Known as the top city in the UK for its night culture, Newcastle has a lot to offer, from cosy taverns to late night clubs. It’s northern city counterparts, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield, follow closely behind, each of which takes pride in offering fun nights out for its visitors. While a typical night out involves a drink in one hand whilst throwing shapes on the dancefloor, other northern nightlife businesses are going above and beyond expectations by providing new, quirky experiences.
How retro games and nightlife intertwined
Source: Pexels
One way they are achieving this is via their use of retro games, such as tenpin bowling, retro consoles, and arcade machines. The popularity of this sort of nostalgia-driven fun is as much about a yearning for the past as it is the increasing accessibility to retro gaming online.
Take slot machines as a good example of a traditional, retro arcade-style game. Since sites like ToppCasinoBonus list free spins with no deposits to play on slot machines online from anywhere, more people are able to access games that they perhaps wouldn’t usually have found or tried. It’s, therefore, no wonder that people would snap at the opportunity to visit a bar that allows them to do so too. That’s why quirky venues that incorporate retro games into their USP are doing so well. So, which ones are proving this point in the north?
Lane 7 Newcastle
While bowling may not be considered as retro as such, it is a traditional game that goes back many years and is still enjoyed by families and friends across the globe. This bar in Newcastle, which has also expanded to different locations like Middlesbrough and Liverpool, fuses traditional entertainment with modern socialising and allows people to aim for that strike with a drink in hand.
Pixel Bar
Source: Pexels
Travelling south of Newcastle, this bar is nestled in the city centre of Leeds. Offering gaming booths for its visitors, this bar has a range of the UK’s favourite gaming consoles where you can challenge your friends to a game of Pokemon whilst enjoying a tantalising cocktail.
NQ64
Located on a street that’s tucked away from the hustle of Manchester’s city centre, this bar looks quirky, even from the outside. As you step inside, you’re greeted by an array of clunky retro arcade machines that glow in the darkness of the bar. While ordering a drink, you can also buy tokens which give you access to arcade games of your choice – from a dance mat to Mario Kart, the retro gaming world is your oyster in this bar.
Arcade club
Similar to NQ64, this club is dedicated to arcade games but takes it a little step further and has sections purely for pinball machines, which was surely a childhood favourite for many. For that reason, this bar is full of nostalgia and fun which makes your night out here much more adventurous.
While there are more retro games bars across the country, these few examples go to show that retro games live on and continue to provide the night owls of our society with quality entertainment.