Retro videogames meet choose-your-own adventure in this unique production…
We’re lucky enough to attend on Sunday, where the audience choose one of three stories to play. This is all done on our mobiles and at crucial points, we vote on what our character should do. It’s not that easy, however; our host Keytar Rex asks audience members to defend their decision on stage, which leads to some interesting arguments. The cast had never heard the decision to fight be justified by wanting to marry the mysterious Guardian!
Our story, Land of Eternal Spring, is a sci-fi dystopia that sounds depressingly familiar: we work for cruel robots in a world where natural resources are polluted, and follow a strange dream that promises a solution. The production values are impressive; atmospheric pixel art is narrated by an authoritative VO, and story sections are broken up by musical numbers.
This is where our trio (actually quartet with a distant bassist Zooming in) truly excel. The action is illustrated by clips from classic games like Metroid and Zelda, and their soundtrack comes to life with live drums, and roaming guitar/keytar who fist-bump and squat-walk among us. I felt a real pop of nostalgia at the Final Fantasy theme, but more so at the prize for best audience member, an object older nerds might remember!
It helps if you know your retro videogames but even if you don’t there’s sure to be a young geek in the audience to explain it. There’s even a loyalty card which, if you attend all three stories, bags you exclusive merch. Extra Lives is a fun family-friendly evening that might make you dust off your old controller…
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Extra Lives: The Interactive Video Game Concert is at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose from Aug 5-31 at 18:05