Netflix’s High Score Documentary Scores Big

The origins of video games have been explored in documentary form more times than one can count. Those classic stories, rooted both in reality and rumor, have been recounted in various interviews and behind-the-scenes footage over the years, so this is a well that will probably never run dry.

Although some aspects of Netflix’s new video-game-centric docu-series High Score have been told before, there are a number of little nuggets here that manage to feel fresh and, dare I say, have been completely unexplored before now.

We see the early days of Space Invaders. We see the gray area of cabinet modding, which would lead to the creation of Ms. Pac Man. We hear the music that cemented the early generation, and we learn about the first home console that introduced the concept of interchangeable cartridges, each with its own game, the Fairchild Channel F.

Colorful both in presentation and in its cast of characters, this is a lovingly crafted series that focuses on where game have come from and showcases some of the people that helped it through its growing pains. This series is a journey from console designs and print magazines to the burgeoning video game competitions that would eventually evolve into the phenomenon we know today as eSports. It even shines light on what it took to be a mythical game counselor for the Nintendo Help Line.

High Score is a must-watch documentary series for gaming enthusiasts and historians, but it’s also interesting enough for people like me who just like getting a slice of history as told by those that were there to make it happen.

Check out the trailer below.