Reliving my youth in the most excellent way with a massive library of streaming games
Growing up in the Eighties was formative for my gaming mindset: “Graphics” were a key identifier based on pixel count, the number of buttons on a controller showed how futuristic a platform was, and we gamed together with friends every. single. day. EVERY DAY. We’d pass controllers back and forth, replay full games 4 or 5 times in a sitting just because, and created meta after meta about what kind of run we were on. Gaming was a community thing with our closest friends.
Antstream Arcade captures that idea, and now that it’s on PlayStation 5 I can almost feel like a kid again (if I could just get my stupid friends to come over now that we’re all working overtime and have things called “families”). Sheesh. Anyhoo, this is a truly bewildering thing. This is a cloud streaming service that doesn’t deliver a small selection — no, it’s “more than 1300” games across retro platforms from the 70s through to the mid-90s. Commodore 64? It’s there. The NES? Yup. Mega Drive? Sure. Amstrad? I don’t know what that is, but it’s there too. Because the games are streamed, running on a server in some far off location, the app contains the full original versions of the games. Arcade games are true arcade versions, the NES games are NES versions, and even the few variations of ROGUE are what you’d find on their old computer platforms (just make sure to have a keyboard plugged in to the device to be able to play). While I was able to control everything with the PS5’s DualSense, it would have been nice to jump into these with more dedicated controller hardware. Perhaps a few Bluetooth retro controllers are in my future.
It’s really a marvel to see the collection, ranging from the familiar Double Dragon to some absolute obscurity in PC RPGs that maybe not more than 40 people ever played. The library is obviously whatever Antstream could find in affordable licenses, but even with some obtuse games there is some genuine enjoyment to be had. It feels great for game preservation because much of these would honestly be lost to time otherwise.
That’s because we’re not just playing the games, we’re almost always competing with each other when we do so. Antstream Arcade has several modes built in, and I found myself enjoying these almost more so than the games by themselves. Much like Nintendo World Championship – NES Edition, there are weekly challenges that entice us to come back and take on short aspects of these games, like surviving as long as we can on 1 life in a shooter, or defeating a boss without taking a hit, or taking on a game’s level without firing a projectile. It’s easy to find myself replaying these challenges as I try to improve my score or climb up the leaderboards, and like the aforementioned Nintendo release this is a great way to get us interested into these classic games. They’re a bit like demos, but with a meta purpose. But here I can play the full game afterward, almost immediately without leaving the app. Other modes include “Giant Slayer” in which we take on community challenges, and challenges between individual players. Local multiplayer is there, too, for when my friends eventually come over. All of these are great additions to the gaming experience, giving me something to do in a game when I’m not interesting in just playing it.
The UX, though, is where the experience is hampered. There are layers and layers of menus and almost too much text, and it becomes difficult to navigate and organize what I want to play and when. There are A LOT of things to look at; it’s a bit chaotic to say the least. On top of that, because it’s a cloud-based streaming platform the loading times and game performance is completely reliant on our own networks. My games did crash a few times, and loading could often stutter or take upwards of a minute or so, even though my wireless router is less than 20 feet from my PS5.
Because it’s a subscription service, there are monthly and even lifetime plans. They’re fairly affordable, too, for this Netflix of classic games. And, if players aren’t quite sure if they want to jump in to another subscription just yet then the game utilizes a gem system that awards a daily amount of virtual currency to unlock a couple of games and challenges every day. That way if a player realizes this isn’t for them, or the network streaming side isn’t quite working out, then they don’t feel obligated. It’s a nice way to play for free while getting a feel for what’s available. Our review code gave us 1000 gems to start with, which may feel like a lot but I was able to whittle it away over a few days of challenges and unlocks. I did make it near the top of the leaderboards though, so it was worth it.
Antstream Arcade may be worth it to many who love classic gaming, and with the weekly additions of new old games the library really does feel stacked. I just may need to get a long CAT8 cable to keep it in top performance.
This review is based on a PlayStation code sent to SideQuesting by the publisher. It first appeared on The SideQuest Live for September 11, 2024. Images and video courtesy the publisher.
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