As a longtime gamer who has seen the evolution of horror gaming from its infancy, I can confidently say that RetroRealms Arcade has brought back fond memories of my arcade-going days with its Ash vs Evil Dead and John Carpenter’s Halloween games. The nostalgia is palpable as these games harken back to the days of sparse horror gaming and cartoonish, gore-filled beat-’em-ups that captured our hearts in arcades and home consoles.
Speaking the term “Splatterhouse” should take you, as well as other longtime players, on a trip down memory lane to times when numerous horror films were prevalent, but authentic horror video games were still rare. Famous horror franchises made some attempts at crossovers (mostly unsuccessful), but we didn’t have the skills and technology that today’s horror game designers possess. As a result, we received a beat-’em-up game with a cartoonish style, filled with references and gore, which eventually became known as Splatterhouse.
A day in the life of Ash & Myers
When exploring Ash vs Evil Dead and Halloween within RetroRealms Arcade, it’s important to understand that RetroRealms Arcade serves as a platform for these games. You can purchase the hub independently, but each of the Ash vs Evil Dead and Halloween games are available separately for $24.99 apiece, or combined in a bundle for $49.99. We’ll discuss more about the hub’s capabilities later on. If you already own either Halloween or Ash vs Evil Dead, you can interact with their respective machines to play them. These games are retro-styled hack-and-slash beat ’em ups, taking place in their respective universes where you control Ash in the Evil Dead game and Michael Myers in Halloween.
These games offer two extensive journeys reminiscent of retro gameplay, yet they have several interconnected themes. In every game, you’ll navigate through various stages as Ash, Michael Myers, or other characters, employing tools such as a chainsaw or butcher knife to hack your way through swarms of adversaries on your quest to thwart an evil mastermind and retrieve something valuable. For Ash, it’s the Necronomicon, while for Myers, it’s his sister’s tombstone. The stages range from trailer parks, factories, mental institutions, and other settings. A unique feature is the ability to utilize a magical artifact to shift your character into a nightmarish version of the world. In this realm, enemies are more aggressive and relentless, but it sometimes provides alternative paths through levels, hides secrets and collectibles, and offers clues to progress.
Monster killer or killer monster?
As a gamer, one of the most thrilling aspects I’ve discovered in these RetroRealms is the shared ground among their mechanics and features, creating an exclusive gaming route: I can embody Ash in the Halloween game or switch to Myers in the Ash vs Evil Dead game, each offering distinct narratives. The pre-level dialogues between Ash and the malevolent overlord in his game were a joy to watch, but it felt like a seamless continuation when I opted for Ash in Halloween. It’s fantastic that WayForward foresaw this integration, not just making these characters playable across games, but also crafting unique storylines for them, enhancing the fun factor significantly.
The RetroRealms Arcade isn’t just made up of the two main arcades; it’s also a fantastic collection of rewards and entertainment! As you advance through the levels in these arcades, you’ll unveil miniature scenes, decorative items, and even behind-the-scenes footage showcasing the creation processes for various elements like the popular Halloween musical theme and the tales behind each game’s development. This makes revisiting the games and searching for every hidden collectible an exciting prospect, as it will help you discover all the secrets hidden within each game in the hub!
The spooky start of something spectacular?
The layout of RetroRealms Arcade seems to indicate that it could potentially host a variety of games based on diverse IPs and concepts in the future. Currently, we have an exciting foundation with Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead offering a fun, campy, and retro-style action experience. However, I’d be eager to see additional game pairs or collections added to RetroRealms Arcade, each with unique gameplay styles. For example, imagine Alien/Predator run-and-gun games or Texas Chainsaw Massacre/Hannibal cooking games. While these ideas might seem dreamlike at the moment, they certainly hold potential. As we approach the most spooky season of all, John Carpenter’s Halloween and Ash vs Evil Dead serve as a compelling beginning for this arcade, not only offering a delightful blend of silliness and quality entertainment but also promising more fun times to come.
As a fervent enthusiast, I’ve gathered my thoughts from an early PC version graciously shared by the publisher. The RetroRealms Arcade and the additional packs for Ash vs Evil Dead and Halloween are set to launch on October 18, 2024, bringing excitement across multiple platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
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2024-10-17 16:27