RetroRealms Arcade Reviews
RetroRealms Arcade's action-platformer gameplay is fun, but it does not offer enough worthwhile content for its asking price.
But I also hope that it experiments more with its ideas, because the Overlord’s realm and the platforming stagnate pretty early on, never reaching the heights they could. That being said, the game does a brilliant job at making you feel like each character, all while stepping foot into lovingly hand-crafted worlds brought to life with stunning pixel art that perfectly encapsulates what makes these worlds so iconic all these years later.
Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead mark a strong debut for the RetroRealms hub thanks to innovative and challenging gameplay.
It’s tough to say whether Halloween is a lesser experience than Ash vs. Evil Dead since the two are so remarkably similar in style and structure; think of them as two DLC packs serving the larger ‘RetroRealms’ hub experience. Yet we can’t deny that controlling Michael Myers isn’t quite as exhilarating as Ash Williams, nor are the enemies quite as interesting. If forced to choose, we’d probably go with Ash vs. Evil Dead.
These aren't the largest of games, coming in at roughly three hours each, but they deliver the goods when it comes to gory, 16-bit-styled slasher fare and, for us, Ash's game is the better of the two.
Retrorealms Arcade just feels so unspectacular. Competent, sure. It’s not a bad time. It’s just not a particularly memorable one, even if you’re a fan of the movies within. It feels like WayForward made sidescrollers and put the characters in them rather than having the games informed by the characters. So, if you wanted to play a platformer like Michael Myers, then that’s what you get and very little more. There isn’t much meat to sink a knife into.
This time of year is flooded with horror games, but we rarely see retro titles with as much love and care as RetroRealms provides. WayForward crafted a solid action platformer with recognizable characters. It is a little pricey and I worry we may not get future endeavors, but I would love to see Chucky, Freddy, and so many others get their own games. For now this is the perfect game to play during spooky times if you have a nostalgia for classic side-scrolling action titles.
Retrorealms pays homage to two of the biggest horror franchises, and their respective fan bases here. I suppose if you're a hardcore fan, and you like video games, this is kind of cool. If you meet one of these criteria, maybe play a demo first. Great pixel art, great music, but definitely comparing it to the Halloween with Busta Rhymes.
It's hard to decide whether I enjoyed my time with RetroRealms: Halloween or RetroRealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead more, which is a testament to how great both games are. Not only do both titles stand on their own, but they serve as great counterparts to each other with Halloween being slightly slower with more difficult bosses, and Ash vs. Evil Dead being much faster paced but with easier boss battles. Each minute of these games ooze with great level design, fun enemies to defeat, intricate and often hilarious or spooky backgrounds, lots of collectibles and upgrades to unlock, a ton of small details sure to please fans of each series, and blood - lots and lots of blood. As it stands, both Ash vs. Evil Dead and Halloween are great homages to their respective IPS as well as faithful love letters to the 16-bit games of yesteryear and are well worth your hard-earned money.
Retrorealms: Ash vs. Evil Dead is a stylish, bloody, fun arcade throwback. It may also be too brief given its pricetag. Worth a look for horror uberfans.
Retrorealms: Halloween proudly wears the trappings of its source material, but stumbles in spots as a fully satisfying retro platformer.
RetroRealms – Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead from developer WayForward does enough to create a proper 16-bit era, 2D side-scrolling driven by popular licensed horror characters Michael Myers and Ash. Will it set new standards and win awards for innovation? Nah, but it will bring a rich and repetitive 16-bit era experience that is a come-and-go-as-you-please gaming environment.
RetroRealms Arcade is a great double feature of platformers that is an easy recommendation to horror fans, platforming fans, and is a must play for both.
Available on their own or as a double feature, RetroRealms: Ash vs Evil Dead and RetroRealms: Halloween both provide fun old-school platforming experiences reminiscent of classic Castlevania titles. There are some unique mechanics and features, however, such as being able to switch between realms and using playable characters in any RetroRealms games that you own.
You wouldn't think a licensed package like RetroRealms would be as entertaining as it is so I'm very happy that it exists; top quality stuff! 🕹️
RetroRealms Arcade is a total blast and the Double Feature package featuring Halloween and Ash Vs. Evil Dead is absolutely worth the money. Both games brought back the nostalgia with crisp 16-bit inspired pixel art graphics and challenging gameplay straight out of the '90s arcades.
The Boss Team and Wayforward tandem, with RetroRealms Arcade, has managed to offer two incredible 2D platforming adventures inspired by two cornerstones of the horror genre, Halloween and Ash vs The Evil Dead. We really enjoyed playing each adventure (albeit with not the highest longevity) and the clever choice of mixing and matching characters is nothing short of genius. Add to that the colorful pixel art graphics with the ever-moving worlds, the functional old-style 16-bit gameplay, and the additional content and you have the “almost” perfect package.” Why almost? The asking cost, almost €60 for the complete package, is quite an amount that many gamers might find excessive!
Review in Italian | Read full review
RetroRealms: Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead are two games that create buyer confusion rather than fully celebrate horror culture. Thankfully, a majority of the problems with RetroRealms can be fixed. We can only wait to see if the dead stay dead or rise from their graves for more bloodshed.
You can have quite a bit of fun playing as Ash Williams or Michael Myers in RetroRealms Arcade, but I can’t help but think that this collection’s entire structure is completely unnecessary. Both Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead could/should have been released as separate games altogether, and for a slightly lower pricetag, devoid of DLC practices.
RetroRealms Arcade offers two exciting 2D adventures that use the Halloween and Ash vs The Evil Dead worlds in creative and compelling ways. I loved playing through each unique adventure, but mixing-and-matching characters afterwards? It was brilliant and re-enforces the potential that RetroRealms has. Add to that the lovely visuals, the satisfying gameplay, and the additional content found in the arcade environment, and you’ll quickly find that there’s something REALLY special on offer here. It’s just a shame that it’s so expensive, with players having to fork out £41.98 to get both titles (and an extra £8.58 if they want the extra characters). It’s a lot to pay, and with plenty of similar titles available for cheaper, I’m not sure if the wonderful use of the licences will be enough to inspire gamers to part with their cash. It’s disappointing, especially given that the games themselves are so damn fun… here’s hoping that everything works out and RetroRealms Arcade continues to evolve and expand with time.