198X

Release Date: June 20, 2019

Action, cars, RPG elements, 2D, beat 'em up, crowdfunding, indie games, side-scroll, shooters, 80s, singleplayer

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Atypical production, which is a kind of tribute to the old automatic games and combines several different genres, such as races, shooters or beat'em ups. The Swedish independent developer Hi-Bit Studios is responsible for creating this title.

Plot
Mechanics
Game modes
Technical aspects

198X is an independent retro game, which combines several different genres from the 1980s, such as beat'em ups, shooters, racing games and RPGs. The title is a tribute to the "golden age of arcade games", featuring a plot referring to this period. The game was developed by the Swedish company Hi-Bit Studios and is its debut project.

Plot

The main character is Kid, an adolescent boy who one day discovers that unusual things are happening in a local arcade, resulting in a blurring of the border between the real world and video games.

Mechanics

198X's gameplay is very varied - it depends on the level at which we are at the moment. There are several different genres here, characterized by drastically different mechanics and the way the action is presented - sometimes we have a side view (side-scrolling perspective), in case of racing the camera moves behind the vehicle (TPP), and in RPG fragments we observe the world from the eyes of the hero (FPP).

The main premise of the game does not differ from what we know from the old arcade games - our task is usually to complete a given level, which requires defeating or shooting all opponents, winning a race or conquering a dangerous dungeon. All of this is joined together by the story - discovering it is also part of the fun.

Game modes

198Xcan only be played solo. The game offers a story campaign, in which we experience different genres and game modes.

Technical aspects

198X features very nice, two-dimensional graphics. The visuals are styled to resemble what we know from games from the 80's (pixel art style), but despite appearances it has a quite high level of detail. The locations, animated pictures and cut-scenes, through which the plot of the game is told, are particularly impressive - they are colorful and nicely animated.

Last updated on May 20, 2020

Videos and Screens

[1:49] 198X launch trailer