Arcadegeddon

Arcadegeddon is a cooperative third-person shooter with a neon, cyberpunk aesthetic currently in Early Access. Yourself and up to three friends can play it together, your goal being to protect a struggling arcade from the evil mega-corporation, FunFUNco. This is accomplished by fighting over a variety of diverse levels, encompassing several different biomes, whilst blowing hordes of enemies away utilizing a wide arsenal of weaponry.

The Prelude to Conflict

Gilly’s arcade stands as a lone bastion of 80s/90s gaming nostalgia in a grim, dystopian future. Unfortunately, a large, faceless mega-corporation called FunFUNco is doing everything in their power to shut the arcade down and buy the place out. In an act of defiance, Gilly creates one last game, his magnum opus. However, it’s promptly infected by a virus manufactured by FunFUNco. He needs someone to enter the game and clear it out, which is where you come in.

The Act of Rebellion

To play Arcadegeddon evokes memories of playing other similar video games such as Risk of Rain 2, or Hades. This is a game that’s based around the classic Roguelike concept of ‘The Run’. Each run begins by loading in at level one, equipped with the most primitive of weaponry, such as a baseball bat and a gun that literally goes ‘pew-pew’.

Upon starting a run in one of the game’s diverse, procedurally arranged levels, you’ll be thrown into the action quickly. You’ve entered Gilly’s game to take down the virus installed by FunFUNco. This virus manifests itself predominantly as a series of mechanical beings, of all shapes and sizes. To fight it, you’ll be proceeding through levels, traversing different biomes, looting, shooting, and completing a variety of objectives. All the while, the game steadily ramps up in difficulty, throwing more and more powerful enemies and bosses at you.

As far as I can see, there’s no end state, it’s simply a case of getting as far as you can until you die, much like many other Roguelikes. Thankfully, when your character dies in the game, they do not die for real, but respawn back in Gilly’s arcade, ready to have another go. In terms of overall progression, it appears to be based around simply unlocking more character abilities and cosmetic items.

The World of the Future

Cyberpunk, neon cityscapes are a particular favourite of mine. When I realised that the hub world of the game was going to be a retro-futuristic arcade, colourfully lit in contrast to an otherwise dark, rain-slicked street in a corporate dystopian future, I was all in. The selection of biomes has some diversity too, ranging from the dense, industrial city to mystical island getaways.

The game has some great visuals, evoking the same cartoonish 3D style as Overwatch, Paladins, or any number of modern animated movies. I’m not quite so keen on the soundtrack however, I feel it would’ve benefitted from a more 80s themed score to complement the retro-futuristic style much of the game is gunning for.

The Pros & Cons

The Pros

• Fantastic Cyberpunk setting
• Solid gunplay and combat
• Stylized, solid visuals
• Large selection of weapons

The Cons

• Can feel a little repetitive
• Overall progression is a little thin on the ground