💠 The 9 best Commodore 64 games

This is our pick of the Commodore 64 essentials: the games that have aged best and are worth coming back to the console for. For each one we explain what makes it special, with a couple of tips, and every one of them plays right now in your browser — no downloads, with keyboard, gamepad or touch controls.

#1Bruce Lee
1984 · Action
Bruce Lee blends platforming and fighting across a fortress of around twenty rooms. Progress comes from collecting the lanterns hanging in each screen, which opens new passages, while you dodge traps and fend off a stick-wielding ninja and Yamo, a green sumo wrestler, who keep getting back up after every knockdown. Punches, flying kicks, ducking and climbing vines make up the whole move set, and that is enough to turn each room into a small puzzle of timing. It is remembered for its nimble controls, its East Asian setting and a two-player mode where the second player can take control of Yamo.
Tip: Focus on the lanterns: enemies respawn endlessly, so extra fighting only costs you time and lives.
▶ Play Bruce Lee
#2Commando
1985 · Run & Gun
Commando is a run-and-gun shooter in which you guide a lone soldier on foot through enemy territory. Seen from above, the screen scrolls as you push forward while waves of troops pour in from the front and sides, firing constantly. The rhythm is simple yet demanding: move, aim and dodge all at once, cutting a path through without lingering in one spot for too long. This Commodore 64 version keeps that eighties arcade tension, where every short attempt teaches you a little more about where danger comes from and how to last a bit longer.
Tip: Keep moving: stepping diagonally helps you slip past bullets while you keep shooting.
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#3Creatures
1990 · Platformer
Creatures is a platformer starring Clyde Radcliffe, a fuzzy fire-breathing creature out to rescue his friends, the Fuzzy Wuzzies, from a band of demons. You work through side-scrolling stages packed with enemies and hazards, and each area ends in a torture screen: a timed puzzle where you have to figure out how to free a friend from a grisly contraption. The pairing of dark humour with bright, cheerful art, plus detailed animation and careful polish, is why the Rowlands brothers' game is still remembered as one of the slickest on the C64.
Tip: On torture screens, study the contraption before acting; almost every object in the scene has a purpose.
▶ Play Creatures
#4Ghostbusters
1984 · Action
Based on the film, this Activision game designed by David Crane blends action with a bit of business management. You start with a bank loan, pick a car and gear, then move around a city map looking for buildings flashing with paranormal activity. Once there, you position two Ghostbusters, lay down a trap and steer the beams to herd the ghost into it, earning cash for each catch. Meanwhile the city's psychokinetic energy keeps rising and the Marshmallow Man threatens to stomp buildings. Ghostbusters is remembered for its theme song with digitized speech and for making you balance the books before facing Zuul.
Tip: Don't blow the whole loan at the start: a modest car and the essentials will do, and you must end with more money than you borrowed.
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#5Impossible Mission
1984 · Platformer
As a secret agent inside Professor Elvin Atombender's underground stronghold, you have six hours to stop him. You ride elevators between rooms, somersault across platforms and search furniture for puzzle pieces while avoiding robots that each behave a little differently. Every death costs you time, so the pressure keeps building. Pieces you find are assembled on a pocket computer into the password that opens the final room. Designed by Dennis Caswell for Epyx, Impossible Mission is remembered for its smooth animation, its digitized voice inviting you to stay forever, and a layout that reshuffles every game.
Tip: Watch each robot for a few seconds before stepping into a room; many follow patterns you can exploit.
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#6International Karate
1986 · Fighting
International Karate is a one-on-one karate bout where the winner isn't whoever lands the most blows but whoever lands the cleanest. A referee halts the action after every hit and awards a half or full point, and two full points take the round. The joystick and fire button give you a wide set of kicks, punches, sweeps and jumps, and everything comes down to spacing and timing. Fights move through backdrops from around the world, bonus rounds break up the matches, and two players can face off. It is remembered for its smooth animation, Rob Hubbard's music, and for leading to IK+.
Tip: Keep your distance and wait for the opponent to whiff; one clean counter scores more reliably than a flurry of rushed attacks.
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#7The Last Ninja
1987 · Action
The Last Ninja is an isometric action adventure from System 3 in which you guide Armakuni, the last survivor of a ninja order, on his way to confront the shogun Kunitoki. You move through gardens, dungeons and palace halls, fighting hand to hand, picking up weapons and items, and using them to get past obstacles and small puzzles. Fights reward timing, but the real challenge is lining up jumps and precise moves on a diagonal playfield. It is remembered for detailed backdrops that stood out on the Commodore 64 and for a soundtrack many players can still hum.
Tip: Before jumping across stones or ledges, line yourself up carefully and slowly; one misjudged step usually costs a life.
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#8Uridium
1986 · Shoot'em up
You fly a Manta fighter skimming low over vast space dreadnoughts as the playfield scrolls sideways at speed. You can loop around to reverse direction, brake, accelerate and tilt on your side to slip between towers and aerials, all while waves of enemy fighters swoop in. Once a dreadnought is left defenceless, you touch down on its runway for a quick reflex bonus round before heading to the next one. Designed by Andrew Braybrook and published by Hewson, Uridium is remembered for its silky scrolling, gleaming metallic graphics and a rush of speed that rewards memory and steady nerves.
Tip: Don't fly flat out all the time; slowing down gives you room to spot tall structures and steer around them.
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#9Wizball
1987 · Shoot'em up
Wizball, made by Sensible Software, casts you as a wizard sealed inside a green ball that bounces relentlessly. The world has been drained of colour, and your job is to bring it back: you shoot waves of enemies, gather the paint droplets they release with help from a floating cat, and fill a cauldron until it matches the shades each level demands. At first the ball barely responds, so earning control through power-ups is part of the challenge. It is remembered for that odd, charming premise, its stiff difficulty, and Martin Galway's soundtrack, one of the most cherished on the C64.
Tip: Spend your first pearls on better control of the ball; without it, the bouncing will slam you into everything.
▶ Play Wizball