High Score (2020) User Reviews

Flashy Graphics, Good Interviews, Wasted Opportunity

[micheldwson · 6/10 · 25 August 2020]

Like many of the reviewers here, I came away from this series disappointed. Obviously anyone who knows anything about videogame history was not a target audience and while it was entertaining the whole series just had a feeling of a hot mess about it. The RPG episode jumped from Sierra to Ultima to final fantasy to an obscure gender identity game, which I assume was meant to give the series a sense of emotional magnitude? To me it just felt disjointed.

Videogames are still an unappreciated medium by people who don't play them and I don't think this series will do anything to make those folks take them more seriously. Like other reviewers have suggested, there are plenty of YouTuber's out there who have chronicled games much more effectively. I recommend Chrontendo!

No Amstrad, Spectrum or Commodore?

[scott1577 · 7/10 · 20 August 2020]

Enjoyable series, though totally absent is Amstrad, Spectrum and Commodore for some reason and they played a major role in games long before Nintendo and Sega.

Good when it can talk about games rather than oppressed *insert minority*

[kingsword · 6/10 · 21 August 2020]

There are some fantastic interviews and enactments with actually legendary people like Richard Garriott and Roberta Hall among others, whose influence have shaped a whole industry to this day which impacted billions of lives. Then it moves onto some nobody who did something nobody cared about who talks about how he was oppressed by some long gone bigots. Seriously, it's mind boggling how they cannot just keep talking about games and creators without inserting totally irrelevant stuff. It's a massive disservice to many people who literally ceated history and I get why many didn't take the time to talk as it dilutes the experience. Just cut some 10-15 minutes each episode and there is a decent enough, even if lacking documentary.

Netflix misrepresenting history to fit diversity agenda

[Phaserblast · 21 August 2020]

I am enjoying this documentary. But Netflix and the writers are misrepresenting history in order to shoehorn racial diversity into the documentary. The section I take issue with is with Jerry Lawson, a black man who is stated to be the "inventor" of the game cartridge. The documentary states that before Lawson became involved, it had "never been done before." This is just flat out wrong. The swappable ROM cartridge concept was invented by Wallace Kirschner and Lawrence Haskel. Lawson worked on the Channel F game console, the first of its type, but swappable game cartridges had already been invented before he came along. So while it's certain he played a role in the development of an actual marketable, sellable product that used cartridges, it was not his invention, and unfair to the actual inventors to deprive them of their credit. While I have no problem with Netflix very obviously choosing diverse individuals (transgender, black etc) to fit their well-known diversity mandates, it is NOT cool to twist the facts just to make the narrative work.

inspiring

[drminasamy · 9/10 · 21 August 2020]

If you are in your thirties or forties by now you will be touched a lot by this documentary I had to watch all episodes the day it came out as I couldn't resist similar to what video games did to me when I was a child.. It doesn't only takes you in a nostalgic amazing journey to your childhood best games but actually opens your eyes how theses games were inspired and the people, companies and visionaries behind it Hope everybody enjoys it as I did .

Blast From The Past!

[hdismuke-14274 · 10/10 · 22 April 2022]

What a great series! This was very educational, there are things that went on that I didn't know about, some things I simply forgot or didn't realize, and yet some things brought back those memories.

I'm one of the people who 40+ years ago played the classic arcades. Space Invaders, Galaga, Pac-Man, Asteroids, Donkey Kong, Missile Command, Centipede, as well as some others. And just a few years ago, some forty years later I found a video bar that had them all! I discovered that I am a master at Missile Command as I went undefeated for over an hour. That was great fun!

I didn't get a chance to play the early consoles, but I did finally get a chance on pc's when DOOM came out in 1993-94. This documentary series brings back that fun. The sounds alone of the old classics are more than enough to take me back to a time when we were all into video fun at our local arcades or couch.

Actually we did have the original PONG consoles around 1977. It came in that orange and yellow striped box. Exciting for two weeks before it turned into one of the most boring video games. I was more than glad to play though. Whether you are old or young, cherish ANY video games you have a chance to play.

I think early video games are classics because around that same period is when the pc began to come onto the market. It was an exciting time to get into computers and video games were no exception.

Documentary with some strenghts and lows

[criscal · 6/10 · 19 August 2020]

The documentary has its strengths with showing the people that actually made the game and give some background to the games we loved to play as kids. The bit annoying part is that the documentary is trying too hard to be inclusive on diversity, including people on project just for the purpose of diversity, not for technological or creative break-throughs. Annoying too is that they half-jokingly make E.T. responsible for bringing down the video console industry in 1983. My personal bet is that Commodore 64 and sharing games on floppy had a huge influence on that.

Journey in the game history

[erhanipekciler · 9/10 · 28 August 2020]

I just loved it! When I finished first episode, I remembered my childhood and how many times I played space invaders with my brother :) Nintendo was so expensive in my country, i prayed every night for having one... Good memories. There are lots of interesting facts in the show, very nice interviews with legends of the games. Worth watching. Very interesting and good show.

cHeAt CoDe- POliTicAl AgeNda

[curley-07931 · 6/10 · 31 August 2020]

An entertaining series that creates feel good feelings connected to nostalgia and childhood memories.

What let this series down in a big way, was the need to create a narrative that didn't really exist. Focusing on current hot topics such as LGBT, womans rights and race. Whilst important issues in many ways they had no relevance on this platform (pun intended). Celebrating these areas as reasons to why we have the games we have today. When in actuality it always boiled down to what sells. Sadly that is still the case. The creaters of this show are using political agendas to sell their product.

If you can ignore the political statements and accept them for what they are, over indulgent memories. Then what your left with is actually quite entertaining and worth a watch.

Surprisingly Engrossing

[genious-35413 · 8/10 · 20 August 2020]

I only watched this for the purposes of giving myself flashbacks of the many hours I spent (not wasted) in arcades in the 80s when I was supposed to be in school. But it's actually a very informative series and I like the personal stories of the guys who created Space Invaders, Missile Command, Pac Man, etc. Hearing about their education, where their ideas come from and how all of these games developed has been truly fascinating.

It's ok

[qkhnucwe · 6/10 · 22 August 2020]

Enjoyable, but I think there's a ton of missing info they could have used to give a more profound view of things. The show is basically guided by the personal experiences of some people in the industry, and it ends with 16-bits consoles.

Leaving side missions aside

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 30 January 2021]

And not just that as I read from another reviewer. Changing the story at times too. Or neglecting to mention certain things and games that happened. Like Wolfenstein instead of Doom. Doom obviously in the long run became more popular, but it feels like an omission not going into details of Wolfenstein. A game that gave me headaches when I first played it.

But that aside (I guess a little bit of research can be done, even if it would have been nicer to have a complete telling here), the docu-series is quite nice to watch. It may not be complete as I said above but it is entertaining to say the least. I'd say you have to have at least a little bit of a gamer heart to like what you see though. Or be interested in it. And while I knew of many things here (still neat to see them put together), I was not aware of the game Night Trap ... and even if I was, the interviews and the infamy this got ... not to mention what it was meant to be and what it became because of studio notes ... that alone was just hillarious. So sit back, put your controller to the side and enjoy

Marketed All Wrong, But Still A Decent Miniseries

[zkonedog · 7/10 · 30 August 2020]

I'll get the obvious out of the way right up top here: calling "High Score" a "history of video games" is a massive blunder. In no way, shape, or form does this doc attempt any sort of comprehensive look at the game industry. That being said, the simple access to key figures of that very industry makes this an interesting watch for gaming fans/historians.

Somewhat ironically, the biggest hallmark of "High Score" is also, in part, its biggest weakness. It gets access to some of the key figures to ever shape the gaming industry, whether that be Nolan Bushnell (early history), Tom Kalinske (Sega), John Romero (Doom), or Ken & Roberta Williams (adventure gaming). Those names were all enormous movers-and-shakers in the business, and provide first-hand accounts of the behind-the-scenes action.

The problem, however, is that "High Score" takes that access and tries to shape the video game narrative around it. In short, the doc makes the case that this is all the history one needs to know, which is a bit ludicrous. It would have been much better to structure/promote this doc as a series of interviews with industry luminaries and leave it at that.

Each episode here also features an aspect of competitive gaming, which often comes off as a bit odd. Not bad or boring, per se, but just a little strange as to why that angle was pursued so hard in the face of other much more interesting conversations to be had.

Overall, I enjoyed "High Score" just enough to keep watching--no more, no less. Had it been structured differently, it could have been a lot better. But even as-is, the one-on-one interviews with such high-profile figures give it a certain amount of cache.

What?

[rarepeperonis · 5/10 · 25 August 2020]

There is so many monumental things that happened in video game history and you spend half an episode on a game called Gay Blade that nobody had ever heard, nobody played, the code is gone... how is this relevant to video game history. Putting Myamoto and this guy in the same realm of changing history is a freaking joke. I don't need to be explained how the gay scene was in San Francisco in the 80's how is this relevant to a video game documentary.

Lying about the fact that this black men invented and came up with the idea of a game cartrige is incredibly dishonest.

Did we really need like 4 long interviews with ex video game champions.

When they were actually talking about the video game revolutions and genius ideas, it was very entertaining. But there are so many stuff in there included only for diversity sake and just fit weird in the pacing.

What a piece of junk!

[ersbel · 21 August 2020]

There are so many "intelligent" camera positions and so many corny remarks about the mouse being "just a rodent" because there is almost no material more than a short interview and some trivia from Wikipedia.

What a ride! Loved it

[ticklemypickle · 10/10 · 21 August 2020]

A wonderful look at the gaming industry at it's very early stages, from the golden age of arcade gaming, to home consoles! The animated story telling is endearing and nicely done, with interesting accounts from all involved! Seeing some of these reviews claiming that it's pushing a certain agenda are ridiculous, you're looking way too deep into a small yet insightful docuseries, just showing underrepresented people's that had a significant impact on the industry. It doesn't suprise me that the massive over the top, next level game enthusiasts would nit pick and scrutinize, but as a casual gamer myself I enjoyed this series for what it was! My favourite being the RPG episode! Give it a watch!

Nostalgic, to say the Least!

[ItsChanaka · 10/10 · 20 August 2020]

I don't remember the last time I watched something without diverting my attention to something else. Or with a smile on my face from start to finish. The history of the video gaming industry, from the rise and fall of Atari to Nintendo's speed run into the US market to SAGA's bold five-step plan to take over then 98% market leader to Doom's definition of FPS Online Multiplayer, these six episodes spoke right to my heart.

Well meaning but incomplete history of the "golden age" of gaming

[rmmil · 6/10 · 8 September 2020]

First, I'll start with what I liked about this series, which is considerable.

The animated bits that help pull the documentary along are cool, and look just "8-bit" enough to be fitting with the series. It was also nice to "meet" some of the icons from the earlier days of gaming, like the founder of EA or the guy who made Ultima.

The episodes are also not overly long, so you can watch 1-2 and not feel like you just wasted the whole day. Also, for the most part, the narrative that is portrayed is fairly easy to follow, even for a non-gamer like my wife (who watched this with me).

The not so great? Well, being that the episodes aren't incredibly long for a huge documentary topic like the history of gaming, and many things got skipped entirely, and too much time was spent on things that maybe didn't matter.

For example, no less than 3 times in the 1st 5 episodes, considerable time was spent (wasted) on following the stories of individual gamers who won tournaments. The 1st one, Space Invaders, made sense in the scope of the documentary because in the early 80's video game tournaments were a novelty. But the Tetris and Sonic tournaments? Nobody cares about those now unless you were an actual contestant back then, so time spent telling those stories could've been better spent on other things, or not glossing over important stuff (like the fact that the Genesis was not Sega's 1st console, even though it seemed to be portrayed as such).

One side note, I do take issue with some reviews here about the "woke" elements. They didn't bother me one bit. They were minor points, at best, nothing was shoved in your face, and it constituted maybe 30 minutes of total dialogue in a series with 240+ minutes of runtime. If you took issue with that one piece, maybe reevaluate your own world-view and not be so threatened by everything?

I'd say this documentary is best for those who didn't live through the era like myself, because you don't miss what you didn't know was there.

Overall, not perfect, but worth watching, for the nostalgia alone, at least.

Great & interesting topic :) wow

[siton-82069 · 10/10 · 22 August 2020]

Great series. I really like the middle story telling by bitmap animations (cool). Also this series remind me my childhood :) (mario, sonic nd street fighter). I really enjoy to watch.

The last scene sentence "The questions is... Where we go next"... Hope Netflix create more episodes about the last years evolution: FIFA, fortnite, gta, ps4, xbox, mobile gaming and so on. GREAT TOPIC.

Overall was nice

[mliron13 · 7/10 · 5 September 2020]

Even though they said that only because of the black guy they started to design people of color characters in that NFL game in 1995. Which is so wrong because in 1989 NBA Famous video game you could already see Black players in the video game.

Great show

[evansjoshyr · 10/10 · 20 August 2020]

This Netflix documentary is enjoyable for anyone even slightly interested in video games. No matter how much you have researched into video games (probably not at all), you will learn at least a few new things from this entertaining and informative series. Definitely worth your time

Entertaining, despite the obvious propaganda

[LuisPunisher · 7/10 · 26 August 2020]

Yes, except the mandatory and predictable inclusive stuff by netflix, but this still was damn fun to watch, even for nostalgic values and some interesting facts. There is hardly anything new, but it is well done and you can see interviews with some of the big names of the industry.

As mentioned before, there is inclusive content, which i dont mind, the problem is that it is out of context and they abuse of it a bit. Other than that, a good, albeit unremarkable watch for gamers.

High Score: A Netflix Original Series

[malakaijaxo · 8/10 · 20 August 2020]

High Score perfectly captures the essence of a childhood session of Video Games, and it covers a wide variety of genres in it's 6 episode span. This show has received a lot of backlash for being a "Netflix Original", and produced by Great Big Story, a documentary company that talks about geeky things. In my personal opinion, High Score for being quite fascinating, deserves a 8/10. High Score is a Netflix Original Series produced by Great Big Story and narrated by Charles Martinet.

Fun show

[Calicodreamin · 7/10 · 29 August 2020]

A fun show looking into the origins of video gaming and the creators behind iconic games. The show is a bit scatter brained at times, jumping the storyline around. But the interviews are relevant, the history interesting, and cool visuals.

Watching this for game stuff? You picked the wrong series.

[rchosen-193-5535 · 1/10 · 23 August 2020]

I'll just say I'm "old" for sake of conversation. Been a gamer since Atari. Like many life long gaming people I know my gaming history. Likewise I expected this series to be about games, the thing it says its about.

Oh, I should mention this series is made by "France Costrel". Why does that matter? She makes documentaries about race relations, LGBT and other social stuff. Which explains this series not really being about gaming.

Well we will ignore the fact the series ignores many consoles and games, it instead focuses on random people. What kind of people? Some man who is now a woman who won a tournament once for an Atari game. A man who worked in early gaming who is black. Another man who is a LGBT man....etc.

Listen, you can be whatever you want. That's fine with me. But this series just seemed to focus on, for lack of better words, "SJW" type stuff. Again, normally I wouldn't care. But if a series is about gaming you would think it would be about gaming. Not random people. Feels like Netflix is trying to be diverse in EVERY thing they do instead of just sticking to the subject they claim a series is about.

And trust me they make a point for you to know the life story of these people. Random people. People that really don't have anything big to do with gaming. If they wanted to focus on that stuff and diversity, maybe they should have called it something like "High Score: Diversity in Gaming" or something along those lines. I probably would have watched it.

Instead I got my hopes up for something that wasn't even very good at all. That aside, as I said somethings were wrong or totally skipped over. Pong? Nah. Pacman and Asteroids were the "first games" they said. Really?

By the end of the series they barely get to SNES gaming. And they can't forget to add the controversy of violent games. If you game then you already know the history of this stuff. Nothing new. This all felt more like someone newer to gaming making a long video on Youtube instead of a big company making something that was supposed to be great.

So my advice? Skip this. If you want a proper series just watch something on youtube. Heck there are other gaming related things on Netflix that are better.