Antstream Arcade is now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, and everyday I drop in and find inspiration in this collection of retro games. Whether you're an indie game dev searching for ideas, a digital artist looking for a fresh approach to character design, or just need a break and refresh, this vast collection of retro games never fails to present an unusual, cult classic hidden amongst some familiar releases.
There are over 1,300 retro games in Antstream Arcade's library, including titles released on Nintendo, Atari, PlayStation and Sega consoles as well as home computers such as the ZX Spectrum, Amiga and Amstrad. Naturally, there are arcade hits in here too, from SNK, Irem, Namco, and more. From Alien Breed to Zool, this streaming collection is a literal A-Z of classic games, and you needn't own one of the best retro consoles to play them.
Inspiration is always hard to find, whether that's for a new art project or the spark of ambition for something yet to be created. Delving into past releases on Antstream Arcade I've become a little obsessed with the weird, inventive and often outrageous character designs, gameplay ideas and concepts creators in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s made possible.
Not every game was a hit, and that was okay; not all titles feature beautifully rendered art, and that's fine; not every release broke new technical boundaries, and I don't mind. And why? Because these developers and artists tried, sometimes failed, but tried to create new and interesting games with some occasionally outlandish designs. Whether it's a mash-up of game styles in SNK's cult release The Super Spy, or the cartoon shenanigans of Earthworm Jim and moles, for some reason lots of games about moles. Below are some of the best games I've happened upon this week, with art to inspire and ideas that have me logging into GameMaker and wishing I had some talent.
- Night Slashers By the mid-90s you couldn't move in a game store without being elbowed by a scrolling beat-'em-up, but this horror game from Data East stands out for its smart character design, sharp animation and comic gore - zombies heads pop off.
- Loom Unique amongst the plethora of point-and-click adventures, this Lucasfilm Games release uses a musical notes UI to solve its puzzles and progress; a real gem that still plays wonderfully today and features an individual sci-fantasy art style.
- Disposable Hero This Amiga horizontally scrolling shooter is memorable for its cover art, painted by John Berkey, a clear influence on the game's art style overall as the opening stage features designs reminiscent of the American cover artist's style.
- Nitro Ball A shooter set on pinball table inspired levels, this is a Data East game I'd never heard of until I stumbled upon it on Antstream Arcade, and I'm glad I did. Nitro Ball is one of those simple but nuanced retro games that could do well today.
- Motos Not exactly unknown, but Namco's 1985 tabletop arcade game remains incredibly playable, partly due to its simplicity. Players attempt to 'bump' one another off a platform, which changes shape and size with each new stage.
One downside is Antstream Arcade is a streaming service, so you'll need a good internet connection to get the best from it; older 8bit and 16bit games work fine overall but more complex titles and generally games that require fast inputs can suffer if your connection isn't up to scratch.
On the up side, a regular beat of challenges and tournaments throw-up new games to try, ones you may never have searched for. These daily and weekly tasks vary, such as gaining the highest score possible with one life in Gunbird or collecting every diamond in a level on Spectrum rarity Ice Slider Z. But the upshot is you're teased into trying new games and playing familiar ones in different ways.
But I'm here for a lotto-dip of inspiration, and for that Antstream Arcade has a good search function to help find those more unusual games. You can search by platform, game genre or name amongst many tags. The UI is bold and chunky, it has a modern-retro feel that suits the format. Searching spews up a screen of small game covers and logos to pick from, and there's a satisfying busyness to the way games are presented.
As a library of rare and unique games, including some outstanding retro game box art and classic game logo designs, Antstream Arcade is a personal favourite. Every day I stumble onto a game I'd not seen before or a title from my childhood I'd forgotten about; each one motivating me to think of new ideas and search out artists and developers I'd not come across before. If nothing else it's reminded me of game creators of yesteryear that, as a kid, I would search for on a game box, names such as Andrew Braybrook, Jon Hare and Raffaele Cecco; and before I even new who Shigeru Miyamoto was Jeff Minter was a legend.
The oldest game on Antstream Arcade is Pom, which was initially released in 1972, and the platform's studio head, Mike Rouse, is promising more to come, including potentially PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube titles. He told Game Rant: "We've got a massive number of games that come back on the platform, and we keep all our relationships with all of these publishers and owners of games so that maybe they've taken them off, but in six months, or a year, the deal's back on the table, and we can licence them again."
For now, the 1,300 games across 18 different retro platforms with two new titles released weekly, are more than enough to keep me plugging away, finding new ideas and reminiscing (if nothing else its put John Berkey back on my radar).
Antstream Arcade is out now for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, as well as Apple iOS. For more information visit the Antstream Arcade website.
