TV review by Steve Bennett

Can watching other people play video games make entertaining TV? It’s a question that has no doubt vexed broadcast executives who’d envy the devoted audience – and elusive demographic  –of the biggest-selling titles. But it’s also a question you only need turn to YouTube to answer. To the bafflement of everybody over a certain age, the biggest game-playing videos rack up millions of views for apparently mundane walk-throughs.

Yet the pastime has been underrepresented on telly since the demise of 1990s Channel 4 show GamesMaster (featuring Patrick Moore in the title role), with what slim pickings there have been relegated to the lower reaches of the electronic programme guide.

Now Dave are having a high-profile go at the topic, adapting the live show Go 8-Bit for the small screen and drafting in Dara O Briain as host. And it works very well, mainly by combining elements of panel shows – a format that both TV people and O Briain himself know very well – with the games. There’s a lot of high-spirited banter between the players that makes the show accessible even to those who have never picked up a controller in their lives, in the same way Sky’s A League Of Their Own has appeal beyond sports fans.

And then there’s the competitive edge that the games inevitably bring out. Viewers may well find themselves rooting for one virtual fighter over another, despite themselves. The players are certainly passionate – in episode one, Susan Calman can’t stop herself jumping on the sofa with excitement and/or frustration. She’s pitched against England goalkeeper David James, who once blamed his poor footballing form on staying up late playing Tekken and Tomb Raider, who is more a picture of steely focus.

Having genuine players as contestants, albeit celebrity ones, means games are not treated as a geeky hobby, although there’s the occasional self-deprecating comment about being friendless from being locked away with only a console for company. Not only is O Briain a keen gamer, as he’s mentioned in his stand-up before, he’s joined by games journalist and parenting podcaster Ellie Gibson as sidekick; a Richard Osman to O Brian’s Alexander Armstrong. 

Producers have also kept on Go 8-Bit’s originators, Steve McNeil and Sam Pamphilon as team captains, despite their low profile. They are relatively under-represented in this opening episode, so viewers might still be left wondering who they are, though they contribute some decent lines, and not just the format.

The show goes into the history of gaming - the first played tonight is Tetris, the second Chuckie Egg – right up to more modern hits such as Star Wars Battlefront. In many ways the earlier ones play out better on TV, since it’s easier to tell what’s going on with the simpler graphics. There are a few gags about the strange premises of some games, and snarky swipes at some of the less successful attempts to adapt George Lucas’s sci-fi epic for various platforms, but you certainly don’t need to be a devotee to get them, or enjoy the palpable fun that emanates from the studio. Even the revolving stage is treated like a ride.

There has been some advance criticism from hardcore gamers that Go 8 Bit won’t cover their passion in depth. But it’s not meant to… it’s comedy entertainment, and as such worth, surely pausing your PS4 for an hour to watch.

Review date: 5 Sep 2016
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett