When you first start playing Arcade Paradise and you’re told to walk into the launderette in front of you, you may be a little confused.
‘This isn’t Laundrette Paradise, right? I thought this was an arcade game’, you might say to yourself. Don’t worry. You’re in the right place. A wonderful place, in fact. This is indeed the set-up for Arcade Paradise, a simulation game about running your own laundrette-turned-arcade business. Earn money by washing clothes in order to continue to expand your on-site arcade. And when you’re not busy with business, treat yourself by playing any one of the cabinets at your disposal. It truly is paradise.
You see, your dad has just entrusted you with running his least-favourite business: the laundrette. It’s run down, and in its current state, it’s probably not worth your dad keeping it up and running. But it doesn’t take you long to realise that the few old arcade machines in the back are actually making more money than all of the laundry machines combined. And that gives you an idea…
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And so, by keeping your laundrette clean, putting clothes in washers and dryers, and fixing up stuff as it needs, you’ll earn money. The arcade machines will also keep filling up with coins, all of which can be used to to expand your business. But you’re not going to be expanding the laundrette side of things, are you? Oh no. This is Arcade Paradise after all.
Honestly, the couple of hours we spent with a preview build of Arcade Paradise were fantastic, and we’re excited to play more. This is an amalgamation of several ideas, all of which work surprisingly well together. There’s the management aspect; seeing your bank balance increase as business booms is always a thrill. Then there’s seeing your arcade grow. As money comes in, you can buy new machines, expand your premises and jazz up the décor.
The icing on the cake, though, is the 30-odd arcade games at your disposal. At any point you can jump onto any one of them: from a match-three puzzler to an amalgamation of Pac-Man and GTA. As you expand, you’ll get new games to play, and even a pool table that you can play against the CPU on. Or grab a second controller and let a friend play against you in two-player. Just keep an eye on your watch notifications: laundrette business still needs attending to during opening hours.
Not that it’s ever busywork. Even mundane tasks like loading a tumble dryer are presented with an arcade aesthetic. And throwing away a trash bag, or cleaning the toilet, is designed like its own little minigame, rewarding you with more cash depending on how you perform. Every element is wonderfully designed, and we can’t wait to see what other challenges come our way as our arcade business continues to grow.
Whether you like the idea of building your own arcade business from the ground up, or simply want to play some old-school arcade games for yourself, Arcade Paradise definitely needs to be on your radar. We feel like Nosebleed Interactive and Wired Productions have something rather special on their hands here. Bizarre, unique and zany, yes, but special nonetheless.
Arcade Paradise is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC this spring.
