The Blizzard Arcade Collection was a nice surprise that was just announced during BlizzConline: three games from the classic Blizzard era, before Diablo, Warcraft in Starcraft took over everything, together in one bundle.
Let’s start with the least title so we can finish strong. Rock ’n Roll Racing has not stood the test of time very well, while funnily enough it has received the best Definitive Edition of the three. For the soundtrack, which is perhaps the best part of the game with even Dutch pride Golden Earring, the rights have been completely re-acquired and the audio quality has been improved a lot. It is mainly the gameplay that is too outdated. In Rock n’ Roll Racing you race in fierce trucks from a kind of strange top view, which makes it quite difficult in the beginning. You get used to this quickly, but otherwise nothing much happens: you drive a few laps with great music and that’s it. As mentioned before, the soundtrack is to be enjoyed and we are eternally grateful to Blizzard that it is now available in better quality, but for the rest the game is only fun to play for five minutes every now and then.
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Blackthorne is already a lot better and, despite some very outdated elements, is still quite entertaining even in the year 2021. It is a platformer with sometimes quite complex, maze-like levels. You also have a gun with you and monsters often shoot at you. You don’t avoid this by frantically jumping back and forth or whatever, but by pressing a button that puts your back against the wall. Although it is very slow and you have to be a go-getter, the game really exudes that beautiful retro atmosphere and it is worth playing it once.
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The Lost Vikings is by far the best title of the three and is still doing well. You could imagine that if The Lost Vikings today was released as a small title for about ten euros, that it would be a hit with a niche audience. Maybe you know Trine well, where you have to overcome obstacles with a wizard, an archer and a fat warrior. The Lost Vikings did this in the 1990s, but with three Vikings kidnapped by an evil emperor and forced to escape his intergalactic zoo. Yes, it is still a game almost thirty years old and at times you will feel the frustration when something does not work as you would expect from a modern game. Still, with all its very different levels, the game carries a certain charm and the puzzle gameplay is entertaining. Each Viking has a skill in which he excels, such as jumping very high or reflecting lasers with a shield, and you will have to use all three in each level to progress further.
Unfortunately, it feels like Blizzard has been quite lazy with this bundle. You can choose from different versions when selecting each game. Bee The Lost Vikings for example, you can choose from the SNES version, the Sega Genesis version or the Definitive Edition. The Definitive Edition comes with all the features that the versions of the old consoles have and is then (very slightly) polished with, for example, stylish edges that ensure that you are not either looking at black edges or that the image is stretched too much. need to be. However, the Definitive Edition does not come with the rewind function or the ability to save the games. The same goes for the Definitive Edition of Blackthorne, but the SNES and Genesis versions do have these options again! This is such a weird action, it almost feels like Blizzard accidentally forgot about it, because why would you release the most complete and modern version of the game without those features?
As a result, you have to choose between either the most modern version of the games, or the games with the best Quality of Life features. It is unbelievably unfortunate that such sloppiness is present in this collection. The games themselves are cool and in particular The Lost Vikings and even Blackthorne we can recommend retro fans to give it a try.
The Blizzard Arcade Collection was played on the Switch for this review. The bundle is available on all platforms.
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