Fun-Filled ‘80s Entertainment That We Still Relish Today

Of the ten momentous - and often highly turbulent - decades that made up the 20th century, the ‘80s seem to elicit the most nostalgia by far. Offering a heady combination of voluminous hair, fierce fashion, iconic chart-toppers, and new and exciting technology, the ‘80s was a period of glorious excesses, break-throughs, and kitsch. Despite the various global and national challenges faced during those times, in comparison to today’s difficulties, perhaps it’s easy to see why we yearn to revisit the color and positivity that seemed to characterize those ten years.

 

Fortunately, the decade that remains so enchanting and evokes such wistful responses is still with us in a number of enjoyable ways. That’s right – some of the most popular and genre-defining entertainments from the ‘80s remain easily accessible to us today. In some cases, are still savored by millions of eager fans.

Keen to find out what they are? Let’s dive right in and rediscover the ‘80s delights that remain very much in vogue in 2023!

Iconic Music Videos And Nostalgic Artists

MTV was unveiled in 1981, simultaneously revolutionizing the music industry and transforming the way that fans could listen to and appreciate their favorite artists. It may come as no surprise, then, that the ‘80s is responsible for some truly iconic videos made by artists that we still love to experience today. In some cases, helped by the memory-boosting magic of shows like Stranger Things.

Videos such as Queen’s ‘I Want To Break Free’, the Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)’ and Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ broke new ground and addressed complex issues with verve and style. Meanwhile, Kate Bush forged her own path, with unique videos that put her interpretive dance skills to poignant use, as many young fans have been discovering in the wake of her Stranger Things-prompted renaissance.

As for the bands that made it big in the ‘80s, there are still quite a few ‘oldies but goodies’ that are still selling out stadiums and attracting massive crowds – from the likes of Metallica (another Stranger Things band) to Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, and the notorious Guns N’ Roses.

Slot Machines And Casino Games Still Promise High-Stakes Thrills

Arcade games and slot machines were hugely popular in the ‘80s, providing weekend entertainment for kids of all ages. While these days arcades may have devolved into a somewhat trite fixture of seaside resorts, slot machines are still in massive demand – except, of course, they are now very often played online.

Cutting-edge casino sites such as PlayLive allow people to play all kinds of adrenaline-pumping top rated casino games, from Fortune Mouse and Monopoly Live to video bingo and live dealer games that give you an authentic casino experience without having to leave the house. These virtual casino entertainments are a prime example of a popular form of ‘80s fun that has only gotten better with age – and a healthy helping of innovation, of course.

‘80s Toys That Stood The Test Of Time

Few household items can prompt an upswell of nostalgia as quickly and powerfully as favored childhood toys, and the ‘80s were a decade particularly rich in assorted treasures made of plastic, felt, glitter and wool. These days, our offspring may be glued to glowing screens of varying sizes, but in the ’80s kids were busy playing for hours with their collection of dolls, board games, huggable teddies, and posable action figures. So iconic and beloved were many of these toys that quite a few of them remain popular with kids today (although they may have undergone a few cosmetic changes over the past 40 years or so).

As a result, if you’re keen to relive your childhood vicariously, you can purchase your precious moppets some familiar figures from your younger years. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still fighting crime as ardently as they were four decades ago; Micro Machines can still be trundled across the living room carpet; Pound Pups offer all the delight of a dog with none of the accidents; and My Little Ponies are more popular than ever, despite looking rather different to their original incarnations.

‘80s Handheld Phones Are Still In Style

As you may know, the 1980s was a pivotal period for telephonic communication, as Motorola released the very first handheld mobile phone in 1983 – the ground-breaking DynaTAC 8000x. This rather clunky-looking innovation quickly became a status object for ‘80s businessmen and the wealthy alike, and over the years Motorola continued to refine the design, so that it would both look and perform better.

By the time 1989 dawned, they were ready to release a new mobile wonder: the world’s first flip phone. The MicroTAC was a pocket-sized piece of ingenious innovation that allowed people to communicate with ease, and stow their miniature technological marvel securely in their pocket or purse when they were done.

Fast forward several decades, and we’re all familiar with the gigantic leaps that mobile phones have made in the interim period. These days, they are so much sleeker, glossier, and more functional – more like a handheld laptop than a phone. Still, there’s no denying the incredible achievement that Motorola made in the ‘80s; an achievement that means that, in 2023, there are now approximately 6.8 billion smartphone users across the globe. Now that’s a successful invention!

‘80s Video Games That Never Left Our Computer Screens

When it comes to the world of video games, there’s no denying the stratospheric progress that has been made between the ‘80s and today – not only in terms of the games themselves, but the equipment we use to play them on. That being said, while the ‘80s classics may not be able to compete in terms of graphics, plot lines or complexity, in some ways, they still reign supreme.

For example, Tetris, which was created by Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, became a huge hit and remains popular in 2023. In fact, it’s so addictive that it has a psychological condition named after it: the Tetris Effect, which caused dedicated players to see Tetris-like patterns in the world around them, and even in their dreams. Funnily enough, the mental effects of Tetris have also been found to be psychologically beneficial for a range of issues, including helping to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD, and can even reduce cravings for drugs and alcohol. These mental and emotional benefits arguably make Tetris one of the most valuable forms of entertainment that we still enjoy from the ‘80s.