1976: Back to Midway

About

Are you ready to travel back in time to 1943 and relive the excitement of classic arcade dogfights? Now, thanks to Virtual Reality, you’re about to discover a new level of immersion and spectacularity, while retaining the original essence and fun.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews

graphics18 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game successfully combines nostalgic arcade gameplay with modern VR elements, providing a fun and immersive experience.
Great graphics and effects enhance the overall gameplay, making it visually appealing and engaging.
The game offers a variety of control options and gameplay modes, allowing players to find a style that suits them.

The controls, especially in immersion zones, can feel clunky and detract from the overall experience.
There is a lack of variety in enemies, environments, and boss fights, which can make the gameplay feel repetitive.
While the VR elements are visually impressive, they often do not add significant depth to the gameplay, making it feel more like a 2D arcade game with a VR gimmick.

story
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
85%
9%
The game's story is considered average, with players noting that it is engaging for the first few missions but can become repetitive, leading some to lose interest. While the narrative elements can be skipped, the game features a variety of immersive missions that shift perspectives, providing some novelty. Overall, the progression system, which allows players to upgrade their planes through mission-based coin collection, adds depth to the gameplay experience.
- “Most of the review hours tell the story.”
- “I found it cool that the immersive missions aren't all a repeat of the same mission; they try to change things up a little bit each mission, but like one time you are inside the cockpit, then you are outside the plane, then you are in a fixed turret... not huge changes, but I'm okay because that way it's not overwhelming.”
- “The 'story' elements should be easier to skip.”
- “The story is okay for the first few missions.”
- “Granted, leaderboards do expose the truth that many people have gotten bored or quit the game after a few missions.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
69%
23%
8%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their polish and vibrant visuals, particularly in VR, where they enhance the immersive experience. While some users noted that the visuals can appear less appealing from a first-person perspective, the overall aesthetic combines classic retro elements with modern design, resulting in a visually engaging experience. However, prolonged play may lead to eyestrain due to the brightness of the graphics.
- “The classic gameplay remains intact, but with amazing VR visuals.”
- “Graphically very polished looking game, lots of fun!!!”
- “Great retro VR game that captures the feel of the old arcade shooter with great graphics, and for the price, it's definitely worth it.”
- “And visuals while looking fine from a top-down far away point of view, are quite ugly from a first-person perspective.”
- “Had to stop playing because the eyestrain got too much after 2 hours in VR with these bright graphics.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
46%
13%
The gameplay of 1976 combines classic 2D arcade mechanics with modern VR visuals, creating an engaging retro experience. While the core bullet hell shooter elements are enjoyable and addictive, some players find the controls in immersive zones to be clunky, and the game may not fully meet the expectations set by previous titles in the genre. Overall, it offers a solid balance of nostalgia and visual flair, making it accessible even for non-VR players.
- “The classic gameplay remains intact, but with amazing VR visuals.”
- “Classic retro gameplay, with modern aesthetics and tweaks.”
- “Good visuals and music & sounds, a solid gameplay, a progression system well balanced!”
- “I think this game has some interesting ideas in terms of how they want to incorporate VR into this genre, but the core bullet hell shooter mechanics and feelings just fall short of existing bullet hell/top down shooters that have come before it.”
- “Gameplay is simple; the '2D' part is like similar games: enemies come, you avoid their bullets, you shoot them down.”
- “Firstly, lower the power of the guns but make them fire faster to up the pace of gameplay.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is initially entertaining, providing a comedic arcade experience reminiscent of playing on a cinema screen. However, many players feel that the jokes become repetitive and tedious over time.
- “Very funny arcade game; it's like playing an arcade machine on a cinema screen.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The optimization of the game appears to be generally solid, as most users report smooth performance; however, one player experienced issues on a specific setup (Radeon RX 6800XT and Reverb G2), suggesting that performance may vary based on individual hardware configurations.
- “I had some issues with game performance on my system (Radeon RX 6800 XT and Reverb G2), but no one else seems to report it, so it might be something on my side.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect initially entertaining, but it quickly becomes repetitive and tiresome.
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its quality, complementing the visuals and enhancing the overall gameplay experience. Reviewers appreciate the well-balanced progression system, which is further enriched by the engaging sound design.
- “Good visuals and music & sounds, a solid gameplay, a progression system well balanced!”