LGR - Best Classic PC Game Cover Art

Taking a look at my absolute favorite cover illustrations from retro PC games! I miss big computer game boxes. Such excellent artwork that made you wanna spend money.
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• Ed Harrison - Mechanis...

[@DiminishingAugmentation]

The artwork for Transarctica was originally painted for the NWOBHM band Diamond Head for their compilation album "Am I Evil" Hence the title "Heavy Metal Hero".

[@Bisonblast]

Concerning the guy in the back of the Doom cover: I always liked to think that the cover was done, then Romero was like "yo, Don, mindblowing artwork but only one guy? the game has multiplayer! the cover needs to say that!". Then Punchatz was like "oh shit!" and added that small dude who is also like "oh shit! I'm late!", barely making the deadline.

[@Plagues138]

The "other guy" on the doom box art is actually the guy you play in doom, since your team was all killed. Mind blown.

[@LGR]

Plagues138 That'd make sense! Also plenty of people saying it could represent co-op gameplay.

[@override7486]

@It's Because They all marines. All in the same suit. So both can be a doomsguy.

[@PedroSilvahf]

@@LGR and now we know that we play as the front guy. In doom eternal we can see scars in the left arm from the demon who grabbed him

[@eric20ike]

Wow, that Wasteland cover is stunning! That's by far my favorite from your list.

[@indeimaus]

Holy shit, The Dagger of Amon Ra, I remember watching this game be played when I was a kid. I could never find it again, many google searches of 'Egyptian point and clicks' but I couldn't find it, but here it is - I remember that scene with the dead dude in the sarcophagus very vividly for some reason. Thanks for helping me remember that one!

[@rerez]

I really love these box art designs!

[@SlaMaster]

they're something special!

[@mileskilo5897]

Something cool to notice about BLOOD's cover: Look at the blood at the very bottom of the hand trickling down, now look at the ShareWare cover. The ShareWare blood is the blood trickling down the hand of the actual game. It kind of supports that symbolism, pretty cool!

[@ClonesDream]

illuminaspoopy skelington confirmed

[@aguynamedbprod]

That is by far the best Elder Scrolls cover art ever.

[@Nov-5062]

BattleSpire

[@RCAvhstape]

Old Atari 2600 games had some kickass cover art, even if the games weren't always so hot.

[@RarefoilB]

The cartridge cover for Asteroids made me think the game looked like that. I was a LITTLE letdown and surprised when my Dad's old VCS became operational and I saw it in action. Anyway, that cover is awesome, and I would love to play an Asteroids game that looked like that.

[@evgenius123_]

compensation)

[@viciousservant5151]

I've heard that some copies of Another World came with an actual poster of the good art. Love how Eric painted it himself.

[@MetalJesusRocks]

Very cool video! I should do something like this too..as I would have my own choices because there are just so many great ones.

[@LGR]

MetalJesusRocks I'd love to see it!

[@ryanamberger]

Me too!!! I'm a subscriber/viewer and I need attention really bad!!!!!!! AHHHHH!!! Talking to youtubers!!!!!

[@itsaPIXELthing]

Yeah, Metal Jesus! That would be awesome ;) Big box PC games are really special to me. I'm, slowly, trying to collect them, but they are so hard to find here in Portugal :( Regards!

[@pendeyo]

yeah dudes! that would be awesome!

[@itsaPIXELthing]

***** Yeah.. unfortunately :(

[@Fattyrat]

As an aspiring game concept artist / illustrator I found this video incredibly interesting, inspiring, and cool. If you find any more in your collection I'd love to see this turn into a series. :)

[@interghost]

Some great choices and you got to love how they put real effort into the boxes back in the day. these days it normally just a scene out of the game or a close up of the main character... thanks for sharing them ;)

[@drake8050]

Ultima VI features a holy warrior bathed in light, dressed head to toe in white armor, his foot pressed into the chest of a fallen demon who's screaming in rage. That’s great by itself, but it gets even better when you learn the context.

[@RyuRanXII]

It's one of my favorites too!

[@DeinonychusCowboy]

Shoutout to Kings Quest 4, I loved looking at that box art when I was a kid. Doubly appreciate now how it presents Rosella as both a princess way out of her depth and a badass action girl without going too far in either direction.

[@Artican]

Oh definitely more, please! I adore great cover art for all sorts of things, and the original artwork for these covers is fantastic! They catch the eye and demand a second look, which is what they are supposed to do. I would love seeing you add this to your lineup of series, since there is so much art to appreciate.

[@-XD]

Please make more of these videos!

[@LGR]

Greg James If this goes over well then I will!

[@CybeargPlays]

I was always fond of the Thief 1/2 box. Sweet box art, plus a unique shape to the box.

[@Yusuke_Denton]

I love the laid back and relaxed style of this and your recent oddware video.

[@Jorendo]

I miss the boxes :( They look so much better and unboxing them always felt special. The dvd cases of today are just boring. Even walking trough a game store isn't special anymore. All looks pretty much the same. Way to plastic as well. But I'm probably just old. As kid i could stand for hours at the game section in the toystore. Just looking at boxes. With the lack of internet and not having a subscription to a game magazine i bought games mostly based on the box art. It's what drawn me in. Loved the one from Tribes. Had this huge box with awesome art. Sadly we had no internet at home at that time so i bought a game i wasn't able to play, but my god what a awesome box that was!

[@-taz-]

Yeah going to a computer / software store used to be magical. The people who worked there were actually normal humans even. Now wherever you go it's like walmart and nobody who works there even speaks English let alone knows anything about anything.

[@AFnord]

I agree with you that the old boxes looked better, but to be honest, I would not want to go back to the big boxes. As someone who don't have a very large apartment, I had to throw out plenty of big boxes due lack of space :( I've only been able to save the best and/or most valuable game boxes.

[@sergeantpanther678]

It Is not just you,I am 14 years old and I love Big boxes and walking through a videogamestore is just not as special as it used to be and even good games of today got the most boring Covers I have ever seen and I Miss handdrawn coverart,and I miss Games without Microtransactions.

[@WickedMuis]

Ever since I was able to buy my own games I've been a sucker for the box art. That was one of the reasons of BUYING it: just admiring the big box and the artwork on it, on the manual, sometimes designers even had eye for the inside of the box. When they moved away from big boxes in the early 2000s it felt .. 'meh'. I'm still a bit of a sucker for box art and other fancy artsie stuff that goes in it, but it has by far not the wow-factor as the old letter-sized boxes had.

[@Gridseeker]

yeah, DVD cases are just awful. Back in time companies were concerned in art and yes, I love big retail boxes.

[@SentinalhMC]

One of my favorite pieces of cover art is from Realms of the Haunting.

[@jonizon3978]

3:16 Mentions Asia, but not YES

[@YomYestreen]

A small part of me died inside.

[@edwardcumpstey9061]

That's what I was thinking.

[@mattisheretonight]

the daggerfall box is incredible.

[@TheOnlyToblin]

0:58 The "lzzz....mgleh" never stops sending me to space. The fact that you left that in is just pure comedy gold. Love it.

[@kizmetmars]

I always loved the Command and Conquer and C&C Tiberian Sun covers. With the ominous refection in the visors and the sombre look on the guys face.

[@jordandehart6905]

I think the European boxart for Daggerfall is even better. The American one is super neat, but without the holographic effect, you really get to see the details and lighting on the guys face...badass.

[@BrianGreigRWD]

I love box art for Grim Fandango. Really captures that film noir style, incorporates all of the really memorable characters from the game, and that Mexican architecture immediately solidifies the thematic elements of the game.

[@Gr8Dane78]

Fantastic video. As always well written and I really enjoyed your slow pans over the details of the artwork, allowing me to enjoy them as much as possible.

[@jetpackman01]

You put Terrorpods and Another World as having some of your favorite cover arts, so I'm satisfied. Also, I've never heard of Transarctica before, but that box image is awesome.

[@farmhousemedia3000]

I've always been a fan of the original Unreal Tournament box art. THAT TROPHY and the LOGO are just "Epic"

[@friandia]

I've been subscribed to your channel for over a year now and even though I came through the sims reviews, I've been noticing that I skip the sims episodes but instantly watching these! I enjoy your excitement in these so much! Keep it up!

[@luiscanamarvega]

So it's 4:59 am, just finished some work for a client and was ready to go to bed when suddenly... a wild LGR video appears. Awesome as always :) That Wasteland art... the use of color, the lighting and shadows, the overhead angle.. it's amazing!

[@Texshy]

Its not PC but the cover art for Ecco the Dolphin on the Sega is beautiful.

[@-taz-]

Mega Man 1... haha. I actually bought that game as a kid despite the box art, just from the screenshots and I would say it was one of my best purchases to this day.

[@elementalfunk]

Great. Now I gotta go look up a whole bunch of PC game reviews and artwork because this is just honestly the coolest shit ever. I love sci fi art, post apocalyptic themes, 80s metal, and just the look of all these games in general.

[@AmayirotAkago]

Awesome Burgertime shirt. Huh, I always thought the Wasteland cover depicted 5 Rangers facing off against some random mutant or something. I never owned that many big boxes, sadly, but I always loved the cover art of most of Sierra's games. In particular King's Quest IV which we still have the big box for and has some beautifully painted and cinematic artwork.

[@LGR]

AmayirotAkago Well, I never said it was "5 rangers", I just said it was a group vs. one person... could be you, could be an enemy, but either way it's a classic scenario in the game!

[@GeminiWoods]

***** You basically just repeated what LGR said. lol

[@SpaceKingDinosaur]

My personal fave is the painting for the cover of STARFLIGHT 2. Back in the day my local computer store was selling posters of that cover art. Best $5.95 I spent that year (1989). I still have that poster on my wall today. The large format really allows you to see distant details not really visible on the box. Like in the middle background are some figures looking around with a flashlight or scanner. In the distant background there are some large vehicles, maybe construction or excavation machines. And perhaps best of all, up on the top hull of the ship itself, standing next to an obvious impact crater in the metal, some little figures checking and/or maybe repairing the damage. The number of 1 - 2 minute looks I've given that poster have to add up to a dozen hours over the years. Still fun games too. Thanks for all you do! Cheers!

[@NolanAlighieri]

Seeing some of these box arts makes me want to play the games....even though I know nothing about them. A+ Marketing!

[@Daehawk]

Another great video that takes me back. Glad I found your videos! Awesome times. You dont look old enough to be my age and remember this stuff so well. Im 45. At 25 I got my first PC in 1994. But had a Atari 800XL in the early 80's. Man the times huh man? Love these boxes...have all the old great games haha..All the great games I have mint in box.

[@robinmattheussen2395]

So glad you picked Wasteland! It's probably my all time favourite box cover for a PC game. Out of this World / Another World is probably my Nr 2.

[@LorenHelgeson]

Great selection. Those covers for Monkey Island and Another World are absolutely beautiful. That cover for Terrorpods reminds me of the artwork used on Fatal Rewind. I think it's the same robot used on both covers. Never played it, but I saw an ad for it in a Game Pro magazine back in 1991. To this day, it stands out as another one of my personal favorites.

[@kylefrey3136]

Barely noticed it but love that you have the old "NASCAR Racing" games. Those games were my childhood I would spend countless hours playing them.

[@palaiologos4441]

As a graphic designer, this is such a treat to watch and looking at some of these boxes are inspiring

[@SwedishEmpire1700]

back in the day i sometimes bought games thanks to their cover art.

[@LGR]

Borin81 Me too. And sometimes, there was even a good game inside!

[@SwedishEmpire1700]

yep, sometimes.

[@JakeMcaulay]

i used to do the same thing with cds

[@Skullkan6]

I bought Pathologic because of the art style.

[@RichardM-kv4uu]

I'd only buy games with artwork that looked professional, because I thought if it had a cheap dodgy cover it'd be a cheap dodgy game!

[@MurraySwe]

Yeah, Out of this world is pretty much one of my favourite box arts out there.

[@bradleylogan6167]

Out of this world is definitely a all time favorite. Loved the video man.

[@SpeedySPCFan]

This is part of the reason I love collecting old games, the fantastic art they usually had. :>

[@fountaincap]

One of my favorites that LGR didn't mention is the original Myst box art. The simple title, the strange looking island and colors just immediately got the message across to me that this involves exploring a beautiful myst-erious island and I begged my parents to get a new computer for years just so I could play it.

[@Vermilleno]

Indeed awesome boxes Clint. Thanks for showing them.

[@makeshift_battlefield_music]

Thanks for making this video dude! Some of these are my favorites too, and a lot of them I'd never seen before and I agree they are sweet!

[@Gooberslot]

I've always loved the cover of Ultima VII. I don't know how much art there is in a totally black box with just the title but I find it awesome.

[@pok0j]

I've never heard about this Transarctica game. Cover art is just awesome. And because I've seen "Snowpiercer" movie I want to play this game sooooo bad! Great vid!

[@retroarchives8379]

If I had to pick up a favorite, that would definitely be Ultima V's cover by Denis Loubet. The art is great, and it tells such a story that you feel like you're into the game already: the situation is desperate, three shadowy figures with red eyes are moving toward the hero, and behind him is a wounded comrade so he obviously can't flee. Just fantastic.

[@itsaPIXELthing]

Awesome video! Looking forward for your next one!

[@steefie8161]

I love the cover art for the Starcraft big box release. Awesome embossed picture!

[@warylv]

Fade to Black has a pretty neat box. I like the way the hero and the enemy are trying to ambush each other around the corner of the box! I still have my copy from 1995 :)

[@xMetalhunterx]

Good call on the Out of This World box. That was an awesome piece. I remember the alternate art the most, simply because I seem to remember it being what was used for the SNES release.

[@davidfranklinv2860]

The commander keen. Omg. Im drooling. I would love to have that soo badly. Thats a game i remember seeing on the shelf as a youngster.

[@DeathByEMP]

I'm really digging the Neotokyo soundtrack in the background, glad there is someone who enjoys it as much as me!

[@deadstar2692]

Don't know if anyone noticed this... But towards the end of the video, the song playing in the background comes from the OST of "Neotokyo" (Ed Harrison - Mechanism). I was very surprised to hear something like that in a video from this channel... That only made things more cool to watch! :D Awesome job like always!

[@ZanderEzekial77]

Great topic! A video on the Worst Box Art would be really cool too.

[@raydeen2k]

I think my favorite box art of all time was the original Everquest box art. Amazing panorama that had all the original races depicted in various action stances. My other favorites from my childhood that I used to just stare at for hours were the Atari 2600 game covers for Defender, Space Invaders, Berzerk and Missile Command.

[@thecontentfactory8957]

Hey Clint, this was great! Would really appreciate a few more box art videos. Cheers.

[@TheGuylanda128]

Thanks for the late night update! Stuck at work and needed a little surprise.

[@monolith94]

I really like the art for the original civilization box. It really communicates the message of building a civilization which exists in both the ancient and modern era.

[@lordofduct]

So I'm watching this, and googling "Out of this World" getting ready to post it just in case you didn't post it. It is srsly one of my all time favorite box arts ever. As well as one of my favourite games ever.

[@ShdwHg]

Random observation: as soon as I clicked this video and heard "Jazz in Paris" playing, I half-expected it to fade into yet another dinner scene with Vince McMahon and Bully Demise. Thanks, supergreatfriend, I don't think I can associate the track with anything else anymore.

[@mrskizzot]

Shivers is one of my favorites, the art and the game were amazing to me at the time.

[@-taz-]

King's Quest III for me -- that cover art and game story is a perfect metaphor for life. Also, anything Roger Dean or Rodney Mathews is great just because it's beautiful.

[@LauraBow1929]

As a Laura Bow fan, I'm always drawn to the box art of "The Dagger of Amon Ra" when it comes to choosing an avatar, even though "The Colonel's Bequest" is my favorite game in the series. I think it's the giant bust of Amon Ra in the background that draws me in. It's gold/yellow, big, and bright.

[@dickkickem]

Also some good ones: SkyNET, System Shock, System Shock 2, Bioforge, CyberJudas, Syndicate. I seriously can't get enough of that 90s cyberpunk aesthetic.

[@shortinos]

2:55 This reminds me of the Shadow of the Beast box art. Only to realize it's the same artist!

[@strra]

i remember seeing the Blood: Plasma Pack in Babbages back in the day. It caught my eye every time.

[@JohnnnyJohn]

Awesome list Clint! I saw the BBG I sent you at the end!

[@PriestsandParamedics]

The Everquest box art was always so awesome to me as a kid.

[@iLife64]

My favorite PC box art is the one from DSI's stunts, I'm probably going to get my box and its contents framed when I find someone who can do that! Its simplistic, modern, and full of mystery. And the back of the box basically is outstanding because it has a note written to you, the driver from the company you are testing for

[@ckjuicyj82]

Oh man you just reminded me of when I drew, in much detail, the doom and doom 2 logos in art class back in middle school. Nostalgia overload.

[@milczyciel]

Here's a thingy about Wasteland cover - while ago, I've shown the artwork from it to my gf and asked "how do you think, why one can immediately tell, that it came out at the end of the eighties". She nailed it after just a glance, even though she does not dig sci-fi, post-apo or video games in general. Anyway, it's just beautiful and it saddens me, that I'll never have a poster of it on my wall.

[@jdzero]

It's been years since I bought a big-box PC game, and most of what I did own has been lost to time. YET, I still have the original shiny Deus Ex PC box from the 90's. It's still in good shape, too! (unlike the CD case the game sits in, stupid cardboard). It still has the all the stuffing that it came with, including the faux newspaper, the "Midnight Sun", folded neatly inside of it. It sits on my shelf, next to Alduin, and the smaller, but still awesome, Skyrim box, tucked in just below him. :D

[@jdzero]

I also have the cardboard CD case for Riven, with the individual stylized CD gloves. Sadly, the box was tossed out a long time ago. :'(

[@Myrtilys]

My two personal favorite cover arts are Gran Turismo 4 and The Bouncer. Not retro in terms of age, but they're still incredible...at least to me. Especially GT4. That was a work of art, even in it's remarkable simplicity.

[@beanfotchott3303]

Riven, man, Riven was a great piece of art. I know you probably don't have the highest opinion on Myst itself, but I'd be absolutely enamoured if you talked about its incredible sequel, man that is a piece of art right there, perfection in graphics and atmosphere

[@fairythegreen2232]

I think my all-time favourite boxart belongs to Stratosphere: Conquest Of The Skies. Played the demo as a teenager, never got around to try the full game, so I searched for it the other day. Then I've seen the boxart, and now I have one more thing on my ever expanding wishlist. It's mindblowing.

[@ashcomer5095]

You have an outstanding collection of games. I thought this was a great idea for a video and the idea of "Worst Box Art" could be pretty funny too. The Ultima and Myth games have some pretty cool box art and as a kid i used both to decorate the walls of my bedroom. In retrospect that was a bad idea because I wish i still had all those boxes but hindsight is 20/20 and it gives me something to hunt for these days.

[@NicolaiFre]

Just by that last shot of your shelf, I would love to see a collection video from you. You seem to have a collection that's in need of its own video! No mather how long, I will watch the whole thing, and I'm sure many more will.

[@ValentinoLimon]

the wasteland cover is so memorable. love it

[@plemgrubern]

LOVED THIS VIDEO! keep it coming

[@nincollin]

Immediately recognized the video icon. Out of This World is an amazing game.

[@katyhobgood8376]

Roger Dean's artwork was also the inspiration for many of the landscapes in Avatar (The 2009 edition, you know with the tall blue people), I think he's an amazing artist.

[@razorthecurse]

I can't really think of any off the top of my head, I'd say the "I have no mouth and I must scream" cover is really rad, along with the darkseed 1 & 2 made by the legendary H.R. Giger.

[@Lefiath]

I've always liked Command & conquer boxes, so simplistic, but there was something about the recurring theme they all had.

[@AverageJoeVinyl]

Great video! My own favorites include Ultima V, The Bard's Tale, and Leather Goddesses of Phobos.

[@PenguinDT]

Doing a LGR playlist re-play marathon, I just wanted to point out one thing to all DOOM artwork lovers. It was just recently brought to my attention that the art book 'Art of DOOM' releasing in the summer isn't focused just on the new DOOM, but ALL the games, the classic two and DOOM 3 included. While I absolutely love the art style of the new game, I honestly can't wait to see the original concepts from the classics!

[@MikeStavola]

my favorite box art of all time has to be the cover for Witchaven. It was done by Ken Kelly

[@MagusMarquillin]

Good choice. That art was maybe better then the game, though I never finished it so I can't really say. Not better then that opening cinematic though!

[@crescentfresh8001]

The Neverhood box art is my favorite. I became obsessed with that game even before I knew what it was, just because the box art was so striking and mysterious.

[@LGR]

Robert Seale One of my absolute favorites, and if I owned the box it would've appeared here for sure.

[@Fluffymcwiggle]

Used to have the box for that game :(

[@thesinfultictac5704]

THE CHAIR :D Also Acanum's Box Art was the reason I bought the game. I love the fact that Mike Arbua is on the original cover :D

[@Kaleo64]

Quake and Oblivion are masterpieces of simple box art design.

[@GenerationBlackMist]

Love your videos. They are great. So glad I am a subscriber.

[@LGR]

GenerationBlackMist Thank you, glad you're enjoying :)

[@DOSBoxMom]

My oldest son was a late talker as a little boy, and his first clear word was "DOOM!" -- apparently read off the cover art of the retail version of Doom, when he saw it in a mall computer-game store at the age of not-quite-3. His dad was so impressed at our son's sudden improvement in verbal skill that he bought the game that day, even though he normally didn't play 1st-person shooters. 20 years later, they still share a taste for a lot of the same PC games. ;)

[@gordlord561]

The Eye of the beholder games have great box art along with the Might and Magic games!

[@oneminutefixed5003]

Dude, Discworld 1 for PC, astonishing box art

[@williamhayden7711]

I recall lusting after Wizardry in the stores. Yes I'm that old. Ah the world of computer gaming in the time where you had to go to book stores to buy computer games and computer stores were like automotive dealers where they had all their wares out on the floor so you could test drive them. It was a much different atmosphere than anything you can imagine today. My friends and I would go to the computer store and literally live there. I think the only reason the sales people and owner tolerated us is because they felt we'd help computer sales and the fact that there really wasn't anyone else in the store but us two kids and the sales people! LOL Man I loved that damn store, which was located in Conroe, TX. I eventually bought my first computer from them which was an Apple IIe with 128k of RAM, duo-disk drives and a Sanyo Color monitor. It cost me my savings, yes MY savings at just under 4K back in the early 80's. No idea what happened to that computer. My Mom prolly gave it away in some yard sale. Oh well she did hold onto my Vectrex! :)