198X

You can't really review this game on the typical standards of normal games.... If you tried you would find the game-play lacking and basic, the game length to be very short and the narration to music sound balance to be slightly off. However if you look at this game more like a piece of art you'll find it hits every aspect head on. First of all the pixel art is some of the best and most detailed I have ever seen. The aesthetics and art style of an outrun/retro/1980s style is flawless. The music fits every game style perfectly and you can easily find yourself just sitting there not playing so you can to listen to it. In terms of story it seems to be a game about what it's like to play games. It touches on the escapism the power fantasy and the influence gaming can have on who you become as a person and how you grow. All set within a time period and style many players of a certain age will find nostalgic and thought provoking. Is it for everyone? No it's not for you if you are looking for a new Streets of Rage clone or Super R Type clone. If you want to lightly touch on the type of games you used to play 20 to 30 years ago while thinking back about how that time made you feel and shape who you have become then yes.

I recently turned away from playing 2D retro indie games, because a lot of them feel repetitive and soulless. This is the complete opposite. The graphics are detailed and beautiful, the music is a fitting retro wave ambient. The story is being told in a calm voice while you are playing 5 different arcade games in sequence. I think I recognized some of the references to classic games (System Shock might be one of them), which makes the game and the story all the more relatable. Just a heads up: This is part 1 of a series (hopefully).

Many misfits of the 80s can relate to this narrative told through the mind of an Arcade Palace Junkie. Game interface works well, had no problem with controller recognition and had no need to tweak any settings, ran perfect right out of the box. I have two gripes though, the games/environment are from the latter half of the 1980s (1986-89). Maybe in future installments there will be childhood flashbacks to cover 1980-1985. Also missing is a key feature with the arcade games, replay value to get the high score and input your initials. I'm fine with it being short because the game already alludes that there's more story to come. I really hope this is true.

The game takes you through the experiences of a suburban teenage tom-boy/girl who’s living out her life in the 1980s vicariously through arcade games. What makes the game interesting is that it really speaks to a lot of the things most of us felt growing up during the 1980s. The mundane, what was exciting, etc. I can’t tell if the game was actually written by people who lived through the 1980s, or if they actually just really like the genre... but you can tell the game was written with personality and passion. And I don’t really say that about most games.