Arcade Paradise is a new simulator game created by Nosebleed Interactive and published by Wired Productions. Set in the 90s, players will take the role of a fresh out of college student putting a business degree to use, given the task of managing your father’s laundromat.

You will need to do all the standard maintenance work, including unclogging the toilet and collecting trash, while having to keep on time with loading clothing into the washing machine, putting it in the dryer, and then placing it on the collection table. So, where does the arcade come in?

Tucked away in the back room live several arcade machines customers can use to pass the time while they wait for their washing to dry, and they seem to be making more money than the laundromat, so with your sister’s help, you convince your dad to expand the back room and get more space for gaming units.

While building your Arcade Paradise using the money you earn from washing clothing and performing tasks, you can play the arcade games yourself, but don’t lose focus on your work. Finishing your actual job faster will result in a higher reward of funds which, in turn, will result in more games to buy and play.

You can also spend your hard-earned money to buy extra items to help boost the popularity or hire a manager that will empty the coin hoppers and put the money in the safe. You can buy things like title posters that can be placed on the walls within the arcade, or items that will help you with maintaining the workplace, like bigger rubbish bags and signs to place in the bathroom that will help keep them clean.

Sadly, certain items can’t be bought, which does take away from the feeling that you own the space, such as lighting styles and choice of room colour. The main focus is on the arcade as a whole, but seeing how much time is spent working in the laundromat side of things, I wish we were able to freshen up that side of the business – it is bland to look at for so long.

Arcade Paradise lets you pick where the arcade units will be placed in the backroom, view the popularity of the unit, and place it next to others to boost money gained from it. You can also use the management option to change the price of play for machines, so if you find a unit is not providing a decent payout when you empty the hopper, try changing the price or the location of the unit to see if the results change.

There is a big collection of arcade units to acquire in the game, ranging from games that look similar to GTA but play like PAC Man, to a Frogger-style game or something like Candy Crush. Playing the games is fun but you will need to stop quite frequently to tend to your main source of income – the washing and drying. Arcade Paradise is a working simulator after all. Sure, you could play a game the whole shift and not earn any money, but then progression is slowed right down as your only income is the coin hoppers from the arcade. Balancing gaming and working is the go-to action needed to keep a decent and steady income.

Arcade Paradise’s soundtrack is heavily ’90s themed, with a radio in the arcade room giving off some vibing beats, and then the front of the store music is what I would consider elevator music. Even the arcade machines have their own music and sound effects, which very much suits the theme of the game.

The graphics for the game are fantastic. You play in a first-person view and the environmental details are very clean, albeit a little dark and dirty, and with a slight smoky filter over it – everything you’d expect to see in a laundromat. The arcade section is also true to form, with a darker atmosphere, bright neon lights, and of course, the 32-Bit arcade machines you can play.

You can even venture outside to find realistic graffiti on the walls in the alley, piles of trash, and a notice board in the store. They have really focused on including everything you’d expect to see. This is let down by the customers. They have a reasonable amount of detail to them, but when you move in close, they will pixelate and disappear. This, for me, made it feel less busy and just empty with the visual appeal of the store.

The controls for Arcade Paradise vary depending on what you are actually doing. While working to load and unload machines, you will just be holding down the action button. Removing gum from objects will give you a power bar, and you press the action button when the meter is at the top for the best chance at removal, and while playing arcade games, they each have a control scheme that you can view by pressing pause and checking out how to play in the management section.

Arcade Paradise is a game that will let you build an arcade you will be proud of, but you will have to put in the legwork to make it happen. Be prepared for a lot of very simple gameplay with washing and drying before being able to make your dream possible and getting some more in-depth gameplay.

I do wish you could give the arcade a bit more of a personal touch by being able to customize lighting and furniture style. Instead, you just run it with the default vibe. I’d also would like to see the customers moving around and not becoming a glitch in the matrix when I get close to them.

Written by: Shane Walsh