5 Best Blizzard Games Everyone Forgot

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Blizzard is a highly respected game developer with a long track record of popular titles, including the beloved Diablo, Starcraft, and Warcraft series. While recent issues have somewhat affected its reputation, players have consistently been excited about and invested in Blizzard’s games for decades, enthusiastically buying content like skins for Overwatch. Despite its overall success, Blizzard also has a few lesser-known games, particularly from its earlier years.

Here are five great Blizzard games that have slipped under the radar for many players – either they’ve been forgotten, or people simply never got around to trying them.

5) The Death and Return of Superman

Before becoming known as Blizzard Entertainment, the company was called Silicon & Synapse. The Death and Return of Superman was their first game released under the new ‘Blizzard’ name. They adapted the popular comic book storyline ‘The Death of Superman’ for publisher Sunsoft to create the game.

This game is a fairly typical fighting game that received average reviews. However, it looked impressive when it was released, particularly on the Super Nintendo. A fun feature is the ability to play as five different versions of Superman. Shortly after, Blizzard released Justice League Task Force, marking the end of this developer’s involvement with DC Comics-based games.

4) Rock n’ Roll Racing

So, Blizzard—back when they were called Silicon & Synapse—made this racing game for the SNES called RPM Racing. It was okay, but honestly, Rock n’ Roll Racing is where they really nailed it. What made RnR Racing so cool was that they actually used real, licensed rock music in the game, which was a huge deal back then!

You won’t believe this, but Racer and Rider was actually going to be a direct continuation of RPM Racing! Then Interplay stepped in and decided to add a bunch of real-world tracks and give it a new name. But the best part? You get to race while rocking out to classic bands like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple – it’s awesome!

Luckily, you can still enjoy Rock n’ Roll Racing (along with some other games mentioned here) thanks to the Blizzard Arcade Collection, released in 2021. This collection features updated voice acting and even new music from bands like Judas Priest and Rush.

3) The Lost Vikings

You can still enjoy The Lost Vikings today thanks to the Blizzard Arcade Collection, making it accessible even if you didn’t play it when it first came out in 1993. Originally released for the SNES – a favorite platform for Blizzard in the beginning – the puzzle-platformer was later brought to other systems as well.

Blizzard’s puzzle game stands out with its unique look and clever humor. The company is well-known for this approach, and this game is a particularly good example of how they first started adding lighthearted moments to their titles.

Let’s be clear: The Lost Vikings remains a challenging puzzle game that will really make you think. Blizzard even used the Vikings as unofficial mascots for a while, featuring them in games like Rock n’ Roll Racing and World of Warcraft. However, the sequel, The Lost Vikings 2, wasn’t as good as the first game – it was still enjoyable, but it lost some of its original appeal.

2) Blackthorne

Just look at the game’s cover – you’d be hard-pressed to find a more distinctly ’90s aesthetic! That makes sense though, given that it was illustrated by Jim Lee, famous for his incredible work on The Uncanny X-Men in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

I recently played Blackthorne and it’s seriously cool! It’s a really atmospheric platformer, but it mixes things up with some cover-based shooting too. You play as Kyle “Blackthorne” Vlaros, and you basically blast your way through tons of aliens using a shotgun across 17 different levels. It’s a lot of fun!

When it first came out, Blackthorne stood out from other platformers with its darker tone and emphasis on both action and puzzles. This focus on puzzles makes sense, as Blizzard had recently released The Lost Vikings and carried that puzzle-solving element over. If you’re interested in playing it, Blackthorne is available as part of the Blizzard Arcade Collection.

1) Heroes of the Storm

So, before I jumped into Heroes of the Storm, I realized Blizzard kind of dropped the ball with MOBAs. You see, before League of Legends, Dota 2, or whatever MOBA you’re into, there was this insanely popular map in Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos called Defense of the Ancients. It was huge! Blizzard really could have brought the people who made DotA onto their team and built a proper MOBA themselves, but they didn’t.

Then, League of Legends from Riot Games arrived and quickly became the most popular game in the genre. When Valve released Dota 2, it also became hugely successful, making it even more challenging for Blizzard to gain a foothold in a genre it essentially pioneered.

Blizzard entered the competitive arena of team-based strategy games in 2015 with Heroes of the Storm. To stand out from popular titles like League of Legends and Dota 2, the game featured different maps for each match and emphasized large team battles rather than individual character progression. This approach was successful in some ways, creating a loyal professional esports community and even leading to a college tournament broadcast on ESPN.

Things took a turn for the worse in 2018. Blizzard’s president, J. Allen Brack, revealed that developers were shifting to different projects, and all major esports competitions were called off. This was particularly upsetting because professional players had been told, just weeks earlier, that the league would go on. It was a disappointing conclusion for such a beloved game. While HOTS is still playable and has a dedicated community, it’s a pity Blizzard didn’t start supporting it sooner and then abandoned it too quickly.

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2025-12-05 01:13