As we previously reported, Cash Cow DX is the latest neo-retro Switch title from the developers and publishers of the magnificent Donut Dodo (which we reviewed previously), namely Pixel games SARL-S and Flynn’s Arcade respectively. The game will be released at the budget price of £5.99 on Switch via the Nintendo  eshop next Thursday (26^th September 2024).

The game’s story isn’t a million miles from the aforementioned Donut Dodo, except this time, the game’s protagonist is a poor cow who’s  had her cash pilfered by an unscrupulous swine, and she has to run and jump her way through some  well-designed 80s-arcade-style platform game levels to retrieve her stolen  cash.

Much like Donut Dodo, the game is very heavily inspired by the single screen arcade platform games of the early 80s, but also adds a couple of more modern bells and whistles. A particularly effective example is the inclusion of Sonic-style loop-de-loops, which are satisfying to run around, and which blend into the gameplay of Cash Cow DX well, but which wouldn’t have been technically possible on the hardware of the games from which it draws much of its inspiration. The levels have  been creatively designed, with plenty of variation, including such enjoyable experiences as riding  mine carts, bouncing on trampolines, and more to discover.

Cash Cow DX’s graphics are, as one might expect for this genre, heavily pixel art influenced, but with some of the jagged edges rounded off a little, making the game look a little like it’s from a parallel universe that had slightly superior tech. but still  40 years in the past. As per the arcade platforming classics of the 1980s, and indeed, the aforementioned Donut Dodo, the game is populated by charmingly designed cartoonish characters.

Cash Cow DX is thoughtfully presented in a way that makes it feel like an actual arcade game from the 1980s. In addition to the graphics discussed above, the sound is straight from 1980s arcades, with an infuriatingly catchy chiptune soundtrack and deliberately muffled synthesised speech adding to that authentic 80s arcade experience.

While Cash Cow DX hits all the right nostalgic beats, it never quite hits the ridiculously tasty heights of Donut Dodo, but what could? The difficultly level is also authentic to the 1980s arcade experience. i.e. it’s  very very hard, but Pixel Games have wisely included a Practice Mode that allows you to play later levels even if you haven’t yet managed to reach them in the game proper, so you’ll still get to experience the creative delights of Cash Cow DX’s level design even if you’re not skilful enough to reach the levels yourself!

In summary, Cash Cow DX is a very worthwhile addition to the Flynn’s Arcade library, and with games that are consistently this good, we hope that Pixel Games continue milking the 80s arcade platform genre for future games! Cash Cow DX comes recommended to all fans of 1980s single-screen arcade platform games, especially if you enjoyed Pixel Games’ previous title, Donut Dodo.