The Last Shot Arcades review

I’m a bit of a sucker for something a little Leftfield. You know what I mean, something wacky, unusual, and strangely addictive. The Last Shot Arcades is one of those unusual indie arcade titles that immediately hooked me.

Rumata Lab has developed a stylish but poorly explained indie experience. This single-player game asks you to tackle 9 almost unique arcade machines. As you play each one, you’ll unlock stronger equipment and progress further as a consequence. The result is an addictive game that keeps dragging you back in.

The Last Shot Arcades tells no story.

The Last Shot Arcades has no plot, and frankly, it doesn’t need one. I have no idea why I was driving a bus, murdering dinosaurs, zombies, or robots with a giant clawed robot, or flying a plane. The lack of information or depth didn’t impact my pleasure. Instead, the lack of guidance caused a few head-scratching moments.

The action is relatively straightforward, but some trial and error is needed. Once you get to grips with the fundamentals, you’ll play each game like a Sensei master. This reasonably gentle learning curve, combined with odd elements, ensures that things are amusing and rewarding in equal measure.

A game for everyone.

The Last Shot Arcades has a mini-game for everyone. If you dislike violence, you can drive a bus across a side-scrolling motorway. You aim to avoid the other cars and drive for as long as possible. Sounds terrible, but it wasn’t. If this doesn’t take your fancy, why not jump into a robot claw machine and destroy your enemies?

This is your typical claw-grabbing action with a gruesome twist. If your foes get to the tower and you cannot tickle them in time, they leap on your machine, and it’s game over. Alongside this, there is a tower defence game and a dogfighting plane simulation. Each arcade game was casual, enjoyable, and well executed.

The Last Shot Arcades looks great.

The Last Shot Arcades has a dated CRT aesthetic for a proper nostalgic edge. Furthermore, there are sepia tones, crisp and outlandish models, and interesting backdrops to keep you focused. The audio is loud, crude, and high-energy. It embodies the ’70s and ’80s vibe and entertains without overstimulating you.

There should have been better guidance. However, once you tackle the basics, you realise the controls are simple and tight. This helps you to top your leaderboard and keep improving your high score. This lacks depth, but it is addictive. I wish there were 9 unique mini-games, but that wasn’t to be. Subsequently, I made the most of each different twist to the core game.

The Last Shot Arcades is brilliant.

The Last Shot Arcades is one of those games that gets under your skin. Although it is as deep as a puddle, I couldn’t stop playing it. Yes, the guidance should have been better, but I forgive this because, in reality, the action was relatively rudimentary. Not only that, but it looks great, sounds authentic, and it has plenty of replay value. Accordingly, I think it’s great and I recommend buying it from the Xbox store!