality for me.
Robotech/Macross/etc as a series? Ive always been able to take or leave these.
But that game? Such an affordable way for us to put those mechs back onto our Battletech tables.

Genestealer cults and Harlequins were a hit for me

The Votan aren't pressing the nostalgia button for me as they are too visually different (but i'll pick some of them up, I don't like the whole range)

but generally stuff like RPGs and Boardgames why would i want to get a new version of something i love, when you can hunt down the old one... If there was something about the original that bugged me enough to want to upgrade/alter it i'm not likely to be nostalgic about it

It hasn't hit yet (nostalgia gaming).

Today's nostalgia isn't as great as the older stuff was ...

The closest it got was me getting back into battletech (which I used to play, from 1987 to 1992 or so). I've needed an "other" game since WHFB bit the big one (I've usually had two game systems on the go at a time). It's a small "investment" though. The record sheets are free downloads. It uses standard d6 and the rules haven't changed much from what I remember.

Some guys in my club went big into the BT KS - I just bought a couple of boxes of mechs. I was never into macross - Dougram and Crusher Joe were more my bag, and the Wolvie, Griffin, Battlemaster, Shadowhawk and T-bolt were mechs I preferred to the stuff purloined from macross.

Like Overread said, it depends.

Sometimes nostalgia might bring something great. Sometimes it brings utter drek that is a disgrace to the original.

And the same franchise can bring both over time. Consider Alien, Predator, Terminator, even Star Wars. Some good, some great, some okay... and some awful.

No way to tell until you get it.

1. Necromunda 2018:
Played a couple of games (4-6). Built a desert board designated for Ash Wastes this year. Played a single game in that environment.

2. GSC:
Bought the first codex and a couple of minis (patrol box) as well as the boardgame (GSC vs. Deathwatch) for a painting project. Most of the models are still in sprues apart from half a dozen Deathwatch marines.

3. HH 2.0:
Oh boy, this release made me work on my pile of shame like I haven´t done for years. I guess about eighty models or more (both minis and terrain tiles) have already been painted this year. Although only 12 models designated for HH 2.0 have been completed. I need to clear first my complete 40K SM backlog until work on HH 2.0 resumes.

As a boardgamer, I didn't grow up on GW miniature games (still have many of their 80's games), so nostalgia has been childhood games that didn't have good rules. So today's revival of boardgames with better components also means higher prices and either the same rules which don't fit an adult hobbyist, or a new ruleset that may or may not be any good. HeroQuest, Fireball Island, and Dark Tower come to mind, but I'm sure there are others. We have the same problem with the IP button. Some are good, but many don't live up to our expectations.

The advantage of a public-domain or generic genre is that you have many companies competing or filling game mechanic or theme niches, rather than whoever pays the licensing fee.

Had a lot of good experiences recently with blasts from the past.

Having played the latest mechwarrior game I picked up some battletech minis. The current plastics from catalyst are 100% better than the few metal models I had back in the 90's. The alpha strike rules set is also a big improvement.

Adeptus Titanicus, best ruleset GW have put out in ages and the models are works of art.

Lotr, not sure this really counts, because its just the same game and models from 20 years ago. But they hold up well, and theres been some new plastics release recently.

Battletechis an interesting example. I'm not a fan of the original system, but if the rules are to your liking, then the game holds up today, and the plastic Battlemechs are some of the most affordable and best looking minis the game has ever had.

Maybe not technically a new nostalgia gift, since roughly the same game has been in production for 35 years, but If BT was an early love of yours, you could come back to it and find everything you liked about the game in as good or better shape. Plus there's the benefit of nearly every supplement and figure you can find in your attic still being entirely useable today.

The other product that some folks have mentioned but I didn't was Heroquest. I didn't have it as a kid but it did conjure up the feeling of playing similar fantasy games when young, so it felt like nostalgia. I went in on the Mythic Tier and opening the box have me the feeling of opening Battlemasters and the game itself did not disappoint. My family loves it and I'd even bring it out to play with the right group of adults. Definitely a good Nostalgia hit in my estimation.