At the tail end of 2022, I had the privilege to review Atari 50, which was quite possibly the best compilation to date. While game compilations are something that has been around for decades, subscription services are the industry’s newest way to drip-feed content to gamers. Services like Xbox’s Game Pass and Sony’s PlayStation Plus Premium, have been successful in offering large catalogs of modern releases. On the flip side, the Nintendo Switch Online service provides gamers with retro classics of console’s past. Nintendo isn’t the only company offering a retro games subscription. That’s where AntStream Arcade comes into play.
While initially going public in 2018, AntStream Arcade was funded through a 2019 Kickstarter. The retro gaming streaming service has been available on PC since, but is finally making its way to home consoles. More specifically, AntStream is available on the Xbox One and Series line of consoles. The service is available in two payment options. A 12-month subscription to the service will set gamers back $30 USD, whereas a Lifetime Pass costs $70. This price model makes it really difficult to justify the 12-month plan when $10 shy of double grants players unlimited access. That said, this review is based on the 12-month subscription that was provided for review purposes.
What It Offers
For those new to Antstream, the service offers a wide selection of retro games. These range from more obscure retro computer systems to mainstay classics like the NES or Sega Genesis, and even a few fifth-generation console releases. Some games will even provide multiple console releases, allowing players to choose the version they prefer. Every game in Antstream’s service is available with very little wait time. All games provided are streamed directly to the Xbox, ensuring no additional downloads are needed. The large catalog of 1400+ games Antstream offers is quite impressive, but it doesn’t mean much if they don’t run well… So how do they perform?
How Well Do Games Run?
Thankfully, Antstream on Xbox Series X runs exceptionally well. Latency is a major issue when streaming games, with retro games typically requiring precision. Thankfully, Antstream’s years of experience with dedicated servers truly shows. Fighting games such as Mortal Kombat or Clay Fighters which demand precise controls to pull off combos appear to respond as intended. Classics such as Pac-Man or Joust, games that require low latency to react to oncoming hazards, work flawlessly. There were many times it was easy to forget games were being streamed to the console. The only reminder was an occasional dropout or connection issue. While this only occurred a few times, they did result in needing to restart the Antstream app and a loss of progress. This can be somewhat rectified with the service’s built-in save system, which allows save states to be created and loaded at any time.
A New Way To Play
In addition to smooth performance, Antstream also offers many additional challenges. These include monthly tournaments as well as Giant Slayer. The goals for each vary, ranging from time limits, limited lives, to modifiers such as limited weapons and differing enemy behavior. Giant Slayer specifically relies on tallying up any Anstream subscriber’s challenge score to take on the Giant. Winning these challenges will grant Purple Gems. Purple Gems can also be earned for returning each day as well as completing solo challenges. These purple gems can be used to unlock additional challenges, duel friends, or create Giant Slayer battles. There is also a baked-in achievements system, incentivizing trying more games in the catalog. The way in which Anstream was able to add in these additional ways to play, makes many of these classics feel really fresh.
An Astounding 1400+ Games
Antstream Premium offers up over 1400 games, with many new games being added. The catalog offers a large variety of different genres and platforms. Those interested in fighting games will be happy to know classics such as Mortal Kombat and Fatal Fury are included. While many of the titles are from obscure hardware and likely long forgotten, many heavy hitters such as Bubble Bobble, Lode Runner, and Burger Time are included. While many of those games are available elsewhere, Antstream’s catalog truly shines with its obscure hidden gems. This includes titles such as NES homebrew Flea and Eyra, the Crow Maiden, or the previously unlicensed Sega Mega Drive port of Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers, Squirrel King. Anstream Premium is sure to have something for everyone.
Overwhelming Menus
While the 1400 game catalog is very impressive, navigating through it can become overwhelming. Antstream’s menus display cover artwork for many games, sorting them into many columns. This includes Recommended, Games with Challenges, Multiplayer Games, Puzzle Games, Role Playing Games, and more. There’s also a search function, that allows you to search the entire library, allowing players to search for specific platforms, publishers, genres, or titles. While searching for a specific game is simple, navigating the various options to find something new can be daunting. Searching by platform was what I personally found easiest to navigate.
Not Without Issue
In addition to a cumbersome menu system, Antstream Premium for Xbox doesn’t offer cross-compatibility with PC. This means players already subscribed via PC will have to create another account; Forcing those players to purchase another subscription. Antstream Premium’s pricing strategy also doesn’t make much sense, offering up two subscription options. $30 nets a full 365-day subscription, whereas $70 grants lifetime access. This pricing model makes no sense and makes the $70 tier infinitely more valuable and worthwhile. $2 monthly, or a flat $10 for a year would have made sense, but $10 shy of half the price for unlimited access? The 1-year model is just a really bad financial decision. The target demographic of these types of services is likely to stay with it.
Closing Thoughts
With everything said, AntStream Premium is an excellent service. The performance of the actual games is impressive, only outshined by the sheer volume of games available. The 12-month plan is very hard to recommend, however, the Lifetime Access seems like a no-brainer. AntStream Premium is available now on the Xbox digital store. For more information on the AntStream Arcade service, head on over to the official website.
A 12-month subscription to AntStream Arcade Premium was provided for the purpose of this review.
