WARDOGS
WARDOGS
Game
Game2019
198X
Developer Hi-Bit Studios
198X is an action game developed by the Swedish team Hi-Bit Studios and published by Sonka. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Windows in June 2019, with a port for the Nintendo Switch published in January 2020. An Xbox One version was announced but never released. A homage to arcade gaming in the 1980s, 198X's coming-of-age story follows an unnamed "Kid" as they discover a video arcade in an abandoned factory… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
259 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 16, 2026 · last updated Oct 17, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
75
LovedLoved
141 positive · 48 negative
95% range 68–80%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 141 | 48 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 15 | 2 | 45 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
1,132 of 1,540 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
75% recommend · 144 yes, 49 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 193 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (1,642 of 2,161 positive).
Players praise the game's nostalgic 80s arcade feel, pixel art, and soundtrack. [1][2][3] Many note the short length and unfinished story, with no sequel in sight. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize unskippable scenes and pretentious narrative. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
I'll save you and hour and ten bucks. Go listen to some retro synth playlist on youtube. Next, get any random thread in r/im14andthisisdeep and put it on text to speech. There. That's the game. The game is pretentious as it gets. Vague allusions to something your dad did, and now family is forever broken apart and mom is useless and controlling you and the big city is some magical escape to happyland. Vague whining …
- [1]
Nice little indie game. Perfect for a short evening, almost as long as a movie. Replay value is only given for the sometimes challenging achievements. The short, quite emotional story is mainly about growing up and is told with stylish cutscenes. In several different arcade mini-games we play our way through a homage to the 80s gaming era. This game is basically a love letter to that time. The pixel visuals and cool …
- [3]
Story rich arcade action game filled with 1980s nostalgia. PROS: - Beautiful pixel art. - One of greatest game soundtracks ever, fantastic quality synthwave. - The 1980s nostalgia hits all the right notes. - Nice story. - Interesting idea to put multiple short games of different genres together. Some racing, some beat'em up, some platforming. CONS: - Some of the games within game are really difficult. Shadowplay is …
- [2]
198X is a cute little narrative game with impeccable 80s vibes conveyed through the synth sound design and the outstanding pixel art. The game features a collection of mini games that you would expect to find in an Arcade during the period this game takes place in. Those mini games come from a variety of different genres - there's a dungeon crawler, a beat 'em up, a racing game and more. I definitely enjoyed the …
- [4]
A fun little collection of mini games loosly coupled with a somewhat ambivalent story. The games are fun, sound is good and the graphics are crisp and wonderful if you like the esthetic. It's a shame that its unfinished and also feels like that. After 5 years I don't expect the next part anytime soon. I guess it will stay like that. Would be nice if the minigames where full fledged and could be played on its own, …
Summarised from 34 of the 264 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked 198X talk about beautiful pixel art and retro aesthetic; those who didn't talk about game is too short and feels unfinished. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch versions of 198X all received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 53% of critics. Writing for Nintendo Life, Damien McFerren gave the game 8/10 stars, stating that while 198X had an "exceptional" soundtrack and cited Out of the Void as "perhaps the highlight of the entire game", he found the game to be too short, with McFerren able to breeze through the entirety of 198X in "around an hour". He also bemoaned the lack of replayability in the mini-games, which he found little point in…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 259 · most liked firstTonight, we'd like to take a moment of your time to tell you about a game we haven't made, but that deserves your undivided attention if the words "Dutch T55s vs Werewolves With Rocket Launchers" pique your interest in any way. FIRELOCK 198X A COLD WAR FANTASY WAR GAME BY RIFLE INFANTRY.
neutral · AI labelView post →198X - Gameplay mockup Made for the Kickstarter campagne it was later on used by the studio to produce the full game sequence. #gamedev #pixelart #animation #indie
neutral · AI labelView post →POV: The millennial manager at your favorite arcade / pizza plex booted up an old version of HackPhish on his retro 198X GamerGlove™️, and now he’s got video game superpowers. 🐀🍕👾✨ #Art #Toon #Furry #Retro #Gamer
neutral · AI labelView post →Restoring the Explosive Fun of a TOMY Hit And Missile Game! (Randi Rain) [24min]. Randi Rain disassembles and restores an almost-"new"-but-not-working "Hit and Missile" electro-mechanical handheld game (from 1979 - 198x?). [You can see it working at 21:39](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3GhfNBF4Aw&t=21m39s)  Source of the image: [Handheld Empire - game | Tomy : Hit and…
neutral · AI labelView post →I have got to get back on tabletop wargaming just to play firelock 198x the amount of sauce this game has is unreal
positive · AI labelView post →I'll save you and hour and ten bucks. Go listen to some retro synth playlist on youtube. Next, get any random thread in r/im14andthisisdeep and put it on text to speech. There. That's the game. The game is pretentious as it gets. Vague allusions to something your dad did, and now family is forever broken apart and mom is useless and controlling you and the big city is some magical escape to happyland. Vague whining about how childhood is always the best and adulthood is big meanie while the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has such cool cutscenes, visual and audio effects, level design, narration... Just take a look at this boss scene in the Runner episode, level 4. So cool It's called 198x, released on 20 Jun 2019 store.steampowered.com/app/1086010/... #indiegames #pixelart
positive · AI labelView post →the guy making firelock 198x needs to move to bluesky so i can more easily keep up w the game introducing huge brain shit like "char 2c with a CIWS mount"
neutral · AI labelView post →Nice little indie game. Perfect for a short evening, almost as long as a movie. Replay value is only given for the sometimes challenging achievements. The short, quite emotional story is mainly about growing up and is told with stylish cutscenes. In several different arcade mini-games we play our way through a homage to the 80s gaming era. This game is basically a love letter to that time. The pixel visuals and cool music alone are worth it for the retro feeling. Information on the store page…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The World of Horror soundtrack has arrived! Fittingly for a game set in 198X, we've stocked it on both vinyl and compact disc. (No longbox for the CD, though, sorry.) Available now: www.fangamer.com/collections/...
neutral · AI labelView post →This reminds me of Firelock 198X, a little indie fantasy war game set in the Cold War in which there is a faction of wolf men who are vulnerable to silver… so one of the other factions adds silver particulate “Chemical-SP” to their chemical weapons
neutral · AI labelView post →So far so good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Was expecting to play as a dude but the girls voice you play as is beyond annoying. The story sucks and is just a Tron rip off. Great idea but poorly executed and playing as a lesbian makes it worse.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →198X is a cute little narrative game with impeccable 80s vibes conveyed through the synth sound design and the outstanding pixel art. The game features a collection of mini games that you would expect to find in an Arcade during the period this game takes place in. Those mini games come from a variety of different genres - there's a dungeon crawler, a beat 'em up, a racing game and more. I definitely enjoyed the diversity of genres and each game had something in store for me. Depending on your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"FIRELOCK 198X" a tabletop miniatures of game fantasy warfare in the nuclear age. Site and free rules..
neutral · AI labelView post →This is so eerily beautiful. Well crafted and quite touching. I can relate to The Kid's life as a generation X and the golden era of arcades.. How just with a handful of coins for all the compilations of video games, that we couldn't bring it home or even enjoy it anywhere at anytime unlike the present day, help us battling with all the bad things within our daily lives, psychologically. But what giving me goosebumps the most; are the soundtracks, even better to listen during rainy days,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You have my attention. Mesmerizing design; nails the aesthetic of a specific era of gaming, among other things. Firelock 198x is a tabletop miniatures game of fantasy warfare in the nuclear age. firelock-team.itch.io/firelock-198...
positive · AI labelView post →“When do I get to play the game?? I haven’t been able to rotate blocky shapes at all yet just been forced to hunt ghosts as a yellow man??” -Moron playing pac-man instead of Tetris c. 198X
neutral · AI labelView post →Grim Fandango! The Stream Deck is perfect to finally tackle my backlog of older games. Also finished 198X recently which was short but good.
positive · AI labelView post →#justbeatit 198X, a brief ode to ‘80s gaming genres, arcade culture, and teen angst, in the form of a narrative mini-game set. I would have liked two to three times as much of everything. More of each individual game, more games total, more story. But I liked what I got. @polykillpodcast.bsky.social
neutral · AI labelView post →has anyone else played the tabletop game firelock 198x? it's really fun
positive · AI labelView post →all Chelseas born after 198X know is Macintosh, code they game, stab, be transexual , eat hot chip and lye
neutral · AI labelView post →"People started seeing you the way they wanted to see you" Short and stylish game, highly recommended if you’re looking for a collection of nostalgic games that evoke the arcade era, albeit with a surprisingly emotional undertone. The soundtrack is pretty good and that’s what ultimately won me over, though if you want to complete 100% of the game, it’s pretty tough as there are hardly any checkpoints. Works great on the Deck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →please popularize firelock 198x so that when i go to the board game store other people know what it is and how to play
positive · AI labelView post →just played my first game of firelock 198x that lasted like 7 hours: twas a lot of funnnn i wanna try doing higher point gamess
positive · AI labelView post →Chill stream today with a game I have wanted to stream since I first played it. 198X! It's beautiful story told through arcade games, with an AMAZING soundtrack! Come hang out with me today at 3pm PST. 🩷 www.twitch.tv/ember_glows #cozystreamer #smallstreamer
positive · AI labelView post →Story rich arcade action game filled with 1980s nostalgia. PROS: - Beautiful pixel art. - One of greatest game soundtracks ever, fantastic quality synthwave. - The 1980s nostalgia hits all the right notes. - Nice story. - Interesting idea to put multiple short games of different genres together. Some racing, some beat'em up, some platforming. CONS: - Some of the games within game are really difficult. Shadowplay is excessively hard compared to rather casual difficulty of other games.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In high school (198x) I had a friend who liked to write games for the Commodore 64. I don't know if he ever wrote an actual game. He did however write a long series of ever more elaborate loading screens. Just born with the demoscene itch I guess. Hope he found his people, eventually.
neutral · AI labelView post →Half of a story being told through nostalgia for the arcades of the 80s. The minigames all do a fairly good job of giving a taste of the classic titles that inspired them but are ultimately vehicles for the game to present its overarching story. The problem is that the story is simply left unfinished for a promised part 2 to conclude. Given its been over half of a decade and no actual info about when or if we will ever see it seems to exist i cant really recommenced this game. I only hope that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's almost been 6 years, where is Part 2?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Morlan's shorts: Making the player wait for 1-2 minutes for a non-skippable fade out even to start the game(!) is a total disrespect of the player's time. And then it happens again after the first "intro" stage. I had to use Cheat Engine to speed it up, and it was still too slow. Yeah the graphics may be a nice gesture to the 80s (the music is boringly repetitive though) but I just can't stand devs who don't respect the player's time. It's a loud NO. Make these scenes skippable and we'll talk..…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun little collection of mini games loosly coupled with a somewhat ambivalent story. The games are fun, sound is good and the graphics are crisp and wonderful if you like the esthetic. It's a shame that its unfinished and also feels like that. After 5 years I don't expect the next part anytime soon. I guess it will stay like that. Would be nice if the minigames where full fledged and could be played on its own, but in this state I can't recommend it. Either want I to not recommend it. Just…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Setting/artwork has some cool interesting bits which alone sadly don't redeem the gameplay and dragged out unskippable lame story about a bored whiny androgynous kid. B/w this nonsense you get 5 short segments of different game types which pay homage to the arcade/8-bit era games. Only had fun with the 1st - a beat em up which is also the shortest, immediately followed by a self-indulging intro credits "look at us we are so great haha". They even have an achievement if you watch the end-game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some of the mini games were fun like the beat em up but I could not get the last game to restart after I died despite pressing buttons numerous times. The last game was not great in the first place so I uninstalled it. I wanted to like this game but ultimately found the narrative a little pretentious.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is playable and enjoyable for a short experience. After finishing it, you can select specific levels from the menu, which makes it easier to go back and complete the more challenging achievements.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Barely qualifies as a game. Story is dull and short. Minimal retro-game/arcade vibes. 2/10 - Would not buy again.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wonder how many copies this Commodore 64 game sold back in 198x ?
neutral · AI labelView post →Play 20 minutes of a worse version of arcade classics segmented by an hour of the slowest, unskippable cutscenes in between.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Also, my Session Zero for Howling Metal, the game I'm writing and running where a metal band has to rock its way out of Hell to save 198X Cleveland, was a blast. My group wild make almost anything fun, but the system also provided some fun, which is def a goal #TTRPG
neutral · AI labelView post →Herein lies my finale on Whembly Castle, as the game collapses in a pile of mazes. I explore the missed promise and the concept of unwritten rules regarding 198x era use of mazes bluerenga.blog/2024/10/18/w...
neutral · AI labelView post →The phrase "it's a love letter to X" is often used when talking about retro style games, but in this case it's really no other way to describe it, 198X is a love letter to retro games, and especially Arcades. Made by some of the big names in Swedish games journalism, several of whom have released books on retro gaming so it's not that surprising they should take on a project like this. 198X is a short but sweet journey through arace games, the story that bookends things is nothing special, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Arcade nostalgia.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The art is very impressive, but the gameplay is dull. I really wanted to like this game, but it just feels like a demo or a portfolio of different genres to get hired.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →more please, i'm begging for more.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A beautiful game with frustrating gameplay. This game has wonderful art but no direction on what you're supposed to do. Maybe you're already supposed to be a fan of the genre of games their using, but I just couldn't figure out what my goal of each game was. The introductory Beat'Em Up utilized two buttons, Jump and Punch. But if you Punched while you Jumped you'd actually do a Flying Kick. And I managed to Throw a few enemies once or twice by randomly hitting button combos, but never…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →planning a 198X moldvay-style D&D open table game, making the world, also for the 199X AD&D closed table game- excited! felt inspired to make a starting region map's topography like "vaguely central/east us, every slaver state is replaced by sea" and "mississippi river is adriatically ~100mi wide"
neutral · AI labelView post →"Speed Limit" is doing this better. Also, it is an unfinished game, around 1 hour long, 2 if you suck, like me. Sadly, the story is nonsense, and part 2 will never come.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its gorgeous pixel art and great soundtrack do a lot to elevate a collection of okay mini arcade game pastiches sewn together with the start of a story it seems like we may never get. I would be curious to see what the followup to this would be, but as is, I could take or leave this experience: not bad, but not great.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🎮 2026 Game #65: 198X I like the idea of weaving together a little collection of retro games with an overarching storyline, but the execution here is weak. Each game is extremely simplistic (one button beat 'em up?) and the story connecting them was a bit too angsty for me. 4/10 #IndieGames
negative · AI labelView post →So I just stumbled across some screenshots of this game, 4 years now after I finished it and looking back I really need to recommend you try out this Game. This was probably one of the best little retro games I've ever played and paired with the melancholic "coming of age" vibe, the music and the voice acting it really reached peak. Just start up this game if you ever feel nostalgic or lost, no matter your phase in life or your age - you won't regret it ;)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →198X is a stylish love letter to the arcade era, blending multiple retro game genres with a heartfelt coming-of-age story. The visuals and soundtrack are top-notch, and while it's a bit short, the experience is memorable. Perfect for nostalgia lovers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros: +Sprites are some of the best I've seen. +Games are fun enough ig? +Banger soundtrack Cons: -Literally 80 minutes long tops -No skipping cutscenes (cutscenes are 1/2 of that 80 minutes mentioned earlier) -Cookie cutter "coming of age" story that boils down to "I'm a rebel because I play video games. Everyone else is a normie, my mom sucks, school sucks, and everyone who likes video games is cool" If they added the ability to skip cutscenes it would still be a hard MAYBE on sale but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a love letter to the 80's gaming with a touching story. Well worth the $10 and 2 hours.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Grew up in the 90s, this game is pure nostalgia porn.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an absolute must-play for anyone who enjoys indy retro games! My only complaint about this game is that there was not more of it. I am hopeful for the sequels, mainly to expand on some of the enigmatic story elements that were hinted at. I am not sure if I would want to see more of the same mini-games presented here or new ones in the sequel, but I love what is presented so far, especially what seems to be a positive message about video games as therapy. Kudos, Hi-Bit Studios: if…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a pity how some games fall into obscurity... For what it is... I love it, it's just so short, The gameplay, music and the story, everything is great, I hope something came from the developers, so it wasn't all for nothing... ---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☑ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Masterfully designed retro style adventure. AMAZINGLY nostalgic feel. The soundtrack reels you into this world. Perfect story length keeps you wanting more! Please make more games like this! Thank you for experience!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Beautiful pixel art, suitable to play in the middle of the night when it is quiet, really brings out the loneliness feeling. The mini games are okay-fun, takes around 1-2 hrs to finish the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Devil's Wheel (198x) A truly weird game that I never figured out how to play properly. You're a bear and have to navigate circular paths, jumping from one to another where they connect, and you must avoid getting stung by wasps. I think the point is to bring honey back to your cubs in the cave. 1/2
neutral · AI labelView post →It is a magnificent game. As I was playing, I felt that old nostalgic feeling that I had in the late 80's, revealed by the extent to which the protagonist describes her new experiences with the Arcade. The whole game so far is superb in what it set out for! The graphic styles are very beautiful and well crafted, accompanied by an amazing and wonderful soundtrack. The argument developed throughout this game is also an excellent work of creation. What is striking in 198X is not the graphic…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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