030: Retrowave World

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3dOe3BTy2XQK6ri1ceczlk?si=J3yIgVM4TMeV5kecalk7EA

Last year we talked about Big Ambitions which, in a lot of ways, is very similar to Retrowave World. Both were independent games, both took existing gameplay loops and expanded on them, and both had a strong enough foundation where the game, if it has long-term support, could become a large name going forward.

Retrowave World is the first game I've played that I'd call a "chill game" in the same way I'd consider a farming simulator (or Garden Life more recently) a "cozy game." You drive around a city, run errands, explore, and just groove with a fantastic soundtrack. There's not a ton to do (and if one looks to the online options, not a huge player base to play with) so it is a little content-light, but if the game expands in the future, this could be something truly special.

The other big issue I have with the game is the install size. At about 30 GB, it is a sizable memory investment to hold on your hard drive in a world where there are so many games to play and a finite amount of memory to store them on, a game like this that is so content-light will be an easy one to cull to make room on one's hard drive which could harm the longevity of this game. That said, this is something I will come back to in the same way I do Stardew Valley or The Sims or Last Call BBS if I feel like just spending some time immersed in a game.

★★★★★