I've generally mostly played the current edition of D&D, whatever it is--from AD&D back in the early 80s to 5E in recent years--so never really dived deep into the OSR, beyond a peripheral awareness of what came out. But for a variety of reasons, my curiosity has recently been piqued. I've been doing a bit of research, but thought I'd evoke the erudition of the grognards here: What is the current state of the OSR (to the degree that it can be envisioned as a distinct movement/group of games)? Which games have separated themselves from the pack and which are dead and gone? How much did the overall positive reception of 5E effect the OSR? Etc. Pretty much any relevant meta-discussion of the OSR is what I'm looking for.
And, in your view, which is the "best" of the OSR games and products? Which is your favorite and why?
For reference, I've included a list of some of the major OSR releases. I've taken liberties by adding a few borderline cases, or those that have an "old school feel" but aren't properly retro-clones of previous editions of D&D, like Forbidden Lands and Conan. Thus "OSR+." But it is my thread, so whatever.
Anyhow, I partially include these non-OSR old school games because I think the timeline illustrates the view that not much new is coming out in recent years; most old schoolish games released in the last half decade or more aren't actually retro-clones, but diverge a bit.
That said, the big retro-clones still seem to have solid fan-bases, perhaps culminating in Hyperborea (which is one of the ones I hope to pick up, at least when the new revised printing is out in 2021), which in my limited knowledge almost seems like the crown jewel of the OSR. Some publishers are still churning out books, while others are relegated to a small group of diehards.
So, commence discussion...
OSR+ Major Releases (Partial List)
2001 Hackmaster
2004 Castles & Crusades
2006 OSRIC; Basic Fantasy
2007 Labyrinth Lord
2009 Swords & Wizardry; Lamentation of the Flame Princess; Barbarians of Lemuria
2010 Dark Dungeons
2011 Mazes & Perils
2012 For Gold & Glory; Dungeon Crawl Classics; Adventurer, Conquerer, King
2013 Blueholme; Dungeon World; OD&D Deluxe (reprint of 1974 box); Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
2017 Zweihander; Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of; Lion & Dragon
2018 Forbidden Lands
2020 Old School Essentials