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- Netflix
- Aug 19, 2020
- Netflix
- Aug 19, 2020
Summary Narrated by Charles Martinet, the six-part documentary about the history of video games features interviews with creators and other contributors of such games as Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders.
- Netflix
- Aug 19, 2020
- Netflix
- Aug 19, 2020
Summary Narrated by Charles Martinet, the six-part documentary about the history of video games features interviews with creators and other contributors of such games as Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders.
Season Episodes
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
62
30% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
70% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
62
30% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
70% Mixed
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
High Score may not be the most in-depth or lengthy documentary series you’ll ever see, but the curated interviews from folks with compelling stories and charismatic personalities bring a personal touch. Nostalgia does the rest. And we’re here for it.
If High Score's goal is to be an enjoyable, colorful and whimsical overview, it at least delivers on that with some flair.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 979 User Ratings
9.1
91% Positive
892 Ratings
892 Ratings
0% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
8% Negative
83 Ratings
83 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 979 User Ratings
9.1
91% Positive
892 Ratings
892 Ratings
0% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
8% Negative
83 Ratings
83 Ratings
High Score is narrowly focused – the US and Japan dominate, as if the rest of video game history never happened, and while Atari’s early consoles and the Nintendo Entertainment System crop up in almost every episode, the Amiga, Spectrum and Commodore 64 are never so much as mentioned. ... But this series does well at explaining what was exciting about this time, and the way that each of the landmark games featured built on the foundations of what came before.
It’s a show obsessed with loving games, not understanding them. ... The series is at its best when it’s focused less on what it was like to see these games come out, and more on what it was like to design them.
These personal and often unexpected stories are easily the highlight of High Score, and they’re occasionally the only thing that saves it from turning into the public school version of a video game history lesson.
Each episode focuses on a few stories/subjects for its running time, but often bounces around them within the episode, leading to a sense that the entire thing isn’t as focused or complete as it should be.
It’s less “here’s what happened,” and more, “hey, remember this?” Given how bad the game industry itself is at preserving and analyzing its own history beyond merely capitalizing on nostalgia, that makes High Score a huge missed opportunity.
While the knowledge this series posits may be not new to a particularly active game player. This is still an excellent introduction to the world of interactive television.
Perhaps it might even lead YOU into becoming the next great technology archivist? The world is yours to preserve!
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SEASON 1
After finishing all the episodes I can’t help but feel the aim of the production was to use SOME of the history of video games to ram home political point scoring that didn’t really fit with the theme the series was projecting from the outset. Whether it be a transgender gamer who competed in early Atari competitions to a questionable episode purporting to be about the godfathers of adventure and role playing games in Ken and Roberta Williams but transitioning away to some odd story about a lost copy of an old LGBTQ dungeon crawler that didn’t define anything historically significant in gaming, or how Ultima was apparently the flagship for ensuring there were consequences to players freedom of expression if said expression was poor.
Within though there are some great moments, particularly when they focus on the development of the technology, the decision making and after market modifications that generated new markets. These parts are good, but they’re constantly overshadowed by ensuring your morality and political correctness is in check. I don’t understand how that adds to this docuseries. Yes, devote a whole episode to that theme so we can see that there’s other important stories that helped move the almighty machine forward, but it’s felt more as as a tool to whip the audience. Overall it’s an okay series that has some poorly executed moments that seem deliberate rather than sloppy.
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SEASON 1
Has awkward sidetracks from it's narrative, and includes jarring and forced political segments that confuses the scope. Content is overly watered down and doesn't follow a strict/sequential enough progression of the history it covers, nor does it dig into many technical/detailed oriented aspects, which is why it comes off as bland and dumbed down.
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SEASON 1
Not much of a documentary. Random bits and pieces of video game in the USA, the rest of the world doesn't exist, maybe a bit Japan with Nintendo. Oh, and it is Netflix, so they managed to make a videogame documentary about current politics, race, sexual orientation and virtue signaling.
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SEASON 1
Instead of establishing cohesive timeline or presenting interesting facts, documentary highlights stories of random people in industry and other people NOT IN INDUSTRY. Half of stories are about random **** who heard about video games. There are so many more interesting historical videos and interviews on youtube.
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SEASON 1
