198X Reviews
198X is a true love letter to the old arcade genre : through a retro trip of five different mini games, Hi-Bit's celebration only manages to copy and paste tiny bits of classic ones. Thanks to a clich' narration, 198X does nothing but tell how good the past used to be, and how much the present suck. If you still possess the original, there is not much need to play this wanabee experience.
Review in French | Read full review
198X is a throwback mash-up of five very brief genre excursions with an overwrought story of growing up thrown on top.
A mawkish attempt to glorify the 80s that features some gorgeous visuals and music but offers no real insight into the era's culture or games.
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.
While 198X isn’t going to blow you away with its story, it will make you nostalgic for the arcades of old. The pixelated art style, the impressive soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro that sounds like it was ripped from an episode of Stranger Things, and the incredibly short play time of right around 2 hours was a package that feels deserving of its $9.99 price tag, and even more so if it includes the yet to be dated Part 2. My biggest gripe is that you can’t select to play the 5 games individually from the main menu after rolling the credits.
Instead it comes off more like a homage to similar tales.
The first episode of 198X is an homage to the best and most iconic arcade games of the 80s, but tells a really trivial and generic story.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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
It is indeed a great history lesson on the golden age of the arcades, but a short one, with low replayability.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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.
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
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
While by no means a bad game, 198X is a bit like ordering a pie and finding out it has no filling.
Sitting at a playtime of somewhere between one and two hours, 198X gives players a glimpse of the retro-inspired world that the developers have crafted, leaving players wanting more of what they got.
198X is exciting as a stroll down memory lane, but its simplicity and abbreviated story leave it short on substance
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.
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
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.
198X is a title that oozes with love, care and personality and delivers an experience which many of us can relate to its story. But as I said, that's if we look at it as an experience. Because when we look at it as a game, we can see its flaws and lacks which make it hard for many people to justify purchasing and playing it. If you're after a short, unique and quite relatable experience about video games, you'll most likely going to like this game. But if you're only after gameplay or want a comprehensive story, you won't be pleased with 198X
Review in Persian | Read full review
Short as it was, I enjoyed 198X immensely. It does exactly what it sets out to do — provide a nostalgic '80s story with retro-inspired minigames — with an incredible level of polish. With the retro style, the remembered nostalgia, and the actual memories, it was a bittersweet experience from beginning to end. I'll be keeping an eye out for part two, as I want to experience the rest of Kid's story. After all, it reminded me so much of my own story, and those of so many other geeks of a certain age.