RetroRealms Arcade

Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead mark a strong debut for the RetroRealms hub thanks to innovative and challenging gameplay.

Retrorealms Arcade just feels so unspectacular. Competent, sure. It’s not a bad time. It’s just not a particularly memorable one, even if you’re a fan of the movies within. It feels like WayForward made sidescrollers and put the characters in them rather than having the games informed by the characters. So, if you wanted to play a platformer like Michael Myers, then that’s what you get and very little more. There isn’t much meat to sink a knife into.

It’s tough to say whether Halloween is a lesser experience than Ash vs. Evil Dead since the two are so remarkably similar in style and structure; think of them as two DLC packs serving the larger ‘RetroRealms’ hub experience. Yet we can’t deny that controlling Michael Myers isn’t quite as exhilarating as Ash Williams, nor are the enemies quite as interesting. If forced to choose, we’d probably go with Ash vs. Evil Dead.

RetroRealms Arcade's action-platformer gameplay is fun, but it does not offer enough worthwhile content for its asking price.

The Boss Team and Wayforward tandem, with RetroRealms Arcade, has managed to offer two incredible 2D platforming adventures inspired by two cornerstones of the horror genre, Halloween and Ash vs The Evil Dead. We really enjoyed playing each adventure (albeit with not the highest longevity) and the clever choice of mixing and matching characters is nothing short of genius. Add to that the colorful pixel art graphics with the ever-moving worlds, the functional old-style 16-bit gameplay, and the additional content and you have the “almost” perfect package.” Why almost? The asking cost, almost €60 for the complete package, is quite an amount that many gamers might find excessive!

RetroRealms: Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead are two games that create buyer confusion rather than fully celebrate horror culture. Thankfully, a majority of the problems with RetroRealms can be fixed. We can only wait to see if the dead stay dead or rise from their graves for more bloodshed.

You can have quite a bit of fun playing as Ash Williams or Michael Myers in RetroRealms Arcade, but I can’t help but think that this collection’s entire structure is completely unnecessary. Both Halloween and Ash vs. Evil Dead could/should have been released as separate games altogether, and for a slightly lower pricetag, devoid of DLC practices.

This time of year is flooded with horror games, but we rarely see retro titles with as much love and care as RetroRealms provides. WayForward crafted a solid action platformer with recognizable characters. It is a little pricey and I worry we may not get future endeavors, but I would love to see Chucky, Freddy, and so many others get their own games. For now this is the perfect game to play during spooky times if you have a nostalgia for classic side-scrolling action titles.

Retrorealms pays homage to two of the biggest horror franchises, and their respective fan bases here. I suppose if you're a hardcore fan, and you like video games, this is kind of cool. If you meet one of these criteria, maybe play a demo first. Great pixel art, great music, but definitely comparing it to the Halloween with Busta Rhymes.

You wouldn't think a licensed package like RetroRealms would be as entertaining as it is so I'm very happy that it exists; top quality stuff! 🕹️