You could argue that there are few sports games from the '80s which still hold up today; the relentless march of technology has resulted in a flood of yearly updates to core franchises, each taking the player a step closer to experiencing the 'real thing' in video game form.
However, there are a few examples that have stood the test of time or are at least still worth a look today – and one of them turned 35 years old at the weekend.
Nintendo's Ice Hockey (known as Aisu Hokkē in Japan) launched on January 21st, 1988, on the Famicom Disc System, before being released in the west on the NES in March (North America) and April (Europe) of the same year.
While many other digital representations of the sport have come and gone since then, this title – which was directed by Hideki Konno and produced by Masayuki Uemura and Shigeru Miyamoto – really stands up. It's still fun to play even by modern standards and does a surprisingly good job of replicating the thrill of its real-life counterpart.
With two players, it's an absolute riot to play, and while we wouldn't for a second try to claim that it's the best hockey sim out there, it's still worth a look if you're looking for a post-pub game with simple controls but a surprising amount of depth.
If you fancy checking it out, then it's part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.