Coin-Op Vice

Coin-Op Vice is a detective game set in the 80s. You investigate arcade centers damaged by a cosmic beam, where visitors have turned into monsters and arcade machines launch unusual versions of legendary games. Across 8 main missions, you clear the centers and work to unravel the mystery behind the case.

Missions and buildings

Each mission has a procedurally generated map and building layout, so buildings vary between playthroughs. Their structures are randomized: for example, the first floor may be on a different side of a river or highway, with a connection to the rest of the building on upper floors, or part of a building may be a narrow high-rise tower. After completing the main missions, you can take on daily random missions.

Arcade machines

The main objective in each mission is to play all the damaged arcade machines. They launch more than 100 different short mini-games, ranging from platformers to games such as Arkanoid, Xonix, Digger and Snake. You need a token to start an arcade machine; cashiers exchange tokens for coins, which you find as loot.

Cartridges and progression

Each completed arcade rewards you with two random cartridges. Cartridges enhance skills, provide weapons or grant abilities, and combining two creates a higher-level cartridge. You build a deck from your cartridges to take on tougher monsters; its size depends on the detective's rank.

You can complete an arcade without taking on every challenge, or collect all the stars and finish all its tasks to earn more experience. Experience raises the detective's rank and expands the deck. The game includes dozens of cartridges to collect and combine.

Neo-N mode

At a computer terminal, you can activate Neo-N mode for 15 seconds. You are invulnerable during this time and can quickly take out nearby monsters. The mode also reveals hidden passages in walls.

Retro style and sound

The graphics use limited colors, monochrome sprites, CRT monitor glow and text mode, drawing on ZX Spectrum, Commodore, Apple, MSX, Atari and MS-DOS games in CGA and EGA modes. Smooth animation and visual effects accompany chiptune music synthesized on the fly with an in-game editor.