198X

 PlayStation 4
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 16 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 16
  3. Negative: 6 out of 16

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  1. MahaA
    Feb 6, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What attracted me the most to support this game is the Art. The 16-bit art style is my favorite. I love arcade games and 198x has a plot revolving around arcades which is attractive to me. Then i heard Yuzo Koshiro will make music for the game i got super excited , but i was very disappointed with the ninja levels that have Koshiro’s music in them, the music is great but the gameplay on those levels is very disappointing. It is like a mobile run game. It didn’t give arcade experience like expected. The kid in the game is talking about his arcade experience but he is playing a mobile game. I wish part 2 of the game will give a true arcade adventure experience.… Expand
  2. CWLPodcast
    Jul 31, 2020
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 198X A pixel are game that has you going through the life of a seriously emo kid in the 1980’s which would likely be around the time arcades fell apart with the Atari crash, or got really good after Nintendo released the NES and things picked up… except that was in the early 90’s when things like Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight were released and given that the entire thing plays through like a 16bit game, which didn’t also kick in until the 90’s they were a bit off on the naming.

    That aside, the game was short, about an hour and ten minutes, but you play through five “games” in this game, one is a Final Fight beat ‘em up, a racing game ala Out Run, a space bullet hell shooter like Gradius, a Ninja Gaiden clone, and a pre-doom RPG which you control with the stick, but had the nice feature of the “player” typing int “Walk forward” “Turn Right” in the old zork way of thing.

    The games themselves weren’t difficult really, and just long enough to be fun before they got annoying since they don’t have the real depth the full games they copy would. The pixel art though? Amazing. The big sprawling screens when Emo Elliot were amazingly well done and crafted and really worth the price of admission (5$ on sale at Steam at the moment) alone.

    The story… I mean. It’s a thing. The kid has so many sharp edges to his personality he could shave his face by rubbing his hands on it. Something, something, dad died or left, something something, mom struggles… something something, kid is a dick to the only parent he has left and both are in a depression, something something… he finds an arcade with the “Coolest bunch of losers around” Honestly, the narrative was so laced with CW emo writing, it didn’t matter in comparison to the rest of the game.    … Expand
  3. FYM
    Sep 16, 2019
    10
    It's perfectly possible to finish 198X in under 2 hours. This is not a particularly long game, but the same could be said about Journey, Portal, Superhot, The Stanley Parable, Dear Esther, Gone Home and countless other short, modern classics. When it comes down to it, it's not the lenght that counts but the experience itself and I can honestly say that this one will stay with me til theIt's perfectly possible to finish 198X in under 2 hours. This is not a particularly long game, but the same could be said about Journey, Portal, Superhot, The Stanley Parable, Dear Esther, Gone Home and countless other short, modern classics. When it comes down to it, it's not the lenght that counts but the experience itself and I can honestly say that this one will stay with me til the day I die. The sprite work is amazing, the soundtrack is absolutely perfect and the melancholic 80s atmosphere is takes me back to my own youth. Do yourself a favour and buy 198X. It's not expensive. It's not lengthy. But it's a ride like none other.… Expand
  4. NotContra
    Oct 1, 2019
    7
    Very short game, Not exactly what I was expecting but I liked it while it lasted

    The controls for all of the arcade games feel on point, the music is great, the pixel art is pretty nice for the most part, although the animation in the cut scenes are pretty lazy. The story and writing is pretty good but be warned that it end's on a "to be continued" cliff hanger. I couldn't help but    Very short game, Not exactly what I was expecting but I liked it while it lasted

    The controls for all of the arcade games feel on point, the music is great, the pixel art is pretty nice for the most part, although the animation in the cut scenes are pretty lazy.

    The story and writing is pretty good but be warned that it end's on a "to be continued" cliff hanger.
    I couldn't help but feel the devs ran out of their KS funds and needed to ship it so they either cut a lot of content or decided to save it for a sequel but at $9.99 it's not a bad price especially if you are a trophy hunter, there are some fairly challenging trophies in this game that will at least give you enough replay value for the price just trying to ace the mini games.

    It feels more like a short story than a fleshed out game. I was kinda hoping for some sort of hub world or something where maybe you walk around in the arcade and get a little more interaction with the world and people in it or something similar, but in 198x all you get are a few cut scenes telling the story of what seems to be a moody teenager and few decent mini games that do their best to subtly expand the story.

    7/10 seems fair. I'll probably check out the sequel whenever/if it comes out just to see where the story goes    … Expand
  5. Melkiades
    Aug 10, 2023
    3
    Una amalgama de minijuegos retro de sólida jugabilidad y atractiva estética ochentera, el problema es que estos minijuegos son demasiado simples y quedan lastrados por una dificultad muy mal medida.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Aug 27, 2019
    80
    It also has some excellent riffs on Streets Of Rage, Shinobi III, and R-Type. The pixel art and lo-fi soundtrack are gorgeous throughout, both in-game and out. This bills itself as “part 1” of an episodic experience, but it’s a short, satisfying, and cheap experience on its own. [Issue#166, p.84]
  2. Gamer.nl
    Aug 9, 2019
    60
    The idea behind 198X is very good, but it does not turn out as great. This is just a mediocre tribute to an era bygone.
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  3. God is a Geek
    Jul 30, 2019
    90
    198X is an incredible nostalgia trip for those who grew up playing arcade games and gives younger players the opportunity to experience those games in all their 80s glory.
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