Retro Realms Preview
I live in a small town, and sometimes I get an itch to toss some coins or tokens into an arcade machine. This leaves me with exactly two options. I can rub shoulders with local 10-year-olds having a birthday party at the local pizza place, squeezing into the 10×10 “game room.” Or, I can head to a mall in the big city over an hour away. Neither is appealing. But now we have RetroRealms. I can pretend I’m at the arcades of my youth, with no drive and no pizza grease on the joysticks.
Pick Your Horror
RetroRealms simulates a room full of playable arcade machines from the golden age of 16-bit gaming. While other games and characters are yet to come, I had the chance to preview pre-release versions of Ash vs Evil Dead and Halloween. To be clear, these aren’t so-called classic games. They’re new games built on familiar films.
Both games have similar controls and a couple of key mechanics. Most notably, the player can flip into an alternative demon realm, opening up secret passages or alternative routes and spawning dark realm enemies. It’s a fun, if not incredibly original, idea and it works well, especially for puzzles. Come to think of it, it’s a bit like the Umbral mechanic in the recent Lords of the Fallen remake. In any case, platforming in both games is fluid and not too exacting.
Film School
Both Ash vs Evil Dead and Halloween pay respectful homage to the films and characters. In Ash vs Evil Dead, you play as Ash — no duh, right? — and have access to his iconic boomstick and other ranged and melee weapons. In Halloween, you play as Michael Myers, and the combat is a bit slower and more focused on killing enemies with his beloved knife. Both games are drenched in pixelated blood and gore. In a fun twist, you can interchange the characters and send Ash into the world of Halloween or Myers into Evil Dead-land. Changing up the playstyles adds some replay to the games. Both games overall feel pretty similar, however, and their difficulty curve ramps up at about the same pace. Both titles get pretty challenging, either in boss fights or sections with multiple ranged and melee enemies. Outside of the arcade games, there are a few other mechanics like earning and spending tokens to unlock additional cosmetics, collectibles, or characters.
Open Ended
The “overworld” arcade concept seems like a cool idea, with the freedom to add games and other activities. The games have an authentic retro look and sound. My only gripe was that the two starter games weren’t quite distinctive enough from each other. But they were still fun to spend time with. I also enjoyed the games’ sense of humor and baskets full of Easter eggs and movie references.
RetroRealms is off to a good, spooky start with its first two games, perfect for the time of year. I’m looking forward to seeing how the concept develops, which characters and games get added, and spending more time in the virtual arcade.
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