Mr_Horizon from ResetERA---and a bunch of other forums---organizes a monthly retro screenshot guessing charade since 2017. I haven't given these the attention they deserve, so it seemed like a good idea to put them in the spotlight. There's even a Sound FX quiz twice a year or so! The attention to detail is astonishing. Thanks, Mr_Horizon!

If you'd like to chime in, you can submit your monthly quiz at http://www.retrogamequiz.com/. Sadly though, it's a redirect to the current Google Forms submission page. A proper overview of past quizzes doesn't technically exist, although one could simply browse the threads in the participating forums (last time I counted, the author cross-posts to over 20 forums!). As I type this, there's a "best and worst off" meta-quiz going on, so I hope it will continue its reign well into 2022.

The November 2021 quiz was themed Metroidvania. As a fanboy, I thought I could easily handle it. Yeah. It seems that there's a big difference between guessing and correctly guessing. Here is the quiz picture:

Looks simple enough, right? Samus, Soma, ... Uhh, what's the third one? Oh man! Give it another look (and thought).

Below are all twenty-five answers:

1. Metroid Dread.
2. Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow.
3. Axiom Verge 2
4. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
5. Grime
6. Alwa's Legacy
7. Shadow Complex Remastered
8. The Mummy: Demastered
9. Xeodrifter
10. Aliens Infestation.
11. Touhou Luna Nights
12. Insanely Twisted Shadowplanet
13. Ori and the Blind Forest
14. Blasphemous
15. Yokus Island Express
16. Cave Story
17. Dandara
18. Death's Gambit Afterlife
19. Sacred Armour of Antiriad
20. Headlander
21. The Swapper
22. Brain Breaker.
23. Pharaoh Rebirth
24. Super Daryl Deluxe
25. Super Space Adventure

Last month indeed resembled a typical game meme grid, except this time you have to guess its content based on only a portion of a screenshot instead of the whole box art. Sometimes, the quiz is a fake screenshot consisting of assets of multiple games, such as the one below where The Duke's shotgun appears to blast a Stormtrooper, a Rise of the Triad eye is flying by, a dead imp from DOOM decorates the floor, and the stat bar is taken from Shadow Warrior. Cool! What else can you spot?

Most past quizzes are still online, so in case you're bored, taking a peek is highly recommended. Stay tuned for the December one. Thanks again Mr_Horizon, we nerds do love our retro gaming quizzes!