Arcade Spirits

 Xbox One
Arcade Spirits Image
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: What if the 1983 video game marketing crash never happened? Set in 20XX, Arcade Spirits is a visual novel romantic comedy with a different history, where arcades still reign supreme as the ultimate place to play. After a period of turbulent employment, your character starts an exciting newWhat if the 1983 video game marketing crash never happened? Set in 20XX, Arcade Spirits is a visual novel romantic comedy with a different history, where arcades still reign supreme as the ultimate place to play. After a period of turbulent employment, your character starts an exciting new job at the Funplex: a popular local arcade with a team of staff that are as eccentric as the customers.… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. DarkStation
    May 20, 2020
    80
    Arcade Spirits is tailor-made for someone like me who was born in the 70s and spent much of their formative years in the 80s, the golden age of arcade, video and computer games. The old retro uncle inside me trembles with enthusiasm when seeing the game’s piquant arcade hall and all its lovely retro games. In the arcade game auction during chapter two, when I made a bid for a game I would have loved in real life, too, it felt so uncannily real. That’s the strongest part of Arcade Spirits; it sucks you in to get involved in a life that despite a few whimsical departures is very much reminiscent of our own with all ups and downs.
  2. GameSpew
    May 11, 2020
    80
    If you enjoy getting lost in a great story based around realistic characters, then you shouldn’t hesitate to play Arcade Spirits. Its story throws enough twists and turns to keep you captivated for its six to eight-hour runtime, and it’s hard not to get invested. It’s a shame the voice acting is inconsistent, but it’s not enough of a bugbear to ruin what is otherwise an excellent visual novel.
  3. TheXboxHub
    Apr 29, 2020
    70
    Essentially, Arcade Spirits on Xbox One feels like an entry point to the visual novel genre. It lacks the depth, complexity and hook of games such as Phoenix Wright, but instead relies on its relationships to suck players in. With a slow build, it’s hard to recommend to anyone but veterans of the genre, especially with a script that never evolves beyond its basic humour. But its charm is hard to deny and, infused with the nostalgic factor, it can be downright difficult to resist at times.
  4. XboxAddict
    Jun 1, 2020
    65
    While Arcade Spirits won’t be for everyone, especially since it’s a visual novel at its core, it’s really meant for gamers of my generation that have fond memories of going to arcades back in the day and craves that nostalgia. Even though there’s no real ‘gameplay’ aside from dialogue and decision making, it’s done in an interesting way with a narrative that, while quirky, had a lot of charm to it. More than a simple story about working at an arcade in the year 20XX, Arcade Spirits tries to delve deeper into something more meaningful with its array of interesting characters, though it’s completely up to you how you want to forge your relationships.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Xbox_Alive
    May 3, 2020
    7
    Arcade Spirits is far from the traditional visual novel, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While I’m doubtful that it will have the sameArcade Spirits is far from the traditional visual novel, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While I’m doubtful that it will have the same reach as many of its counterparts, It most definitely has the potential for it to draw people in. Between its unique premise and a realistic approach and novel mechanics, many fans of the genre are likely to walk away satisfied. If you are not a fan of visual novels Arcade Spirits isn’t going to change your mind, however it’s definitely unique. Arcade Spirits has a very open approach to its romance in letting players design their own characters and pursue whoever it is that they fancy. Nothing feels it forces you in any direction, nor is anything given a different level of significance than it deserves. If you like someone it’s completely your decision to go for them. So long as you’re laying it on proper, everything will work in the outcome you desire. It’s a simple approach, but it’s one that works in the end, and I respect the openness the game provides to all players. It would have been nice to see a bit more in regards to the depth of the character creation but that ultimately doesn’t impact the game in a major way. If you don’t go out on a limb to get to know someones personality, you’ll never learn much about them. Due to this, you’ll likely perceive them differently during your initial play time in Arcade spirits. It’s nice Arcade Spirts makes you curious enough about someone to come back for another play through. Arcade Spirts was definitely able to do that, so if you’re a fan of the visual novel genre this is a no brainer if you’re not as I said earlier the uniqueness of this title is nice but isn’t genre changing.… Expand
  2. JonnyPix
    Jun 7, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I thought this game was a slight letdown. I was happy getting into story and wanted a shortish simple game but I felt some of it dragged and they could have been more cut scenes and visuals.

    There's a scene where Queen Bee is playing against an competitor and I felt they could have tried to replicate this more, maybe show what was happening on screen but we just got reams of text so I think there was a slight missed opportunity here.

    Having said that the length of the game was more than i thought it would be and it had heart heartwarming dialogue

    If it had been a fiver instead of twenty quid I woild have given it a seven    … Expand