For those of us old enough to remember the 80’s and 90’s Video Arcades were the place to be to check out the latest in video games when the technology was advancing in leaps and bounds. You may have played the home version of your favourite game but it wasn’t a shade on the original version and so you’d join your friends and go to the closest venue packing the latest and greatest. While ticket redemption machines may have taken over now there’s still a lot of nostalgia for the early years and that’s where Arcade Paradise from Nosebleed Interactive steps in.

Set in the 90’s you are initially tasked with managing your father’s laundromat which involves cleaning the premises and fulfilling laundry jobs. Early on you discover that there’s also a room in the back hosting a number of arcade machines and the real goal of the game begins as you attempt to transform the business into a fully-fledged video arcade. As you progress and earn money you’ll start to build out your future arcade business but it’ll take time to find a routine that works best for you and you may find not everything can be achieved in the fastest time, getting the biggest payout.

One of the best parts about Arcade Paradise is that the games themselves are REALLY games that you can play and represent a significant amount of the genres popular in the era too. For example, the game UFO Assault feels like a spin on the Arcade/2600 classic Canyon Bomber while Space Race Simulator takes its cues from Sega’s vanishing point racers. There’s plenty to be distracted by once the machines land (literally) on your doorstep… but remember you still need to collect that money to realize your dreams!

What’s nice to see is that the developers are well aware of the game loop pushing players hard to do what they want during a day, like play games, so they’ve included additional upgrades you can purchase to make the grind easier. You still have to work hard for them by completing objectives on your to-do list but they are there and are another distracting objective to aim for.

I’m enjoying my time with Arcade Paradise. There’s plenty of objectives that can achieved within a fair space of gameplay time so you’ve always got an opportunity to unlock something new and for those wanting to get everything you’ll have even more to do. It’s fun, chill and has plenty of nostalgia vibes to make it worth checking out. The games are also fun and really… isn’t that what you want from a video arcade? 🙂

Arcade Paradise is out now for PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch. Played on an Xbox Series X via Game Pass.