I don't think I'm doing anything more then stating the obvious, but Stranger Things is an AWESOME series. When it was only going to be a single season show, that season came in with a bang and is arguably one of the best released on Netflix ever. So of course, they bought a few more to be produced. And this year, we got season 3.
But this time, we got more then just a show. Rather, two video games came out along side it, promising more insight and fun for the fans. The big game released is, like the season itself, named simply Stranger Things 3, which is basically available for all major gaming platforms. And I do plan on getting to this myself.
However, today we are looking at the "other" game. This one is a PC exclusive which Microsoft only hinted at as a simulator for their original launch of Windows and dropping it for free when the show aired. I could not resist this small detour.
When you first boot up, you will be greeted with a backwards moving "progress" bar about traveling back to 1985 before you get the old Windows 1.0 launch screen contained in a simulation of a CRT monitor a PC of the time might have used. But it doesn't take long to spill the beans as the screen goes red, the version changes to 1.11, and you are greeted with the now iconic theme-song of the Netflix show. This is not about Windows at all. This is about more Upside Down influencing both the events about to unfold and the computer you just sat down to.
And to this end, you will spend the game helping the cast of the show through some key events of Season 3 in the form of mini-games designed to fit the tech of 1985.. And those games are actually pretty varied: from a simplified nethack clone to a final all-out arcade boss battle against the Mind Flayer to finish the game, it does a good job holding up this motif the entire time... well almost. The game does break this "low tech" look somewhat when you finish most of the games by showing you a blatantly badly filtered to show in low-resolution version of a clip from the show. And of course you can break the illusion entirely since if you play the video directly anytime after, it's actually high def which obviously no computer in the 80s could have handled.
But that is not to say this game is all wine and roses. In fact, those games are short and simple to the point that I'm pretty sure they were put there to check off boxes more then to actually be entertaining. Literally the only one with potential to be amusing for more then a few minutes is the nethack clone, in which you play the roll of Steve as he sneaks around a Russian base since if you fail the map remains randomized. The handful of other games include a slider puzzle, two mini arcades you finish or lose at in about 20 seconds, and (I kid you not) a hacking game where you "win" by hammmering your keys fast enough to keep the code spawning on your screen ahead of the "trace" following it. And if you fail most of them enough, the game will either let you cheat to get passed it and move on OR enter an easy mode. These are not games designed to keep you playing, but something to throw at you for a moment before shuffling you to the next event. Do not expect any given game to amuse you for long. And finishing the game just offers you a congratulation screen and links to check out the show and actual game selling for $20, making this whole thing feel like more of a teaser/advertisment then a real game.
So with all that in mind, should you play it? I guess that depends. If you are a fan of the show and love the atmosphere of it, you might enjoy your brief time. And I do mean brief. Making as sure as I can that I missed nothing my entire play through was about 45 minutes tops including all videos twice so I could see them in high def. But for a free experience, it does hold up that atmosphere, so if you want to waste a little time, it might not be such a bad thing. It's just not going to offer you much more then that.
However, if you are not a fan of the series, I would steer clear. This is not going to give you much of a taste to understand what is going on in the show and not hold your attention long enough to entertain in it's own right. Even at free, it's a terrible introduction to the series, so don't bother. And if you don't like the show why are you even here?
Score:
4/10
System Requirements:
- Windows 10 version 10240.0
- 300 MB hard drive space
- AMD FX 8350 running at 4.0 Ghz
- 16 GB RAM
- Nvidia Geforce 960 with 4 GB RAM
- Windows 10
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