Since the dawn of gaming, arcade cabinets have stood the test of time and have acted as a cornerstone in delivering fans this medium in bite-sized portions. Arcade cabinets allowed players to insert a couple of quarters to buy lives; when pockets are empty, it’s game over. RetroRealms Arcade seeks to continue this arcade cabinet trend. Still, instead of making a port of an arcade title, they have decided to drop a horror double feature on fans with two of the most iconic horror franchises out.
RetroRealms Arcade presents Ash vs. The Evil Dead and Halloween like fans have never seen before—a bloody double feature that embraces the high-octane action of an arcade title, now brought to home consoles as a side-scrolling 2D-pixel platformer loaded with Easter eggs from both horror franchises. Fans of both series will find plenty to explore, including moments of recognition from the films. However, these titles flip the traditional formula by featuring four playable characters, which adds more depth to the gameplay despite utilizing only half of the gamepad’s buttons.
Starting with RetroRealms Arcade Ash vs. The Evil Dead, it’s clear that the developers at Boss Team Games are true fans of horror, particularly this franchise. Ashley Williams retains all his crude humour and attitude from the series, and I never thought playing a Bruce Campbell-helmed video game—brown pants, chainsaw arm, and all—could feel so groovy. The premise is simple: a demonic overlord steals the Necronomicon, and it’s up to Ash (or one of the other three characters) to chase him down and retrieve it.
“RetroRealms Arcade presents Ash vs. The Evil Dead and Halloween like fans have never seen before—a bloody double feature that embraces the high-octane action of an arcade title.”
Simple screen cutaways like when Ash first retrieves his trusty Homelite chainsaw hand embrace other titles in the medium (with the retrieval being dramatized as much as possible in pixel form), as well as special moves like Street Fighter’s Shoryuken are prominently displayed as game functions. Speaking of, there are only a few controls in RetroRealms Arcade, and the 2D platforming is all the stronger for it.
Ash can dodge, roll, jump, melee attack, and even let loose a boomstick shotgun blast that decimates most enemies in a straight line, ripping them apart with blood and gore. Charging the boomstick feels just like charging a Megaman buster cannon shot and even makes a similar nostalgic hum, showing RetroRealms isn’t afraid to lean into its many (and obvious) inspirations.
Where RetroRealms adds a bit of originality is with the eyeball relic dropped by the main antagonistic Overlord when you first encounter him. This relic allows the character you’re playing to enter the demon realm, where everything becomes much more difficult—and fleshy—compared to the regular world. Gone are the breakable walls and hidden paths with ‘wall chickens’ that restore health, reminiscent of Castlevania. Instead, the demon realm reveals secrets behind walls you wouldn’t know were there without using the eyeball, adding a unique twist to the gameplay.
“Boss Team Games handles all of these mechanics superbly, with excellent level design and enemy placement that, while challenging, usually feels fair.”
This adds a whole new layer to the 2D gameplay, forcing players to explore every nook and cranny for hidden secrets. One thing is certain about RetroRealms Arcade—it’s punishing. Early stages feel like a nostalgic trip down memory lane, but by the time you hit level 3 and beyond, fans should brace for a world of hurt. Wall-jumping segments come at you rapidly, enemies bombard you with projectiles, and the infamous slippery floors make an appearance to complicate things even further. Boss Team Games handles all of these mechanics superbly, with excellent level design and enemy placement that, while challenging, usually feels fair.
In the Halloween portion of the double feature, it’s clear that Michael Myers’ brisk (and murderous) walk is much slower than Ash’s jog, but he compensates with a charge attack using his iconic kitchen knife (which RetroRealms Arcade cleverly reminds players is from his first kill—his sister, Judith Myers). This charge attack relentlessly slaughters most enemies in his path and can also be used to overcome obstacles. Boss Team Games smartly places collectibles in strategic spots to encourage players to think outside the box when using mechanics. RetroRealms Arcade (at least the Double Feature as it stands) offers a well-designed 10 levels of horror that will challenge even the best platforming players.
RetroRealms Arcade isn’t without its faults. The game’s world-changing mechanic often disrupts general gameplay, causing timing issues that make forward progress impossible. In the final level of Ash’s playthrough, there’s a hallway filled with spiky walls that requires precise platforming, but it frequently glitches, speeding up platforms and making it impossible to advance. This issue occurred in other stages as well, but this instance caused significant frustration, as it left too much up to chance, hoping the stage would work as intended (which it eventually did).
“RetroRealms Arcade offers a well-designed 10 levels of horror that will challenge even the best platforming players.”
Aside from the glitchy platforms, there’s also an issue with button responsiveness. When trying to string together moves like in most other platformers, the jump would often fail to register after a weapon attack. While this could be attributed to moving too quickly, the later stages demand precise inputs, and the game sometimes falls short in delivering that responsiveness.
RetroRealms Arcade is my jam. I love punishing side-scrolling titles that test the mettle of gamers, especially when steeped in significant horror lore that is a trick and a treat to dive into. Boss Team Games took great care with both licenses, inserting boss fights consistent with both series into stage design, and BTG even went into both games and changed the narrative to fit all four playable characters (including what happens when you finish Halloween as Ash Williams).
RetroRealms Arcade is genuinely worth completing with all main characters to see the antics that unfold afterwards, adding a layer of replayability to what might otherwise feel like a one-and-done title. Say what you will about platformers, but RetroRealms Arcade may very well be a new juggernaut in the genre moving forward.
