Like a claw machine, Arcade Paradise from Nosebleed Interactive and Wired Productions has grabbed me and won me over. I’ll be honest, I went into this review completely blind and wasn’t quite sure what to expect other than something arcade orientated. Take me anywhere rammed full of machines with retro-style video games on tap and I am like a kid in a sweet shop. The cascade of neon lights, the nostalgic jingle and the joy and laughter of others always make the atmosphere of the scene full of moments to treasure, even if it does cost money. Here we have a game that brings the elements of those levels of excitement along with some weirdly intriguing business management aspects in a run-down laundromat.

Introduction

In traditional fashion, you’ve dropped out of college with no sense of direction in life. In the meantime, you’re given the keys to your father’s tired and dysfunctional laundromat. The premise is quite simple and that is to make the business flourish again and create incentives to bring in a consistent and healthy revenue stream. You’ll be getting stuck into washing and drying clothes, clearing rubbish, unblocking the toilet and peeling used chewing gum off surfaces. These tasks sound mundane on paper, but you’ll actively be involved in the time management of getting all this done within a specific time window.

The aim is to build your cash flow in order to reinvest in arcade machines for the back area of the property. Your Dad isn’t too happy with the ideology of regenerating into an arcade as well as somewhere where you can freshen up clothes, but we’re going to build an arcade paradise regardless of what he says.

Gameplay

Arcade Paradise is one of those games where you do have to stick it out during the early stages. Starting each new day does often spur a repetitive process of clearing discarded burger boxes, empty cans and newspapers people have ditched. It is then when you crack on with the washing and drying. This is a juggling act between loading the washing machine for a three-minute cycle and then into the tumble drying machines for a further three minutes. You can have multiple loads on the go at once but don’t be afraid of straying off and getting stuck into playing on the arcade machines out the back. Your personal watch handily reminds you when some washing or drying is finished and you’ll be able to venture back out to tend to the finished loads.

Turning Chores Into Mini-Games

Doing these tasks can come across as monotonous, but I found it worth the grind for the end goal of investing in new equipment. I found it a little frustrating that if you’re enjoying an arcade game you’ll receive a reminder that stuff needs doing in the laundromat. You can choose to wait it out and deal with the workload when you feel like it, but you’ll earn the bare minimum when you get around to it. I found that perfect timing and accuracy are what maximised profits, so tending to the washer and dryer immediately grants you $30 each time, do it later and it is only $5. Each of these tasks presents itself as a mini-game. For example, throwing trash into the bin outside has a target which you can throw the bag into, hit the centre and the return will be greater.

Time For A Bit Of Shopping

As the game progresses you’ll be able to go around the machines in your little empire and empty out the cashboxes and transfer any funds to your safe. When you have enough dollars in the bank you can then log in to your Windows 95-esque PC and browse through a catalogue of machines and other goodies. You do feel like you have to break through a brick wall in the game to get to the fun and excitement of everything on offer, but once you do its great fun. Once you get a catalogue of arcade cabinets under your belt, it becomes a strategic placement exercise to keep the money rolling in. Placing certain machines next to others can boost their popularity, you can even tinker with the price setting and other internal options to fine-tune each.

Plenty Of Nostalgic Goodness

I was pleasantly surprised at how fantastic the actual arcade games turned out. Considering these are built from the ground up for this game alone is just mind-blowing. Whilst some of them quite obviously took inspiration from previous retro games such as PAC-MAN, it was done in a tactful and clever way that still made the experience fun to play. Some titles also offer local co-op play so that you can play with a family member or friend from the comfort of your own home. Another fantastic feature that I didn’t expect if I’m honest. If you’re lucky enough to see out the game quite far then you’ll be able to indulge in pool and darts which I spent more time than anything with.

Hitting certain milestones throughout the day will assign you money for a separate kitty for purchases on an eBay clone. Here you’ll be able to buy upgrades for machines, functionality to zoom into certain items and even someone to go around and empty the machine hoppers for you.

Graphics & Audio

Visually Arcade Paradise as a package is simply stunning. It is clear plenty of the arcade games have taken inspiration from others but it didn’t really matter. Playing each new machine each time felt like I was playing a brand new retro-style game for the very first time. They are displayed as if you were playing on a proper CRT screen and reminded me of the very recent Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium. I have to tip my hat to the very small development team for creating not only an excellently presented environment within the laundromat and the surrounding areas but 35 different arcade games that were extremely varied and genre and not skimpy in size.

Sound design is equally as good with every sound effect being produced as you’d expect. The purchase of a jukebox later on in the game fills the rooms with some ’90s-infused vibes that will either chill you right out or have you fist-pumping. We also have a well-renowned voice actor in the form of Doug Cockle (The Witcher, Victor Vran) who narrates the scripted voice portions of the father.

In Conclusion

Arcade Paradise was a complete surprise to me and an experience that literally consumed me for hours on end, and I’m still not done yet. I found the blend of running a laundromat whilst keeping tabs on my arcade through the back of my business addictive. There is a grind element to gaining revenue and it felt enriching to graft doing the washing and drying in order to kit out with new arcade cabinets and machines. You’re never punished for not ticking off tasks or leaving the washing for a bit to go and indulge in the range of games on offer, and you can play every single one.

I’m seriously impressed at what such a small development team has achieved here with over 35 different arcade games to play. No two titles ever felt the same and each varied through various genres, each with their own leaderboards and plethora of options. If you’re into simulation-style games that throw something a little different into the mix, then you’ll love Arcade Paradise. At £16.74 on Xbox at the time of writing it certainly seems like a steal at that price and quickly joins my personal pile of must-play games in 2022.