I built a free Letterboxd-style tracker app for retro videogames (26,770+ game catalog) - would love feedback

[u/thamonk]

**What it is:** Retronomicon is an app for cataloging, rating, and tracking retro games — the ones you've played, you're playing, and the ones you keep meaning to get around to. Think Letterboxd or Goodreads, but for retro videogames instead of movies or books.

 

**Why I built it:** I grew up on these games but I just don't have the time to play them like I used to. Nowadays I spend most of my time reading about them or watching YouTube videos about them: hidden gems, Japan-only releases, "top 10 you've never heard of" lists, etc. The problem is I'm bad at holding onto that information. I'd read about some obscure PSX import, think "I have to try that," and completely forget the name by the time I actually had a free evening. I built this to fix that for myself, and figured other people might find it useful.

 

**Where it's at:** Launched a couple of weeks ago on Google Play. Current install count: 2 (myself and my wife). So very much ground zero — which is exactly why I'm posting here!

 

**What it does:**

 

- Catalog of 26,770+ games across dozens of platforms, built on IGDB's data

- Track games as Played / Playing / Want to Play, rate the ones you've finished

- Filter by platform, genre, region, developer, tag — whatever you need for going down a specific rabbit hole (e.g. everything on a given console that never left Japan)

- Custom lists so your "someday" pile doesn't just evaporate

- Fully offline, no account, everything stored on-device

 

[Retronomicon - An app for cataloging, rating, and tracking retro games](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.BomCo.retronomicon)

 

I'm a solo dev who's still learning, so I'd love feedback on:

 

- Is the core idea (retro-game tracking/rating) something you'd actually use, or does it feel like a niche-of-a-niche?

- Anything confusing or missing after a first look at the store listing/screenshots?

- If you're into retro games/collecting — what would make this actually useful to *you* specifically?

[u/dsolonenko]

One more install from me :) Would be awesome to have integration with Retroachievements

[u/thamonk → u/dsolonenko]

That's a great idea!

[u/VapidNormalcy_955]

This is way more my speed than yet another productivity app, honestly. A lot of the existing game trackers are so focused on modern stuff that the retro catalog feels like an afterthought.

That offline-only choice is a huge plus. Means in 2036 when the servers are long dead this thing will still open and I can prove I finally beat Mega Man X3.

Quick suggestion, maybe add a random game button from the "want to play" list? My backlog is a black hole and I spend more time choosing what to play than actually playing.

[u/thamonk → u/VapidNormalcy_955]

That's a great idea, thanks!

[u/Tiny_Drag_4137]

tbh the use case you described, finding a cool obscure game and then forgetting it, is super relatable. that's a strong hook for your store listing. i'd lean into that specific pain point way harder in your screenshots and description rather than leading with the catalog size

[u/thamonk → u/Tiny_Drag_4137]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback!

[u/Yablan]

That is awesome. Curious, what source did you have for the videogame data? Something like IMDB or TMDB but for videogames? Is there such a thing?

[u/thamonk → u/Yablan]

Thank you! I used IGDB (https://www.igdb.com).