Antstream Arcade Review (Xbox Series S)

by Jim Smale · Published July 31, 2023 · Updated July 31, 2023

For this Antstream Arcade Review, where we experience a place where you can find the world’s largest collection of classic games in one place. Download to instantly play thousands of retro video games – all for free! One account works across multiple devices, so you can pick up and play on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, Amazon Fire, NVIDIA Shield, and Atari VCS. Easily replay your favorite games from your youth such as Asteroids, Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, and many more!

Antstream Arcade Review Pros:

Beautiful graphics.
465.6MB download size.
1000 Gamerscore.
Retro game collection gameplay.
Cross-play settings can be turned on/off.
Avatars to choose from to personalize your profile.
The actual Antstream software has its own small set of achievements.
Some games have their own achievements.
Rolling tournaments generally offer a time-based one-shit challenge.
Full search bar with filters.
Takes games from the arcade, Amigas, Atari’s, and even Snes and PlayStation.
Challenges of games have three ways to play them – on your own, challenge a friend, or go up against the community.
Own an in-game friend list.
Is a community-building tool.
Create your own list of favorites.
Each game will have a brief overview, genre, and release date and then you can choose which version you play.
Online leaderboards for each game and usually each version of the game.
You get all the controls/layouts on the screen as the game loads.
Save when you want and you can have four slots for each game and choose which to load on the game select screen.
App store-like layout.
Is a great collection for us old gamers and those gamers that like to see how we got there.
They add friend suggestions on games, searches, and tournaments.
Earn medals – Bronze, Silver, and Gold trophies for the games so the completionists have a record.
It’s fun to rediscover games you forgot about.
Thumbnails show original box art.

Antstream Arcade Review Cons:

Navigation is not the greatest.
The search results bring up every version of a game so you will have pages of the same entries.
The tournament part could do with better descriptions and rewards.
Cannot rebind controls.
The profile part is very basic with only a small amount of avatars to choose from.
Couldnt see a way to try different regions of games rather than just console types.

Antstream Arcade:

Official website.

Developer: Antstream Arcade

Publisher: Antstream Arcade

Store Links –

Xbox

8/10
Graphics - 8/10
8/10
Sound - 8/10
7/10
Accessibility - 7/10
8/10
Length - 8/10
8/10
Fun Factor - 8/10

7.8/10

Summary

Whenever you get a game or piece of software that claims to be a retro gift from the gods, you are gonna have me first in line, here they boast that NES, Snes and even PlayStation games make an appearance, and sure enough, they do. In a Netflix-looking menu of thumbnails and categories, you can search and browse through the 1000-plus games and pick out what to play at will. I love how clicking a game will give a brief overview of when it came out so things like the year and publisher etc, but not even further you can select (if applicable) the console version of the game to play! Each game “can” have its set of challenges or achievements to earn which brings in a bit of competition. Talking of competition they have a rolling selection of games that go up for a one-shot attempt at a game and you win prizes like gems which are used for things such as continues. No, the competition stuff is a good feature as you can view leaderboards, get friend suggestions and get a new spin on an old title. Talking of friends, this is a very social-focused piece of software, they encourage and help you build up your friend list with suggestions, more friends means more people to challenge and play against so it is really a win-win. I definitely felt the social angle is a big pull and desire of the software. As for the choices of games, you get a wide variety of classics and obscure ones, I just loved being able to browse or get similar to this game recommendations and just discover either new favorite games or get a nostalgia hit as you unlock a personal memory. The controls are all well integrated, the loading is nigh on instant and the package as a whole is a good one. I would like to see the friend integration more fully realized and a better way to navigate it all but the first step is a strongly positive one.