I was sent Arcadegeddon as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review of the game.
Arcadegeddon is the quirky, hyperactive looter-shooter that should have been released as a free-to-play game. The game runs great, the art is unique, and the music is great, but the game is boring. Once you get past the novelty of the colorful chaos, the game feels empty. There is a story, but it isn’t very well written.
A mega-corporation is taking over gaming, and a lone arcade stands in its way for total domination. The owner asks for your help, but the fight against the corporate machine won’t be easy. Earn the trust of the local gaming gangs and make gaming fun again.
The gameplay loop is a little too simple for this game to be charging money. You dive into the dungeon, fight the swarms of enemies, complete any objectives, and move on to the next floor to do it again. The goal is to get to the highest level possible without dying, and there is even a leaderboard for further incentive. You start each run with simple weapons and find stronger ones throughout the level. The guns are fun and unique, but there is always the chance that the RNG will make your runs miserable. There are daily missions, special quests, and gang quests that you can complete throughout the run to unlock new perks, weapons, and cosmetics. I didn’t find much incentive to keep playing after the first few runs.
You can play Arcadegeddon solo or with other people. The solo experience stops being fun, and I never had any luck with the matchmaking. The game supports crossplay, but I’ve seen comments complaining about it not working properly. I didn’t see an update and couldn’t test it, so keep that in mind before you make the purchase.
I can see this game being fun with friends, but I still think $15 is too big of an ask. The game isn’t bad, but I would rather play something like Wayfinder or Destiny 2 instead. Unless there is a major update to the gameplay loop or a healthy influx of enthusiastic players, I don’t see a real reason to buy into this game just yet. There really isn’t much more I can say about this game because as flashy as it is, it wasn’t very impressive. You can pick it up on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC via Steam and Epic Games, but I wouldn’t go rushing to buy it.