Niche TV: Go 8 Bit

This month is about to get crazy for geeky TV; Marvel has Agents of SHIELD Season 4 on TV and Luke Cage for Netflix, Red Dwarf comes back to Dave, the new season of Star Wars: Rebels hits Disney XD and The Walking Dead is on the horizon (technically next month)... and I'm sure I'm missing some. You may not have noticed that a new video game gameshow (?) has been airing on Dave. Hosted by Dara O'Briain the 3^rd episode aired Monday 19^th September. Having got caught up I've realised this is something I want to share.

Photo: UKTV

Two resident team captains are joined by (possible) celebrities, as they go head to head playing some of their favourite games. Each contestant gets their own 8 bit style avatar complete with 3 letter nameplate. The audience vote on who they think will win each challenge and this also determines the amount of points up for grabs.

The nostalgia factor is strong with this one, the first episode featured Tetris, Chucky Egg, and a particularly tense match of Tekken... things got more modern with a round of Star Wars: Battlefront and then ended with a very unique take on Bust-a-Move.

I have to commend the way the show handles gaming, treating it as a legitimate hobby rather than the domain of “lonely nerds”. However I worry this may rely on the quali.... attitude of the celebrity guests, but overall there's a respectful and positive attitude.

The humour won't be to everyone's taste, although it is reminiscent of a few gaming nights I've shared with friends, there is some adult humour such as a tangent regarding chicken bumginas... I said “adult” humour, not “grown up”.

The whole thing is refreshing and entertaining. I haven't seen a gaming show on TV in an age, and Go 8 Bit feels like a spiritual successor to classic GamesMaster. If that isn't reason enough to give it a try I don't know what is.

For an extra challenge, see how many gaming references you can spot in the intro!

If you've missed the first few episodes try UKTV PLAY for on demand content from Dave.