Remember the thrill of shredding on plastic? Guitar Hero, launched in 2005, was a cultural phenomenon, turning living rooms into virtual concert halls. The game celebrated iconic rock anthems, making us all feel like rockstars. Hearing classics like Living Colour's “Cult of Personality” or Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon” instantly brings back memories of those epic Guitar Hero sessions. Even though the early games often featured covers, they captured the spirit of a real rock gig and gave us a playlist to obsess over.
But the music and gaming landscapes evolved. By the late 2000s, the market became saturated with similar games. The release of Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock in 2010 didn't meet expectations. Factors like the rise of the iPhone, the shift to online gaming, and the financial crisis put the franchise on hold. The final game, Guitar Hero Live, arrived in 2015, and the servers shut down for good in 2018.
Could Guitar Hero make a comeback? Games with similar mechanics, like Beat Saber and Clone Hero, still thrive. The time seems ripe for a Guitar Hero revival, perhaps even Guitar Hero 6.
Let's imagine a new Guitar Hero game is on the horizon, with a fresh setlist. We'd expect the classic guitar anthems, the original Guitar Hero favorites like Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” or Franz Ferdinand’s “Take Me Out.” But so much incredible music has been released since 2018. Post-punk has seen a resurgence, Olivia Rodrigo has become a pop-rock icon, and stalwarts like Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, and Jack White continue to deliver guitar-driven hits.
So, here’s a list of 20 tracks that would be fantastic additions to Guitar Hero if it returned in 2025. We've structured it like the old games, with four songs per tier of rockstar success, complete with an encore at the end of each round. There are countless songs to choose from, and if we were making the game, we'd be tempted to put DragonForce’s “Through the Fire and the Flames” at the end again, just for old times’ sake.
And this is the part most people miss... Many of these picks aren't exactly family-friendly. But a little censoring can go a long way, right?
Here’s our roundup of 20 songs we'd love to see in a revived Guitar Hero in 2025.
What do you think? Would you play a new Guitar Hero? What songs would you include? Share your thoughts in the comments!
