As a homage to classic video games, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit is perfectly fine and playable, though it’s not particularly special beyond its Nerdy trappings.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Includes specific AVGN footage shot for the game | Game style doesn’t massively vary |
| Some modern convenience features (and pickles) included | Borrows Mega Man structure without unique boss weapons |
| Plenty of callbacks for long-term AVGN viewers | Not particularly long |
Score: 3/5
Ethical disclaimer:
The PC copy of Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit used in this review was supplied to me by the publisher. I find it’s hard to review games if I can’t play them, but the fact that this arrived as a freebie gets them no special favours or oversight on this review; they can read it the same time you do.
That’s always the way I run every review here at ART – I’m old school that way in an online world that’s increasingly becoming swamped with AI slop and quid-pro-quo “reviewing” that has zero respect for its readership. I don’t work that way.
For more on ART’s Ethics position, see here.
James Rolfe/Cinemassacre’s Angry Video Game Nerd, or AVGN if you don’t want to type that repeatedly a whole lot, is a culturally important series in terms of Internet history without a doubt; he’s one of YouTube’s first big breakout stars, given the series has been running some 19 years now.
Also, for my personal perspective, he covers retro gaming which of course I’m going to love, though I do have to say something slightly controversial here.
While I enjoy the Nerd’s general sketch efforts and approach to game critique, a lot of his more direct crude comedy often leaves me cold.
Not from a prudish view of the world; more because I was raised on the comedy of people like Derek and Clive or Edmonson & Mayall, so I’m well versed in how to do crude comedy really well.
All too often, personally speaking, I don’t find Rolfe hits the mark and instead just relies on the idea that repeating strong language is in itself funny. It can be – and sometimes it is on AVGN, but increasingly I find it isn’t. Maybe that’s just me.
Comedy is of course subjective, but I often find this aspect of AVGN rather flat; it’s not why I watch his shows, but your tastes can vary. If you weren’t already aware, though, AVGN uses a lot of shock comedy and strong language as part of its appeal, it’s not made for kids and this isn’t a game for youngsters.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit isn’t the first Angry Video Game Nerd game, but I’d never actually got around to playing the previous efforts though they’ve appeared across numerous platforms over the years.
As the name suggests, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit is designed in an 8-bit style; so much so that it’s also going to be released (in typical rinse-the-retro-fans style) in a limited number of actual playable NES cartridges.
That’s not what I’ve tested here; this is the PC/Steam version, which, while lacking NES authenticity – I didn’t even have a cartridge to blow on – does benefit from having fresh video scenes shot for it that work. Turns out the ol’ Famicom doesn’t have any kind of high-definition quality video processing chip inside – who knew?
Plotwise, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit does rely on you knowing some Angry Video Game Nerd lore; the Nerd’s beloved NES has been taken over by Super Mecha Death Christ 2000 B.C. Version 4.1 and he’s got to go through a series of levels styled after some of his more infamous video game reviews, but all largely built in a style that apes Capcom’s classic Mega Man games, right down to a level select screen that’s straight out of that series.
You can pick any given level at any time and take on its challenge; clearing all of the game’s levels uncovers the final battle to take back the world’s video games not just for the Nerd, but for gamers worldwide.
All of this is window dressing around a game that basically is Mega Man, but with a few more modern conveniences thrown into the mix.
You get unlimited continues (and taunted when you do need to use one, because of course you do), difficulty selection and if you are particularly struggling, a pickle companion (long-term viewers will know which one) that gives you a large-scale power-up boost as well as health pickups to assist you in getting past more difficult or challenging sections.
Where Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit diverts from the classic Mega Man recipe is in the fact that you don’t harvest any weapons from the boss characters you defeat; you simply flip them the bird and move on to the next level with the Nerd’s NES Zapper still in hand.
The Zapper can be upgraded with powerups that appear in each level as well as being randomly dropped by enemies, but you lose powerup levels each time you’re hit. Not providing unique weapons and a play style that lets you experiment with different approaches does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity to me; while I can appreciate that some details have been sliced down to ensure that this is a game that can also run on old-school 8-bit hardware, Mega Man managed it back in the day with less advanced programming tools and more stringent memory limits – so why omit it here?
The way you lose powerup levels as you’re hit also shifts Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit from its classic platform roots almost into the territory you find with a lot of retro side-scrolling shoot-em-ups, because when you’re heavily powered up, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit is a lot easier.
Bosses crumble quickly under your angular fire patterns – by default, the Nerd can only fire straight forwards from the zapper sans powerups – and even enemies that might knock you back into pits are easily vanquished, sometimes before they’ve really properly gotten onscreen.
The flip side of this is that if you do mess up and die, or just get hit a lot, your power level drops a lot, leaving you with a much trickier game to play.
Yes, that’s an invitation to (as they say) get good at the game, but it also means that it can be quite frustrating. Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit does avoid most of the classic cheap death/bad game design tropes that the Nerd loves to pick up on, but it doesn’t avoid them all, and losing attack power because of game design elements not skill isn’t a lot of fun.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit also isn’t terribly long; unless you’re keen enough to play every skill level and/or collect every accomplishment, it’s a game you can breeze through in four hours or less, especially on lower difficulty levels or if you just cheese it by waiting until you’re on your last life to get the automatic pickle upgrades that make the game easier.
Yes, that’s just for one life, but if it gets you past a boss and onto another level, you’re then one sixth of the game closer to finishing it.
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit: Alex’s Verdict
Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit could have been written and created purely as a terrible game – and I’m aware that there are some fan efforts that do just that – and that’s a trap best avoided. There are already enough rubbish games out there without adding to the pile.
As something of a love letter to the classic Mega Man recipe, Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit is a decent enough title, though it’s not particularly special in a way that’s going to invite lots of repeat play.
If you’re au fait with the Nerd’s exploits more of the callbacks will land with you, but they’re features that only really hit once, the first time you see them.
Strip that away and what you’re left with is a functional and decent platformer that would have received average review scores back in the exact era that the Nerd tend to target – and that’s exactly why I’ve scored it the way I have.
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