Going to a video arcade was a magical experience, the bright lights, the music and loud noises. Everyone piled around the popular machines. With the boom of home consoles and high fidelity gaming, going out to the arcade quietly died out and a lot of retro titles disappeared along with them. Antstream Arcade hopes to revive these forgotten titles by offering a subscription service to stream them.
I’ve sat on my review of Antstream Arcade for a while, hoping that a few patches could improve on my first impressions. This also gave me a chance to ensure my home network was up to the task of streaming this collection of over 1,000 retro games from a wide range of systems, from Amiga to ZX Spectrum.
I tried out the PS5 version, but Antstream Arcade is available on other platforms and has been on PC for a while. I remember playing a free version, but now you’ll need a subscription. It’s not an outrageous cost, but you’ll need a large and active passion for retro games to get the most out of it.
So, it’s been a while since Antstream Arcade came to PS5, and I can confirm that having a stable, preferably wired connection does make a difference. I don’t know if that makes the stuttering I experienced during my first look my problem or a fault with the service, but it’s something to be aware of. Reviewing Antstream Arcade is a bit like reviewing Netflix rather than one of its shows. So it comes down to functionality, features, usability and content.
Functionally
I’ve not had many problems, of course, you’ll need an internet connection and at least a stable one, even if it’s not very fast (4Mb/s download is recommended). The hiccups that I encountered originally weren’t major and have vanished since I wired up my connection. There are no queues for games, and they load up without issue.
Features
I’m also pleased with the feature set. You don’t get access to all the emulation controls, but you do get several save slots and can remap controls. Antstream Arcade also hosts leaderboards and challenges, which can turn the whole thing into a bit of friendly competition. I’ve not had anyone to compare my scores against so far, but with a global leaderboard, there’s always someone’s score to aim for. I also like that the challenges all have multipliers, like using a specific weapon or taking no damage.
Usability
Usability is going to be where I get a bit negative. The app itself is clearly designed for PC, or at least keyboard and mouse. Tabs don’t work how you’d expect, and oftentimes you’ll end up back on the home screen instead of returning to the previous screen. The search function
has been pretty abysmal for me also.
After mentioning the search on Twitter/X, I was told there’d be updates, but I’m not seeing evidence of any. There are 32-bit and PSX era games on here, but good luck getting them to come up in a search. You can “favourite” games though, so at least you won’t lose them once you’ve found them. You just need to navigate to the part of your profile that lists them each time you want to play one.
Content
This is a subjective one. A quick Google suggests there are over 1000 games on the service, and around 35 more titles have been added this year. So you’re bound to find something to interest you, whether it’s an old favourite or a classic you missed out on. However, getting value out of a subscription is going to mean hoping you find a raft of games that can hold your interest for more than a few minutes.
I’ve mostly drifted through games on the challenge list or gone back to find the Amiga games that got me into gaming. There are some big names you won’t find on the service; don’t expect to see anything that Nintendo is offering on its retro subscription. And as happy as I am to find Hogs of War for PS1, it’s probably the biggest name from that console.
Final Thoughts
I did read that Antstream Arcade includes some of the old homebrew Net Yaroze PlayStation games, but again, I’ve had no luck with the search function. I’ve quite a nice list of favourited games now, but only get regular use from the app when I commit to playing one through. Although I can see the appeal of leaderboards and challenging friends.
Antstream Arcade is a win for video game preservation and for retro games on modern consoles, but having an interface designed for mouse and keyboard makes it a bit of a pain to use. It’s a fun service, but I can see the commitment to a subscription putting some people off.
Developer: Antstream Ltd
Publisher: Antstream Ltd
Platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Android, Xbox, Playstation
About the Author
