Plot: High Score is a documentary series about the golden age of video games when legends – from Pac-Man to Doom – were brought to life. Without rules or roadmaps, players and innovators alike pushed the limits of money to be made, rivals to be crushed, and hearts to be won. This is the story of the brains behind the pixels and how their unmatched innovation built a multi-billion dollar industry – almost by accident.
Review: While many modern video game enthusiasts are arguing over whether they are getting the new Xbox Series X of the PS5, classic gamers still think fondly to the golden days of Nintendo, Atari, and Sega. If you fall into the latter category, the new Netflix documentary series High Score is for you. As for the whippersnappers out there who can't tell a cartridge from a VHS, this series will illuminate their minds as to what video games were like before the days of VR, motion control, and esports. In short, High Score is a blast from the past that even the most jaded viewer can enjoy.
Split into six episodes, High Score follows a general timeline of the video game industry starting with Space Invaders and Pac-Man and the first days of Atari. The first episode pretty much showcases the rise and fall of Atari and gives some insight into the development of the maligned E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL game that some say doomed the console. The second episode examines the early days of Nintendo with an interesting focus on how the sound effects were created for games like Donkey Kong. Later episodes dive into areas of the industry that many may not be familiar with and includes interviews with influential industry names like Roberta Williams of Sierra
While far from the first documentary centered on video games, High Score is certainly the best. This is mainly because it looks at the industry as a whole rather than specific films like THE KING OF KONG. High Score does look at certain aspects of gamer history that I had forgotten all about like Game Counselors or even how Ms. Pac-Man came to be. There are also episodes focused on specific eras and games like a chapter on PC RPG games and another on fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. In short, there is something here for every time of video game fan and more.
High Score benefits from some interviews that you would be hard-pressed to find in any other documentary and highlights minority and LGBTQ influences on video games. With the total running time coming in at under 5 hours, there is a lot that is overlooked or glossed over in favor of stories being told by various people like id Software's John Romero, Street Fighter designers Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda, Sega CEO Tom Kalinske and many more. The production values are solid with archive footage coupled with some nice animation and a cool opening credit sequence.
Directed by William Acks, France Costrel, and Sam LaCroix with narration by Super Mario himself, Charles Martinet, High Score offers a lot of fun and insight into a story that was definitely worth telling. I would have liked to have seen these six episodes dive more deeply into each era and maybe there is enough material for a follow-up season that looks at more stories that didn't make this cut. Few films or series have managed to capture as many voices and aspects of the video game industry as this production which makes this an absolute success even if it should have been twice as long. As it stands, High Score delivers a rich story that is as fun to watch as it seems it was to make.
High Score premieres August 16th on Netflix.