RetroRealms Arcade
- October 18, 2024
- WayForward Technologies
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"RetroRealms Arcade" is a 16-bit pixel art game featuring over-the-top arcade action with iconic horror characters. Play as Michael Myers from "Halloween" and Ash Williams from "Ash vs Evil Dead" in separate platformer games with terrifying levels and familiar sights from the original films and series. Purchase the Double Feature bundle to receive additional playable characters, Laurie Strode from "Halloween" and Kelly Maxwell from "Ash vs Evil Dead", each with their own play style, story, and achievements.
PC
Windows
Xbox One
Xbox Series X|S
Xbox
Reviews
- The game features beloved horror characters like Ash Williams and Michael Myers, providing a nostalgic and enjoyable experience for fans of the franchises.
- The art style is beautiful with detailed backgrounds and plenty of easter eggs, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
- Gameplay is fun and challenging, with balanced checkpointing and enjoyable boss fights that encourage learning patterns.
- The crossover stories between characters are disappointing, lacking dialogue and feeling unfinished, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The game is considered overpriced for the amount of content provided, with only a limited number of short levels and minor upgrades.
- Achievements can be confusing and unclear, leading to frustration when trying to complete them, as they often require specific character actions that are not well specified.
- story8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its engaging character arcs and clever nods to the movies, offering unique twists depending on the character and realm involved. While the storytelling is straightforward, it effectively enhances the gameplay experience, encouraging replayability with different characters and their respective narratives. Fans of the movies will particularly enjoy the crossplay feature, which adds variety to the plot and mechanics.
“The story can sometimes be really great, particularly for characters in their own world.”
“There's tons of nods to the movies and plenty of inspiration from them too, but with their own unique twist. The story changes for the characters who visit a realm that isn't their own!”
“Other playables should have different stories per each game.”
“It slightly changes the story and collectibles, but not much else.”
“The storytelling is simple but works very well for the characters and is a great way to tie in future IPs.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it fun and smooth, particularly appreciating the character crossplay and music. However, many others criticize it for being poorly playtested, with frustrating mechanics like finicky wall jumping and overwhelming enemy encounters that detract from the experience. Overall, while there are enjoyable elements, significant gameplay issues need addressing for it to justify its price.
“The music is on point, and the gameplay feels really smooth and fun.”
“The sounds are boppin', and the gameplay is snappy.”
“If you're a fan of the movies, you'll want to replay the game over again, especially with crossplay of using different characters, which creates a different plot story twist and gameplay mechanics.”
“I was really looking forward to this, but this was immensely disappointing. It obviously wasn't playtested and is incredibly overpriced. It needs to be fixed to even remotely justify the $50 it costs to get both the Halloween and Evil Dead arcade games. The wall jumping is finicky; half the time it takes three or four attempts for the game to even register what you wanted to do. After level two, there are large enemies off-screen that smash the ground, shaking the whole screen. If you were touching anything, you would get flung around or knocked down. This makes the precision platforming a test of luck, not skill. It's clear this was not playtested. I really wanted to push through, but it's not worth it and it's not any fun. The novelty of playing as these characters is cool, but they and the fans deserved a better game. Maybe in the future, after patches to fix the gameplay and level design issues, it will be worth a shot.”
“It hurts me to vote no for this, especially after putting in several hours of gameplay on it.”
“The gameplay is snappy, but it lacks depth and variety, making it feel repetitive after a short time.”
- music3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall vibe, contributing to a smooth and enjoyable gameplay experience. Players appreciate the combination of engaging music with well-designed controls and level progression.
“The music is on point, and the gameplay feels really smooth and fun.”
“Music is nice, upgrading is nice, unlocking stuff is nice, controls and level design feels nice.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviewers express that the game's replayability is limited, suggesting that additional levels and varied gameplay modes, such as arcade or permadeath options, would enhance the experience. While the game offers a decent length for a horror platformer, the lack of diverse modes and challenges diminishes its overall replay value.
“For the amount of replayability this holds, I feel it's pretty lengthy for a horror gory platformer, and we don't have too many of those.”
“Again, just a difficulty mode or an 'arcade' mode where you start on 1-1 and have to finish the game with only a certain amount of lives would be great for replayability.”
“For the amount of replayability this game offers, I feel it's pretty lengthy for a horror gory platformer, and we don't have too many of those.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back. The lack of varied endings or significant choices really diminishes replayability.”
“The game feels like a one-and-done experience; after finishing it, I found no reason to revisit, as the gameplay doesn't change on subsequent playthroughs.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional response to the game is largely negative, with players expressing disappointment due to unpolished gameplay and frustrating mechanics that detract from the experience. While there is a sense of nostalgia and excitement for the characters, the overall sentiment reflects a feeling of wasted potential and a desire for improvements before it can be truly enjoyable.
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be prominent due to the extremely short levels, which are heavily focused on unlocking content. However, technical issues detract from the overall experience, making the grinding feel less enjoyable.
“Levels are extremely short, designed around grinding and unlockables. There are only 10 levels in each game, and on top of that, there are some technical issues that distract me from playing.”
“The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
“I find myself spending more time grinding for resources than actually enjoying the gameplay.”
