Playnite; the all-in-one video game library manager

Playnite is an all-in-one video game library manager with one simple goal: To provide a unified interface for all of your games. What makes Playnite different from other video game launchers is that it can launch emulated retro games as well as modern PC games all in one system.

Rather than having to manually run each emulator to play each of your favourite retro games, Playnite can launch those emulators for you and get you playing in no time. Playnite also uses extention functionality, so you can expand your retro game management experience.

Playnite intergrates superbly with modern PC gaming platforms such Steam and Xbox, but for this article I’ll focus on the retro gaming side of Playnite. I’ll go through the main features of Playnite that compliment retro gaming so well, and why I thouroughly recommend you give this a try if you play retro games through emulation on you PC.

All of your emulators, all launched from a single interface

Playnite supports a wide variety of console emulators, ranging from older systems such as the Atari 2600 to more modern systems such as the Wii U. Emulators that run games from these systems can all be integrated into Playnite, whether you install the emulators yourself or you get Playnite to help install them for you.

Once your favourite emulators and installed, Playnite can help you add your favourite games to your Playnite game library and link them to thier required emulators. After this is complete, your favourite emulated games will now be listed along side your other modern PC games, all looking consistent with each other.

You can then kick things up a notch by scraping your emulated retro games for data and media.

Make your retro games look amazing with metadata integration

What makes Playnite so appealing to gamers who play both modern and emulated retro games is that the emulated games can be listed along side the modern games, all with the same looks and details.

This feature is further amplifed when you can individually scrape your favourite emulated games for information and media. Do you want to get some background and logo images to show for your emulated retro game in your library? No worries. With a few quick clicks Playnite can scrape igdb.com for information and images about your retro game and save it in the video game library for your viewing pleasure.

All of the scraped information can used throughout Playnite’s interface, whether it’s in desktop mode or in full screen mode.

Playnite looks beautiful in both desktop mode and full screen mode

Any gamers who play PC games on Steam love how Steam uses both a desktop mode and a big screen mode. Desktop mode is great for desktop computers, while big screen mode is great for computers that are connected to a big screen TV.

Playnite uses the same interface system, using a desktop mode and a full screen mode. Desktop mode is great for use on desktop computers or laptops, while full screen mode is perfect for gamers who use a PC to play retro games on a big screen TV.

What makes Playnite so special is that you can install themes for each interface type. You can install a specific theme for the desktop mode, as well as another entirely different theme for full screen mode. And the majority of the themes are highly customisable, so you can change theme to your liking.

Extentions galore, including retro achievements and statistics

Playnite has some basic features out the box that you can be more than happy with. But there are also extentions available to install that can greatly improve your retro gaming experience with Playnite.

One popular feature is enabling retro achievements using the RetroAcheivements extention. This connects your retro games with retroachievements.org and adds achievements to all of your favourite retro games.

You can also install an extention that keeps statistics about your gameplay using GameActivity extention. This extention presents information about your retro gaming in a beautiful, easy-to-read interface.

To sum things up

Playnite is the perfect all -in-one video game manager for gamers who play retro games on PC easily and make them look gorgeous at the same time.

It can easily import retro games and thier associated emulators, while launching them all in a single interface. It can also download information and imagery for each retro game, and make them look great even among modern games in the video game library. The retro gaming experience can then be heightened with the use of extentions.

If you are in any way interested in retro gaming on PC, I highly recommend giving Playnite a try. Playnite is completely open source and free to use, so why not give it a try today? Visit www.playnite.link and give it a crack. Game on!