198X
Skip · Short indie · 2019
Steam Deck VerifiedThe verdict
SKIP IT.
It scores 34, under the fair line, at $9.99.
- Length
- 1.6h
- Value
- $6.24/hr
- Reviews
- 76% positive
Watch this gameOne alert when it is worth buying.
Minimum on the Steam store: 4 GB of storage. Windows only.
Part 1 of arcade epic 198X. A coming-of-age story told through multiple games and genres. Experience the thrill of shooting, driving, jumping, fighting and role-playing in 5 full-blown arcade stages – combined with cinematic pixel-art storytelling.
What drives the score
How to read this
Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
The value story
June 2020 is where it bottomed out, at $4.99. Its cuts run 40 percent off as a rule. There have been 12 in the 7 years tracked, about 27 weeks apart.
Against its own genre it lands in the top 39 percent on value. It is pricier than 86 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 63 percent. The games it most resembles do better on the same math. Rivals of Aether ($29.99, scores 54) and Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number ($14.99, scores 79) both outscore it.
Critics scored it 63. Players sit 13 points higher at 76 percent, which usually means a game that plays better than it reviews.
1 of the 330 Steam-purchase reviews sampled here comes from a buyer who refunded the game, sampled from reviews written March 2020 to August 2026. Inside the two-hour refund window, 83 percent of the 402 reviews written there were positive, against 76 percent overall, and those are 66 percent of everything written about it.
It carries Valve's Deck Verified rating and runs 1.6 hours, about as long as a handheld game wants to be.
The drop-off
86% start to 3% rarestNo achievement in this game marks the ending, so there is no finish rate. The curve runs from the most-unlocked achievement to the rarest, and its shape is where players stop. Steam global achievements
What players say
Great game, I bought it on a whim and went in blind. I really liked the variety of gameplay, art style, and music. When it came down to shadowplay level, I can not get past it for the life of me. IDK why that level is so difficult for me....
Steam reviews, mixed to match its Steam ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
Cite this score
198X scores 34/100 on the BANG Score (a skip) as of Oct 2, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/1086010/198xReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 27, price as of Oct 1.
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