google says gemini 3 can do a lot of things, and I don’t doubt it for a second, but my interest in modern AI models was minimal at best. Frankly, my biggest interest in the latest version of Gemini is what it’s good for. notebook LMmy favorite AI tools.
But when my editor told me he had vibe-coded a remake of Minesweeper, my gears spun and eventually went off the rails. I already had some experience, but Vibe coding with Gemini And while I walked away happy with the results, the project itself was more of a proof of concept than a practical, genuine interest. Throw games into the mix, especially old games from childhood, and things change.
I decided to try out Gemini’s vibecoding abilities. We couldn’t have had a more enjoyable time. I didn’t expect a gold medal and that’s not what I received. But it was enough to satisfy my retro gaming cravings. Best of all, everything spewed out was playable within your web browser. From reworked chip challenges to 8-bit tongba! The very basic 3D concept of the first Silent Hill game may be the most fun I’ve ever had with AI. And I’ve only just scratched the surface.
Below, I’ll detail what I did, including how easy it was to code and edit just by chatting with Gemini.
Gemini 3 feels more capable and thorough
Talking to a Gemini 3 feels different than usual. Chatbots seem to be more context-aware and can address specific issues that may arise as follow-up questions from the beginning. Previous versions of Gemini allowed you to do this, but Gemini 3 seems to be more thorough in its response. That’s only if you have regular conversations about a particular subject. For my experiments, Gemini not only explained the technical stuff (which was off the top of my head), but also broke it down into easy to understand parts as they created the game for me.
For example, in the middle of some testing, I asked if one of these games could be packaged into the Android Package Kit file format and sideloaded onto my phone. Gemini told me it couldn’t be done, but asked if I wanted some steps on how to do it, and I said yes. After I generated the game I requested, I created a separate document with step-by-step instructions for converting the provided HTML file into an APK using various tools. I could go no further. I still felt like this was the Gemini I’d never talked about before.
The price of nostalgia
If you’ve ever visited a retro gaming store hoping to relive old video games from the past, you’re faced with an unsettling reality. Old games can be incredibly expensive. After visiting several stores looking for the original Silent Hill title, I discovered that I would have to pay close to $500 just to buy two copies. However, that is if you are lucky enough to have it in stock. And if you don’t have a console to play them, expect to pay even more, or be okay with the titles becoming part of your collection.
Trying to capture the joy of your younger self’s past comes at a price, and for many it will be out of reach. This is where AI could help preserve these games, or at least the memory of them. As these games get older, they become harder to find and more expensive. There’s a reason why Gemini and other LLMs are great at remaking old games. They are trained on vast amounts of text and code, which almost certainly includes the source code for these games.
For testing purposes, I intentionally asked Gemini to create a “demake” of an older game. So it’s a stripped down, simplified version that is essentially a playable proof of concept.
Gemini recreated my childhood with some “demakes”
Once Gemini knew exactly what it was capable of, the game was on. I immediately took advantage of the classic games that came pre-installed with Windows. Most of the time, the end result of just one pass was short and playable, but the AI needed more instructions to create something of value to everyone. Nevertheless, I was impressed with much of Gemini’s first draft and knew it would only get better with refinement.
chip challenge
Gemini captured the essence of Chip’s Challenge with an old-school demake on its first try.
One game that hasn’t received the remake treatment on the App Store or Google Play is Chip’s Challenge. If you’re a Windows 3.1 user, you probably know this game, even if you think you don’t.
Run around to get the key to the next level, avoid enemies and that’s it. Gemini created something reminiscent of this game on their first try, and I’m pretty confident they could completely remake it with enough guidance.
jez ball
Although there were some missing elements, our first attempt at Gemini 3 gave us a working Jezzball game. That’s all I wanted.
Jezzball is the perfect time-killer and is still as fun today as it was decades ago. Build walls with lines and try to occupy at least 75% of the space to avoid being hit by balls constantly bouncing inside the space.
8 bit tonba!
Gemini challenges Tomba for the first time! I realized that my retro video game dreams were reaching their limit.
One of my all-time favorite PlayStation 1 games is Tomba! I first played the first level on the original PlayStation demo collection disc and was hooked. I imitated Tongba! After years of playing on phones and tablets, a remake (officially called the Special Edition) was released in 2024 and is now available on PC, PS5, and Switch. In Tomba!, you play the titular pink-haired hero on a journey to save the world from evil pigs.
Gemini channeled the essence of Tomba in a whopping 8-bit version. This will be my first attempt. It was very stripped down, but the level names, Tonba abilities, and small collectibles were all there.
silent hill
As a huge fan of Silent Hill, I was impressed with both how Gemini approached the creation of this game and the overall outcome.
Gemini has given me so many fun and simple remakes that I wanted to try more. I asked for the first remake. silent hill — essentially. I wasn’t expecting a full-fledged game, but I was hoping for something better than anything ever made, and this time in 3D.
Gemini understood the challenge and said to me: silent hill In justice, we can’t just make games. you need to create atmosphere. ”
Gemini seemed to have created the game in three iterations and divided it into stages. First of all, the atmosphere. The demake redirects the original by adding a layer of fog to intentionally create a barrier to what is visible in front of it. The technical limitations of the original Silent Hill still have great effect today. Add in some falling snow and some structures resembling buildings and trees and you’ve got a good start to this nature remake.
Then came a more important aspect of the Silent Hill series. Enemies fight by brandishing static-charged radios and iron pipes. Gemini had already queued this up but wanted to check with me to make sure this is what I wanted. And I couldn’t agree more. The only part of this that needed adjusting was the enemies. In the first run, it was just a chunk of cubes, bearing little resemblance to anything as intimidating as swinging a pipe. Gemini resembled something much less scary compared to the original game, but I tweaked it to look a little more like a creature.
Then the final touches were made. Silent Hill wouldn’t be the series it is without music, and Gemini knew that. Two audio files have been created. One is a low frequency called “drone” and the other is a high frequency called “scrape.” The music is disturbing enough to make you a little nervous. Another typical part of this series are the puzzles, but Gemini doesn’t overcomplicate them here, just throwing in keys that you can find as you walk.
Finally, to “another world”. Gemini made this a manual option that turns fog red and walls rust. All with sirens blaring in the background.
Here’s how (and why you should) try this for yourself.
If you want Gemini to recreate an old video game, or any kind of game (I had it create a touch version of Hungry Hungry Hippos), you’ll need to make sure the settings are configured correctly.
Check the model you are using next to the Speak to Gemini text field. You can choose between the “Fast” and “Thinking” models, but we recommend choosing the latter if you are creating a game. The “Thinking” model (Gemini 3) provides more detailed information and digs deeper into creating everything you desire. The faster model Gemini 2.5 Flash takes less time for this task.
When you ask Gemini to create a game that you can play on your phone or in a web browser, you’re probably asking the AI to provide you with an HTML file.
I also tried ChatGPT
In an incredibly unfair test I asked Chat GPT (Free version) Let’s recreate Tonba! 8-bit quickly offered simple games that were crude but playable. It lacked the style of game, ability to use weapons, etc. that Gemini had succeeded in on the first try.
When I asked ChatGPT to make my levels and characters look better, the images were generated instead of updating the code. After fixing it with my intentions, work began on updating the style and colors of the game. This version was better in terms of style, but it lacked the sophistication that Gemini added when asking the exact same question in its second iteration. I would like to know how well the latest ChatGPT model performs on this test.
