The Game Informer archive just got upgraded with its entire backlog, so go experience the eye-melting world of '90s game advertising

A man with his eyes forcibly held open by sticks proclaims he must bust or else he's dust in advertisement for a game called 'Bust-A-Move'. — (Image credit: Akklaim (via Game Informer))

It was a heavy loss in games journalism when Game Informer got kicked to the curb last fall, but it got over its own death pretty quickly when game dev and blockchain company Gunzilla financed its resurrection in March. A few projects were announced back then, including a return to print—but if you want to reminisce about the days when Game Informer was hot off the presses, its archive just got updated with its entire backlog of physical issues.

It's free to view if you sign up for an account on the site, and goes all the way back to 1991. A blog post announcing the additions from editor-in-chief Matt Miller said: "In the coming months, we plan to surface specific legacy articles we believe are worth exploring. In the meantime, enjoy this new level of free access to the rich history of gaming we’ve covered over the last 34 years."

The post notes it took some help from the Video Game History Foundation, Retromags, and one dedicated fan in particular: bogusfrank, "whose efforts to track down issues and preserve gaming magazine history now help us access our own company’s history and share it with all of you." I doubt fans would have let these issues truly go lost, but having them on display in this free and accessible format is the best case scenario.

A man proclaims he must bust or else he's dust in an ad for Bust A-Move 2: Arcade Edition. — **They really knew how to do videogame ads in the '90s.** (Image credit: Akklaim (via Game Informer))

There's also lots of valuable history and a rare sense of exhaustive preservation in the archive, so that's fun too I guess. Check it out here and feast your eyes.

Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. Any day now...

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