198X Reviews

198X is ranked in the 48th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10
Jun 21, 2019

198X is a good mixture of clones of older games, and the fact that it focuses on a teenager's life and how identity crisis can affect that life really pays off in the end, as this whole concept makes it a unique experience. The developers though seem to lack experience to put the final touches in the right place, and that's the only reason 198X is not as good as other top indie titles of 2019.

Review in Persian | Read full review

Jul 22, 2019

Although it's fantastic to be able to experience 5 completely different gameplay styles, 198X's campaign is over within an hour or so and all you can do after that is replay its brief chapters again and again.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jan 23, 2020

As a child of the 70s and 80s who spent an enormous amount of time in the arcades there’s no doubt 198X was made for me...

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9 / 10
Jan 26, 2020

198X on the Switch better resonate personally with an old school gamer because so many of us were first introduced to gaming by Nintendo.

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8 / 10.0
Aug 2, 2019

198X is a grounded tale of growing up lost and finding salvation in an unlikely place. Arcade games are the anchor for this character and for many players out there this story rings true.

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6.5 / 10.0
Jul 11, 2019

198X is a heartfelt tribute to arcade games, a door with a neon sign that leads into a bright and pleasantly noisy game room. It is not only this, because the indie title also tells a story, a drama that, in some ways, has a lot in common with many gamers, not only those who have lived through the era of arcades, but also the younger ones.

Review in Italian | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Feb 1, 2020

The game does leave you wanting more but ultimately promises more of Kid and their soul-searching adventure through video games in the future. If you’re looking for a quick jog down memory lane filled with nostalgia and a strong emotional core, then 198X will not disappoint.

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80 / 100
Jan 29, 2020

198X is a love letter to classic arcade, amusement arcades and confused adolescence in its transition to adult life. Hi-Bit Studios uses the nostalgia for we can feel identified with Kid, a teenager who discovers arcade games, which help him somehow face the real-life step. We expect 5 levels based on 5 different classic genres with impeccable audiovisual quality. The only issue is how short the game it is, arround one hour, because it leaves us wanting more.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

70%
Jun 27, 2019

198X delivered exactly what the trailer promised – great looking and sounding nostalgia fueled reminiscence of the 80s video games. However, if you've been burned by episodic game series in the past, tread carefully.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jun 22, 2019

For all of us 1980’s and 90’s kids out there, 198X is a coming of age story that could honestly tell the tale of any one of us. Set in Suburbia just outside the City, it’s the youthful journey of Kid as he discovers the local Arcade and realizes that, through the power of video games, he can escape reality.. be anyone or anything.. and not worry about the obligations of adulthood that are knocking on his door. The latest Kickstarter success story to officially release, I want to give a fair warning now before we dive any further into the review. 198X is episodic, and unfortunately we didn’t find this out until the game was prepping for release on Steam.

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