The Making of Karateka Reviews
The Making of Karateka is a fantastic trip down memory lane, teaching you everything you never though you’d want to learn from such an iconic game and its creator. Even though the game itself isn’t exactly THAT entertaining for today’s standards, I still had a good time learning more about it, as well as its predecessor, Deathbounce. That being said, I think the collection is missing some essential versions of Karateka, such as the 16-bit, Game Boy, NES, ZX Spectrum and 2012 versions.
The Making of Karateka is a history lesson. A round package for those who want to know the first works of Jordan Mechner. The making of part is great and bringing in the different versions is essential for preservation. However, for those who seek gameplay and do not care about this historical side, you may be disappointed that we only have basically two very short games. In addition, there are no texts in Portuguese of Brazil, which hinders the accessibility of the material.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Making of Karateka is a fantastic ride from start to finish, full of heartwarming moments, incredible gaming history, and never before seen looks at one of the industry’s most important games. Complete with a solid reimagining of the game for a 2023 audience, along with a surprise redo of an early Mechner prototype, this is a great start to the Digital Eclipse Gold Master Collection. We cannot wait to see what they do next.
The Making of Karateka isn’t just a meaningful step forward for game preservation and history. This is proof-positive of what makes video games such a fascinating and thrilling medium.
The Making of Karateka is a powerful statement of intent for what promises to be a superb series of interactive documentaries. Not everyone will click with the idea of focusing on a single game rather than your typical retro compilation, but those interested in the creative process will be fascinated by the content provided here.
The Making of Karateka feels like a huge step in documenting the history of video games. There have been plenty of titles that have packed in making of details, but I can’t really name another that has gone to this much effort of establishing context for the games it’s spotlighting. Aside from Atari 50, I mean. Digital Eclipse has put together a masterful formula that speaks to retro explorers such as myself, and this is the perfect test of it. It’s absolute gold, and I can’t wait to see what they dive into next.
Much more than a compilation of prototypes, the entire historical archive contained in the timelines of The Making of Karateka is very interesting and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to know more about the creation of games made in the past. But this title never hides that its value is 100% documentary, which makes it a specific product for a very particular niche of the public.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Digital Eclipse is unable to fail, and this first installment of the Gold Master Series is confirmation that Mike Mika's team is second to none when it comes to the preservation and diffusion of video game culture. The reduced price only rounds out a truly appetizing package for retrogaming enthusiasts.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Making of Karateka gives you a better than good idea why Karateka was one of the most influental games of its time.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Anyone can make a re-release or game collection, but Digital Eclipse has shown lately that they just have it in them to make celebrations of these games.
And then there's the games. Watching a video describing Jordan's first attempt at making a video game and then actually being able to play that build — framerate dips and all — is a remarkable experience. On their own most of the games here would be little more than curios, but presented here as they are they're a fascinating time capsule, and an enthralling window into the creative process. For anyone interested in the history of video games we can't recommend this enough.
With The Making of Karateka, Digital Eclipse shifts our perception of what videogame ‘making of’ content can entail, raising the bar for future products in this new genre of “docu-games”.
The Making of Karateka is not for everyone, and most of its appeal will lie with older gaming generations. If you're a student of historical gaming flash points, however, it's a package that delivers the goods, and in fine form. It doesn't have anywhere near as much unique gaming content as Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, a fact that will limit its appeal. Despite this, the two remasters are solid, the prototypes intriguing, and the content comprehensive. If you were a fan of Atari 50, The Making of Karateka will find you well.
As a fan of retro games and documentaries, The Making of Karateka really hit a sweet spot that I don't think any other game has before.
An extraordinary interactive documentary on an industry-revolutionizing classic
Still, The Making of Karateka is perhaps the most impressive rerelease of a retro game I’ve ever played. It’s a collection but one dedicated to a single release. This is the sort of release that movie fans get when they buy a Criterion Collection release only for a video game. The new versions of Deathbounce and Karateka alone are worth the price of admission, but with everything else included, this is an easy purchase for anyone remotely interested in classic games. I can’t wait to see what Digital Eclipse and their Gold Master Series have coming next.
The true shining gems from Making of Karateka however, are the remastered titles. Karateka getting a definitive remastered edition is awesome enough, but a super addicting, finalized version of Jordan Mechner’s Deathbounce? Hell yes, and the latter is definitely the game that’ll keep me coming back to this set again and again for a casual scorechase, while the Karateka titles are presented in the best sort of way that they can.
This should become the gold standard of modern processing of classic games. Many publishers will continue to bring mere ports and such, but here Digital Eclipse has shown how it should be done. It's not enough to just stretch the game to a higher resolution. Bonus materials, videos, audios, documents, photos, and various other things add tremendous value. Similarly, different versions of games, from prototypes through final releases to modern remaster, contribute as well. This is simply how it should look.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
The Making of Karateka is part game collection and part documentary; a playable history of an 80s game Karateka that tells a remarkable true story in the coolest way possible.
A very nice interactive documentary about an important videogame of the 80s.
Review in Italian | Read full review