Arcade Paradise (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £15.99)
Verdict: My Beautiful Laundromat
Turns out they’ve paved the way for paradise and put together something even better: an Arcade Paradise. Although, to begin with, it looks awfully like a laundromat. Your dad’s laundry, which you take care of in his absence.
The object of the game is to slowly fill its back room with arcade cabinets, so bettors have something to enjoy between wash loads.
Oh, and the time is in the early 1990s. That’s important to the spirit of Arcade Paradise, and the spirit of Arcade Paradise is perhaps its most charming component.
Everything seems true to its time and place; from the irregular MTV-style animation that starts the game to the chipped floor tiles of the laundromat itself.
It’s what elevates Arcade Paradise from a simple nostalgic trip to something truly transporting. There I was, or so it felt, filling and emptying washing machines so I could raise money to buy more arcade cabinets.
The goal of Arcade Paradise is to slowly fill its back room with arcade cabinets, so bettors have something to enjoy between washes.
PETER HOSKIN: Everything feels true to its time and place; from the irregular MTV-style animation that starts the game to the chipped floor tiles of the laundromat itself
It’s supposed to be a chore, but there’s something so simple and rewarding about the process that it becomes compulsive.
And then there are the arcade games themselves. There are about three dozen to collect in total, and all of them are actually playable. We have riffs on old classics like Pac-Man and Mr Driller and Missile Command. Just walk up to them, as the owner-turned-customer of the Laundromat Arcade, and start playing.
Until duty calls, that is. There is always another wash to put on. It creates an undeniably weird loop – between arcade sessions and laundry maintenance – but isn’t that what life is like, anyway? Sometimes neon. Sometimes full of dirty socks.
Rollerdrome (PlayStation, PC, £24.99)
Evaluation: 
Verdict: style as substance
They don’t play non-contact sports in the future, do they? It’s never just, say, tennis in the dystopian year of 2100. It’s always death tennis, with grenades for balls, maces for racquets and crowds crying out for blood.
So it is with Rollerdrome, the name of a new video game but also of the violent future-sport it offers. As rookie Kara Hassan, you must roller skate around a series of undulating arenas, while dishing out bullets to various henchmen and dodging rockets that come your way.
It’s a game of immense style. It’s one of those retro-cool visions of the future that’s a little James Bond, a little Clockwork Orange and a lot Ski Sunday.
The graphics, comprised of detailed outlines and bold color washes, are inspired by French illustrator Moebius. The excellent electronic soundtrack is very Vangelis.
PETER HOSKIN: With Rollerdrome… You, as rookie Kara Hassan, must roller skate around a series of undulating arenas, while dishing out bullets to various henchmen and dodging incoming rockets. present to you. (Photo: Still from Rollerdrome)
PETER HOSKIN: The graphics, comprised of detailed outlines and bold color washes, are inspired by French illustrator Moebius. The excellent electronic soundtrack is very Vangelis. (Photo: Still from Rollerdrome)
But the style is not only on the surface. It is also the deepest point of the game. To progress in this bloodthirsty tournament, it is not enough to eliminate the bad guys, you must eliminate them with panache.
Each arena contains a set of challenges, such as performing particular tricks in particular locations or committing particular types of murders.
Which means you really have to master the controls. And I couldn’t quite.
It was great whenever I hit the pace the game was looking for – mixing a jump into a turn into a slow-mo gunfire – but I mostly floundered against the difficulty.
Still, I guess that’s my problem, not Rollerdrome’s. When the future finally arrives, I’ll just make sure I’m in the crowd.
