Recommended 2.1 hrs on record

This is a NON-VR Review



I don't own a VR headset yet but I know and have worked with some of the devs personally in the past (I still talk to them very often and they are good friends of mine) but I wanted to share my thoughts on the game, so there's my disclosure. :) It's hard to be critical when I enjoyed the experience this much. I'll do my best to keep it fair but my excitement will most likely be taking over as I write this review.



I was born in 1980 and NRA:N is just hitting all the major marks for me.



I played the game with my daughter for a while (She's 3 years old so the nostalgic aspect is a bit lost on her) but we had a lot of fun. The moment she saw the title screen she was all like "pretty colors" and "It's so beautiful daddy", and she's right.



Digital Cybercherries are so on-point when it comes to design aesthetics its awe-inspiring. Incredibly well designed visuals which truly hit the mark regarding the "retro" look and feel. As an 80's kid myself, I love being able to go back to that time for a brief moment and capsulate that experience.



Pros:

- Highly immersive 80's and 90's experience.

- Incredible high quality assets and attention to detail.

- Amazing overall design Aesthetics that hit the mark in every aspect for me.

- Actual physics based games that work splendidly, very fun to play with friends.

- Rom integration is solid and so easy to set up.

- The 80's robot... Me and my daughter love that thing to death.



Cons:

- Some controls on some of the physics games are a bit lacking when using a game pad (I'm using Xbox 360). But they're designed for VR controls so not much to complain about.

- Wish the tapes would display the title I enter in the Arcade Builder app.

- It would also be nice if some sort of preview option was available when tweaking an arcade cabinet inside the builder tool and to be able to know its location and which map it's in as well. It's a bit tedious having to head over to the guide all the time.

- The screening room needs an audio option that can go louder then it's current volume level.

- Not able to eat those darn delicious looking cupcakes and brownies :(



It's a bit odd playing with a controller without the VR so things like bowling and playing darts aren't as fun I imagine as when using a headset. That said I LOVE the screening room. I hooked up some flicks and watched some proper 80's movies. It's a lot more fun watching it in NRA:N then the standard video player. :)



While New Retro Arcade: Neon is not a game in it's own right, the amount of fun that can be had is enormous. I set up and played some TMNT on one of the arcade machines and that's one of the areas where NRA:N really shines. The scan lines and the shader effects used on the cabinet screens are amazing. truly brought me back to when I was playing them as a wee lad.



The game runs like a well oiled machine and I had immense fun. I'd fully recommend New Retro Arcade: Neon to anyone who wants to either go back in time and experience it again, or for those who grew up after the 80's and 90's and want to experience a bit of what it was like back then.



And for those complaining about the lack of multiplayer ROM options, that's not fair to expect. the games back then weren't designed for online multiplayer even online play within emulators are worthless and simply hardly ever work and when they do it's just too laggy.



I would however, hope they can add a feature where you can watch others play. Now THAT would bring me back proper to the days I was watching older kids play games waiting for my turn. :)

Posted August 8, 2016. Last edited August 8, 2016.