There were two golden ages of arcade gaming: the late 70s to early 80s, and the 90s. Even though I fall into the late 90s category, I remember the last few years of the arcade heyday—shelling out hundreds of credits for Mortal Kombat and Time Crisis. The Coin Game invites players back to those simpler times of being a teenager in those arcade gaming eras, before the console wars began.
This meant using babysitting and local lawn cutting service money to play games at the local shopping mall arcade, or some kind of arcade chain—like a Chuck E. Cheese, Woody Woodchuck’s, or a Wizard’s Castle. It also involved spending some of that money to buy a ton of junk food and sodas.
The Coin Game was made by a solo developer—devotid—who put the game in Early Access on Steam back on February 22, 2019. On March 19, 2026, the game is finally leaving Early Access and hitting 1.0. The Coin Game involves a collection of ticket redemption arcades with realistic physics, a carnival, goofy robots, open world design, a global ranking system and silly prizes. The game also features 50+ modern-inspired arcade machines and a pawn shop to convert prizes into cold, hard cash.
“The Coin Game invites players back to those simpler times of being a teenager in those arcade gaming eras, before the console wars began.”
With over six years of slowly developing this game, it immediately gripped me with nostalgia. The balance of being a life and arcade simulator game worked really well; the day and night cycle felt fair; and the health and hunger meter was about as accurate as it could be—not too punishing. I primarily played Survival Mode to fully experience The Coin Game, with the stakes of a game over on the line. However, it was a nice touch to add a game mode where players can solely focus on playing the arcade games and not worry about making money.
The map size of Islandville was decent, having three different arcade styles, which represented the arcade rush of the 90s. The three modes of transportation—the bike, the golf cart, and the van—also fit the vibes of the era. I think a skateboard or rollerblades could be a good choice to add alongside the bike. Along with the golf cart, I could see a moped being about the same speed class. The van is quintessential to the times, so it could stay as the sole best vehicle to get in the game.
The arcade machines themselves are more representative of both older and present-day arcade machines. Obviously, Skee-ball, basketball shooting, and claw machines are some of the classic machines. But the Ball Drop, Stacker, and Keyhole games are some of the more modern arcade machines. So, even though the setting of the game is somewhat in the 90s, it still has some modern sensibilities.
Speaking about modern, I was taken aback by the theme that everyone in Islandville (except me) is an egg-shaped robot. At first, I questioned why the developer did this, but quickly got over it when some of the game mechanics involved calling a Nanny Bot through the phone dial embedded within my in-game mom’s mechanical body. It is very strange, but added to the layers of trying to figure out the easter eggs and mystery behind the whole town.
The only peeve and aspect that frustrated me in this game was its ambitious choice to incorporate real physics. Unfortunately, I found delivering newspapers in The Coin Game one of the biggest video game struggles of all-time. I get that it should be as challenging as the babysitting and lawn mowing gig, but putting the newspapers in the mailboxes hurts my hand. It took me almost 1-5 minutes to put newspapers in their respective mailboxes.
The whole idea of The Coin Game centers on having fun through playing arcade games and gambling. It accomplished that for me, without the stakes of spending real money. The survival mode adds to the stakes, but spending money on food to survive was not as punishing as I thought. The money I made from selling arcade prizes or doing odd jobs reaped fair rewards.
With so many games to play and mysteries I still have not uncovered, I cannot wait to see what the full game holds at launch. I know fans of the early access would like to see VR support for this game, so it would be nice to see that in the works. The Coin Game is for those who want to play a 90s-themed life sim, with minimal stakes for fun—and no need to leave your bedroom either.
