REVIEW: Arcadegeddon is just another multiplayer shooter

Those who subscribe to PS Plus will have the title available to redeem in July arcadegeddon. The game is one more display of titles multiplayers where players team up to win challenges and get gear — but with so much competition in the market, how does it fare? That's what you'll find out in the review from Showmetech about the game.

Premise that only exists to justify gameplay

The basic premise of arcadegeddon is that there is a large corporation striving to control the world through technology. Gilly, owner of a arcade local, is trying to save his business through a quick virtual reality digital game. Unfortunately, the corporation discovers the plan, and injects viruses into the game's server — making life difficult for both Gilly and the player's avatar.

With this, the title becomes an interesting situation in which the player is fighting a large corporation — like thousands of other games available on the market. But that's not the point, mind you, since clichés and commonplaces are natural situations in video games. The difficult thing is that this is an excuse that, if it depends on a possible sense of urgency instilled in the player, does not arouse engagement.

The game's premise is thrown in front of the player without any development. It is generally understood that the title of arcadegeddon refers to arcades (arcade, in English), but even so, we are talking about a game with another premise, which tries from its first moment to have tones of the current industry and only pay homage to the gameplay styles of yore.

And this is at odds with the simple story that, in the few moments when it is presented to us, makes a point of telling jokes that are common to modern entertainment, the quick references and “nerds” that would not be out of tune in Marvel movies, for example. . It is, in the end, a great accumulation of trends and buzz words, but it didn't exactly turn out pleasant.

Gameplay saves itself

Of course, we're talking about a video game, so even if the presentation, story and context are terrible, the title can still be saved by the gameplay. This is what happens in parts with Arcadegeddon.

Playing on PlayStation 5, you can see that the game has responsive and fast gameplay for shooting games. The shots come out in a satisfactory way, the movement is fast and has options such as acceleration and trips, the character can duck - the basic ingredients for an efficient recipe for shooting games.

The point is that, as we said above, regardless of the search for new weapons or the intensity of combat, the game just doesn't manage to hold the player's attention enough to become a frequent title in your library. 

The title can be full of situations like boss fights, quests for minigames competitions, fights against computer-controlled enemies or even competition between players, but nothing seems to breathe anything engaging. It's a curious experience.

At the same time, I praise the interesting system of communication between players present in the title, which allows quick cooperation between the team to warn of possible stronger weapons found on the map, for example. 

Along with these weapons, which can range from the basics of any competitive shooter (SMG, etc) to the bizarre (pixel popper, weapon that launches enemies like balloons to the sky), arcadegeddon It also creates an interesting, although not innovative, dynamic of looking for items around the map to become more skilled in battles. 

It is a loop interesting that has already worked in several titles, and that possibly can, at least in the first months of Arcadegeddon's release, also reflect on the existence of an active community in the title — although I keep stressing that the game's presentation, itself, ends up being making it so generic that the true gameplay potential ends up not being seen by the public.

Finally, customization in Arcadegeddon

Another point contained in arcadegeddon It's character customization. Whether as a result of online conflicts or even accomplishing objectives given by the nine gang leaders present in Gilly's arcade, the player can change the way their avatar appears in the game.

The clothes vary a lot, but the inspiration in the aesthetics of the “drip” so present in the US today, with oversized, checkered coats and symbols of fictional brands, beanies, accessories and the like.

At the same time, on the other side of the spectrum, we have items with a retrofuturistic aesthetic — the way the 2000s were seen by the 1980s population, in summary rather than in-depth description. It is common viewfinders techno, metallic armor and even colors reminiscent of clip aesthetics synthpop, and I confess that these were the ones that caught my attention the most.

In this context, I really believe that if the game had only focused on an aesthetic within the customization and the characters themselves that pass goals to the player, my problems with the presentation of the title could have gone away. As this was not the reality, the visual duality, in the end, does more harm than good for Arcadegeddon.

Conclusion

arcadegeddon is a reflection of current pop culture and gaming trends, and in this great mix of options it ends up standing out positively in a few moments. Sincerely, with the title being free for subscribers to PS Plus Essential in the month of July, I really believe that everyone should try it — with the wide range of people in it in these first few months, it's possible that opinion will change, regardless of the aesthetic and narrative problems present in the title.

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