Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews

I really, really dug my time spent with Arcade Paradise, and thought the sheer variety of arcade games was pretty impressive, as was the actual amount of upgrades and story content available. It took a lot longer to complete than I anticipated, right around the 20-hour mark or so for me, which makes for a pretty hefty “arcade” experience to be sure. My only serious complaint is the sheer number of bugs I encountered while playing. Nothing that was necessarily game-breaking, but I did have a lot of recurring issues while playing through our review copy on the Switch, which has not been fixed yet. However, a PC patch was just made available this week that does seem to address the bugs I encountered, and my understanding based on the official Arcade Paradise Twitter account is that this patch should be going live for consoles next week. I would advise holding off on purchasing the game until that patch goes live, assuming you’re considering a console version of the game, but outside of that, I think Arcade Paradise is well worth your time.

Arcade Paradise—a mashup business sim / retro arcade throwback—is one of those indie gems you look forward to telling other people about. If you’re a fan of the ’80s laser and chrome aesthetic, put on your puffy jacket and download it today.

We wholly recommend Arcade Paradise if you enjoy either simulation-style games or spent the '90s with a pocketful of quarters down at the local arcade. The narrative centred on a lazy young adult proving to their father they can run a successful business will never really grip you, and – believe it or not – laundering clothes and peeling gum off the machines becomes a bit tiresome. Yet the arcade games themselves and the sheer creativity and charm Nosebleed Interactive has packed into them more than makes up for the monotony. If we stumbled upon these games in the back of our local laundromat, we’d spend actual money there. But since that seems rather unlikely, we’re sure to boot up Arcade Paradise to try for some global rankings long after we’re done with laundering clothes.

Despite the elevator pitch for this one being all sorts of I’m Sorry What, Arcade Paradise is hugely compelling.

On the whole, Arcade Paradise is a fine game. If you like the premise, I suspect you will like the game a lot. It has a few flaws but nothing that really hurts the core appeal of the game, and I always find these sorts of “retro games that weren’t" affairs to be fascinating. It also does a great job of nailing its 1990s setting, with lots of little details that help pull you into its world. A unique, enjoyable sim that is very difficult to put down.

Arcade Paradise nicely marries the worlds of management simulation and classic arcade game collections. While the game does drag a bit towards the end, it’s a fun blast from the past if you spent days in the arcade every summer.

Arcade Paradise made me think of Outrun and GTA and Mr Driller, and also my own working life in my teens as a dishwasher and a double-glazing salesperson, sure. But it also made me think of those mazes tiled on the walls of Warren Street tube. Warren Street! Get it? Little puzzles made to be solved between trains, but tricky enough to encourage you to miss your train in the first place. Then you solve the maze and you're off into a wider maze of the underground network. And maybe, who knows, there's a maze beyond that too. [Eurogamer Recommended]