diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.7.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.7.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index fef04717e7d7..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.7.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, pkg-config
-, SDL, libGLU, libGL, openal, lua
-, libdevil, freetype, physfs
-, libmodplug, mpg123, libvorbis, libogg
-, libmng
-}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "love";
-  version = "0.7.2";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = "https://github.com/love2d/love/releases/download/${version}/love-${version}-linux-src.tar.gz";
-    sha256 = "0s7jywkvydlshlgy11ilzngrnybmq5xlgzp2v2dhlffwrfqdqym5";
-  };
-
-  # see discussion on arch linux user repository (https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/love07/?setlang=cs#comment-684696)
-  patches = [ ./0.7-gl-prototypes.patch ];
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ pkg-config ];
-  buildInputs = [
-    SDL libGLU libGL openal lua
-    libdevil freetype physfs libmodplug mpg123 libvorbis libogg libmng
-  ];
-
-  preConfigure = ''
-    luaoptions="${"''"} lua luajit "
-    for i in lua luajit-; do
-      for j in 5 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4; do
-        luaoptions="$luaoptions $i$j "
-      done
-    done
-    luaso="$(echo "${lua}/lib/"lib*.so.*)"
-    luaso="''${luaso##*/lib}"
-    luaso="''${luaso%%.so*}"
-    luaoptions="$luaoptions $luaso"
-    sed -e "s/${"''"} lua lua.*;/$luaoptions;/" -i configure
-
-    luaincdir="$(echo "${lua}/include"/*/ )"
-    test -d "$luaincdir" && {
-      export NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE="$NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE -I$luaincdir"
-    } || true
-  '';
-
-  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = ''
-    -I${SDL.dev}/include/SDL
-    -I${freetype.dev}include/freetype2
-  '';
-
-  meta = {
-    homepage = "https://love2d.org";
-    description = "A Lua-based 2D game engine/scripting language";
-    license = lib.licenses.zlib;
-    platforms = lib.platforms.linux;
-    maintainers = [ lib.maintainers.raskin ];
-  };
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.8.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.8.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index af11bbd4574b..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.8.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, pkg-config
-, SDL, libGLU, libGL, openal, lua
-, libdevil, freetype, physfs
-, libmodplug, mpg123, libvorbis, libogg
-}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "love";
-  version = "0.8.0";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = "https://github.com/love2d/love/releases/download/${version}/love-${version}-linux-src.tar.gz";
-    sha256 = "1k4fcsa8zzi04ja179bmj24hvqcbm3icfvrvrzyz2gw9qwfclrwi";
-  };
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ pkg-config ];
-  buildInputs = [
-    SDL libGLU libGL openal lua
-    libdevil freetype physfs libmodplug mpg123 libvorbis libogg
-  ];
-
-  preConfigure = ''
-    luaoptions="${"''"} lua luajit "
-    for i in lua luajit-; do
-      for j in 5 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4; do
-        luaoptions="$luaoptions $i$j "
-      done
-    done
-    luaso="$(echo "${lua}/lib/"lib*.so.*)"
-    luaso="''${luaso##*/lib}"
-    luaso="''${luaso%%.so*}"
-    luaoptions="$luaoptions $luaso"
-    sed -e "s/${"''"} lua lua.*;/$luaoptions;/" -i configure
-
-    luaincdir="$(echo "${lua}/include"/*/ )"
-    test -d "$luaincdir" && {
-      export NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE="$NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE -I$luaincdir"
-    } || true
-  '';
-
-  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = toString [
-    "-I${SDL.dev}/include/SDL"
-    "-I${freetype.dev}include/freetype2"
-    "-DGL_GLEXT_PROTOTYPES" # https://community.khronos.org/t/glgenbuffers-was-not-declared-in-this-scope/59283/2
-  ];
-
-  meta = {
-    homepage = "https://love2d.org";
-    description = "A Lua-based 2D game engine/scripting language";
-    license = lib.licenses.zlib;
-    platforms = lib.platforms.linux;
-    maintainers = [ lib.maintainers.raskin ];
-  };
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.9.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.9.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index fb1171f31c49..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/love/0.9.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, pkg-config
-, SDL2, libGLU, libGL, openal, luajit
-, libdevil, freetype, physfs
-, libmodplug, mpg123, libvorbis, libogg
-}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "love";
-  version = "0.9.2";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = "https://github.com/love2d/love/releases/download/${version}/love-${version}-linux-src.tar.gz";
-    sha256 = "0wn1npr5gal5b1idh4a5fwc3f5c36lsbjd4r4d699rqlviid15d9";
-  };
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ pkg-config ];
-  buildInputs = [
-    SDL2 libGLU libGL openal luajit
-    libdevil freetype physfs libmodplug mpg123 libvorbis libogg
-  ];
-
-  configureFlags = [
-    "--with-lua=luajit"
-  ];
-
-  NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = [ "-DluaL_reg=luaL_Reg" ]; # needed since luajit-2.1.0-beta3
-
-  meta = {
-    homepage = "https://love2d.org";
-    description = "A Lua-based 2D game engine/scripting language";
-    license = lib.licenses.zlib;
-    platforms = lib.platforms.linux;
-    maintainers = [ lib.maintainers.raskin ];
-    broken = true;
-  };
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/games/hawkthorne/default.nix b/pkgs/games/hawkthorne/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 3da78349dbb1..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/games/hawkthorne/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-{ fetchgit, lib, stdenv, love, curl, zip }:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  version = "0.12.1";
-  pname = "hawkthorne";
-
-  src = fetchgit {
-    url = "https://github.com/hawkthorne/hawkthorne-journey.git";
-    rev = "610b9b3907b2a1b21da2ae926e4c7c4c9e19959b";
-    sha256 = "013smhdf9sh91153fpk2bwhhnpg6pn7kfrpw77jmf0v48i3q44h2";
-  };
-
-  buildInputs = [
-    love curl zip
-  ];
-
-  patches = [
-    ./makefile.patch
-  ];
-
-  enableParallelBuilding = true;
-
-  meta = {
-    description = "Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne - A fan-made retro-style game based on the show Community";
-    longDescription = ''
-      Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne is an open source game written in Love2D.
-      It's based on the show Community, starring Jim Rash and Joel McHale as
-      the primary will-they-or-won't-they relationship.
-
-      This game has been entirely developed by fans of the show, who were inspired
-      to bring to life the video game used to determine the winner of Pierce
-      Hawthorne's inheritance.
-    '';
-    homepage = "https://www.reddit.com/r/hawkthorne";
-    license = lib.licenses.mit;
-    maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ campadrenalin ];
-    broken = true;
-  };
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/games/hawkthorne/makefile.patch b/pkgs/games/hawkthorne/makefile.patch
deleted file mode 100644
index 16a79683149d..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/games/hawkthorne/makefile.patch
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
-diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
-index 55eb817..f3406aa 100644
---- a/Makefile
-+++ b/Makefile
-@@ -18,10 +18,14 @@ endif
-
- tilemaps := $(patsubst %.tmx,%.lua,$(wildcard src/maps/*.tmx))
-
--maps: $(tilemaps)
--
- love: build/hawkthorne.love
-
-+shebang: build/hawkthorne.love
-+	cat <(echo '#!/usr/bin/env love') build/hawkthorne.love > build/hawkthorne
-+	chmod +x build/hawkthorne
-+
-+maps: $(tilemaps)
-+
- build/hawkthorne.love: $(tilemaps) src/*
- 	mkdir -p build
- 	cd src && zip --symlinks -q -r ../build/hawkthorne.love . -x ".*" \
-@@ -30,6 +34,12 @@ build/hawkthorne.love: $(tilemaps) src/*
- run: $(tilemaps) $(LOVE)
- 	$(LOVE) src
-
-+check: test
-+
-+install: shebang
-+	mkdir -p $(out)/bin
-+	cp build/hawkthorne $(out)/bin
-+
- src/maps/%.lua: src/maps/%.tmx bin/tmx2lua
- 	bin/tmx2lua $<
diff --git a/pkgs/games/nottetris2/default.nix b/pkgs/games/nottetris2/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 179673c05b63..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/games/nottetris2/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchFromGitHub, zip, love_0_7, makeWrapper, makeDesktopItem }:
-
-let
-  pname = "nottetris2";
-  version = "2.0";
-
-  desktopItem = makeDesktopItem {
-    name = "nottetris2";
-    exec = pname;
-    comment = "It's like tetris, but it's not";
-    desktopName = "nottetris2";
-    genericName = "nottetris2";
-    categories = "Game";
-  };
-
-in
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  inherit pname version;
-
-  src = fetchFromGitHub {
-    owner = "Stabyourself";
-    repo = pname;
-    rev = "v${version}";
-    sha256 = "17iabh6rr8jim70n96rbhif4xq02g2kppscm8l339yqx6mhb64hs";
-  };
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ zip makeWrapper ];
-  buildInputs = [ love_0_7 ];
-
-  installPhase =
-  ''
-    mkdir -p $out/bin $out/share/games/lovegames $out/share/applications
-    zip -9 -r ${pname}.love ./*
-    mv ${pname}.love $out/share/games/lovegames/${pname}.love
-    makeWrapper ${love_0_7}/bin/love $out/bin/${pname} --add-flags $out/share/games/lovegames/${pname}.love
-    ln -s ${desktopItem}/share/applications/* $out/share/applications/
-    chmod +x $out/bin/${pname}
-  '';
-
-  meta = with lib; {
-    description = "It's like Tetris, but it's not";
-    platforms = platforms.linux;
-    license = licenses.wtfpl;
-    maintainers = with maintainers; [ yorickvp ];
-    downloadPage = "https://stabyourself.net/nottetris2/";
-  };
-
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/games/rimshot/default.nix b/pkgs/games/rimshot/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 997da768c6d4..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/games/rimshot/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, unzip, love, lua, makeWrapper, makeDesktopItem }:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  pname = "rimshot";
-  version = "1.0";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = "https://stabyourself.net/dl.php?file=${pname}/${pname}-source.zip";
-    sha256 = "08pdkyvki92549605m9bqnr24ipkbwkp5nkr5aagdqnr8ai4rgmi";
-  };
-
-  icon = fetchurl {
-    url = "http://stabyourself.net/images/screenshots/rimshot-2.png";
-    sha256 = "08fyiqym3gcpq2vgb5dvafkban42fsbzfcr3iiyw03hz99q53psd";
-  };
-
-  desktopItem = makeDesktopItem {
-    name = "rimshot";
-    exec = pname;
-    icon = icon;
-    comment = "Create your own music";
-    desktopName = "Rimshot";
-    genericName = "rimshot";
-    categories = "Audio;AudioVideo;Music";
-  };
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ makeWrapper unzip ];
-  buildInputs = [ lua love ];
-
-  unpackPhase = ''
-    unzip -j $src
-  '';
-
-  installPhase =
-  ''
-    mkdir -p $out/bin
-    mkdir -p $out/share/games/lovegames
-
-    cp -v ./*.love $out/share/games/lovegames/${pname}.love
-    makeWrapper ${love}/bin/love $out/bin/${pname} --add-flags $out/share/games/lovegames/${pname}.love
-
-    chmod +x $out/bin/${pname}
-    mkdir -p $out/share/applications
-    ln -s ${desktopItem}/share/applications/* $out/share/applications/
-  '';
-
-  meta = with lib; {
-    description = "Create your own music";
-    maintainers = with maintainers; [ leenaars ];
-    platforms = platforms.linux;
-    license = licenses.free;
-    downloadPage = "http://stabyourself.net/rimshot/";
-  };
-
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/games/vapor/default.nix b/pkgs/games/vapor/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 2fa7ca189270..000000000000
--- a/pkgs/games/vapor/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-{ lib, stdenv, fetchurl, love, lua, makeWrapper, makeDesktopItem }:
-
-let
-  pname = "vapor";
-  version = "0.2.3";
-  commitid = "dbf509f";
-
-  icon = fetchurl {
-    url = "http://vapor.love2d.org/sites/default/files/vapT240x90.png";
-    sha256 = "1xlra74lpm1y54z6zm6is0gldkswp3wdw09m6a306ch0xjf3f87f";
-  };
-
-  desktopItem = makeDesktopItem {
-    name = "Vapor";
-    exec = pname;
-    icon = icon;
-    comment = "LÖVE Distribution Client";
-    desktopName = "Vapor";
-    genericName = "vapor";
-    categories = "Game;";
-  };
-
-in
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  name = "${pname}-${version}";
-
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url =
-    "https://github.com/josefnpat/${pname}/releases/download/${version}/${pname}_${commitid}.love";
-    sha256 = "0w2qkrrkzfy4h4jld18apypmbi8a8r89y2l11axlv808i2rg68fk";
-  };
-
-  nativeBuildInputs = [ makeWrapper ];
-  buildInputs = [ lua love ];
-
-  dontUnpack = true;
-
-  installPhase =
-  ''
-    mkdir -p $out/bin
-    mkdir -p $out/share
-
-    cp -v $src $out/share/${pname}.love
-
-    makeWrapper ${love}/bin/love $out/bin/${pname} --add-flags $out/share/${pname}.love
-
-    chmod +x $out/bin/${pname}
-    mkdir -p $out/share/applications
-    ln -s ${desktopItem}/share/applications/* $out/share/applications/
-  '';
-
-  meta = with lib; {
-    description = "LÖVE Distribution Client allowing access to many games";
-    platforms = platforms.linux;
-    license = licenses.zlib;
-    maintainers = with maintainers; [ leenaars ];
-    downloadPage = "http://vapor.love2d.org/";
-  };
-
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix b/pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix
index e003e62f8ba2..4a102733f054 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/aliases.nix
@@ -386,6 +386,7 @@ mapAliases ({
   gupnp_igd = gupnp-igd; # added 2018-02-25
   gupnptools = gupnp-tools;  # added 2015-12-19
   gutenberg = zola;  # added 2018-11-17
+  hawkthorne = throw "hawkthorne has been removed because it depended on a broken version of love"; # added 2022-01-15
   hal-flash = throw "hal-flash has been removed as Adobe Flash Player is now deprecated."; # added 2021-02-07
   heimdalFull = heimdal; # added 2018-05-01
   hepmc = hepmc2; # added 2019-08-05
@@ -574,6 +575,9 @@ mapAliases ({
   lua5_expat = luaPackages.luaexpat; # added 2017-05-02
   lua5_sec = luaPackages.luasec; # added 2017-05-02
   lumpy = throw "lumpy has been removed from nixpkgs, as it is stuck on python2."; # added 2022-01-12
+  love_0_7 = throw "love_0_7 was removed because it is a very old version and no longer used by any package in nixpkgs"; # added 2022-01-15
+  love_0_8 = throw "love_0_8 was removed because it is a very old version and no longer used by any package in nixpkgs"; # added 2022-01-15
+  love_0_9 = throw "love_0_9 was removed because was broken for a long time and no longer used by any package in nixpkgs"; # added 2022-01-15
   lxappearance-gtk3 = throw "lxappearance-gtk3 has been removed. Use lxappearance instead, which now defaults to Gtk3";  # added 2020-06-03
   lzma = xz; # moved from top-level 2021-03-14
   m3d-linux = m33-linux; # added 2016-08-13
@@ -656,6 +660,7 @@ mapAliases ({
   nmap-unfree = nmap; # added 2021-04-06
   nologin = shadow; # added 2018-04-25
   nordic-polar = throw "nordic-polar was removed on 2021-05-27, now integrated in nordic"; # added 2021-05-27
+  nottetris2 = throw "nottetris2 was removed because it is unmaintained by upstream and broken"; # added 2022-01-15
   noto-fonts-cjk = noto-fonts-cjk-sans; # added 2021-12-16
   now-cli = throw "now-cli has been replaced with nodePackages.vercel"; # added 2021-08-05
   nxproxy = nx-libs; # added 2019-02-15
@@ -859,6 +864,7 @@ mapAliases ({
   qt-recordmydesktop = throw "qt-recordmydesktop has been removed from nixpkgs, as it's abandoned and uses deprecated libraries"; # added 2019-12-10
   qt-3 = throw "qt-3 has been removed from nixpkgs, as it's unmaintained and insecure"; # added 2021-02-15
   rfkill = throw "rfkill has been removed, as it's included in util-linux"; # added 2020-08-23
+  rimshot = throw "rimshot has been removed, because it is broken and no longer maintained upstream"; # added 2022-01-15
   riak-cs = throw "riak-cs is not maintained anymore"; # added 2020-10-14
   ring-daemon = jami-daemon; # added 2021-10-26
   radare2-cutter = cutter; # added 2021-03-30
@@ -1047,6 +1053,7 @@ mapAliases ({
   uzbl = throw "uzbl has been removed from nixpkgs, as it's unmaintained and uses insecure libraries";
   v4l_utils = v4l-utils; # added 2019-08-07
   v8_3_16_14 = throw "v8_3_16_14 was removed in 2019-11-01: no longer referenced by other packages";
+  vapor = throw "vapor was removed because it was unmaintained and upstream service no longer exists";
   vamp = { vampSDK = vamp-plugin-sdk; }; # added 2020-03-26
   varnish62 = throw "varnish62 was removed from nixpkgs, because it is unmaintained upstream. Please switch to a different release."; # 2021-07-26
   varnish63 = throw "varnish63 was removed from nixpkgs, because it is unmaintained upstream. Please switch to a different release."; # 2021-07-26
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 71744b157385..811b8ea71d2a 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -13525,9 +13525,6 @@ with pkgs;
 
   lolcode = callPackage ../development/interpreters/lolcode { };
 
-  love_0_7 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/love/0.7.nix { lua=lua5_1; };
-  love_0_8 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/love/0.8.nix { lua=lua5_1; };
-  love_0_9 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/love/0.9.nix { };
   love_0_10 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/love/0.10.nix { };
   love_11 = callPackage ../development/interpreters/love/11.nix { };
   love = love_0_10;
@@ -30742,8 +30739,6 @@ with pkgs;
 
   harmonist = callPackage ../games/harmonist { };
 
-  hawkthorne = callPackage ../games/hawkthorne { love = love_0_9; };
-
   hedgewars = libsForQt514.callPackage ../games/hedgewars {
     inherit (haskellPackages) ghcWithPackages;
   };
@@ -30907,8 +30902,6 @@ with pkgs;
 
   newtonwars = callPackage ../games/newtonwars { };
 
-  nottetris2 = callPackage ../games/nottetris2 { };
-
   nudoku = callPackage ../games/nudoku { };
 
   nxengine-evo = callPackage ../games/nxengine-evo { };
@@ -31057,8 +31050,6 @@ with pkgs;
 
   rili = callPackage ../games/rili { };
 
-  rimshot = callPackage ../games/rimshot { love = love_0_7; };
-
   rogue = callPackage ../games/rogue {
     ncurses = ncurses5;
   };
@@ -31310,8 +31301,6 @@ with pkgs;
 
   ut2004demo = res.ut2004Packages.ut2004 [ res.ut2004Packages.ut2004-demo ];
 
-  vapor = callPackage ../games/vapor { love = love_0_8; };
-
   vapoursynth = callPackage ../development/libraries/vapoursynth {
     inherit (darwin.apple_sdk.frameworks) ApplicationServices;
   };