The Play's the Thing With the Polycade Sente Modular Arcade

Geek Dad

2 days ago

Ultra high quality powder coated steel cabinet
Ultra high quality components
Gaming grade PC lets you play retro games & modern games
Modular controls
Modular computer
Modular attachments
Magnetic decals
LED back lights
Upgradable
Commercial & pay-to-play options
Polycade sent me a Sente in white, along with a matching stand, marquee, and two additional controllers: a Trackball Arcade Controller, and a Retro (4-Way) Arcade Controller. There were also a couple of magnetic decals and light guns to be included in the order, but due to a supply chain issue, those will be arriving later this Fall. Everything was sent by a shipping company on a pallet. A large shipment arrives. Image by Paul Benson.
There's a lot of attention to detail and sense of the importance of play with the Polycade Sente. You'll see this mostly in the machine itself, but this is also prominently on display with the shipping boxes. In a nice touch, the Polycade Sente boxes are designed to be something for the kids to play with and enjoy while the parents put together their arcade machine. I don't have young kids of my own, but my neighbor was throwing a birthday party for one of her grandkids, so the empty boxes found a perfect new home. Ready for the neighbors to enjoy some analog play! Image by Paul Benson.
The Polycade Sente comes standard with a bracket to mount it onto a wall. However, as I don't have a dedicated game room in the house, or even a dedicated wall to mount it on, I needed something a little more mobile. So the first thing that I would be putting together would be the stand. Like the Polycade Sente itself, the stand is made of powder-coated steel. The good news? It's easy to assemble. The bad news? It's super heavy, so you'll definitely want to have two people for the assembly. The assembled stand. Image by Paul Benson.
There are heavy-duty wheels you can optionally attach at the bottom back of the stand, as well as a handle. To move the Polycade Sente once it's on the stand, you'll tilt the stand and wheel it around much like you would a dolly. The handle on the back of the Polycade stand. Image by Paul Benson.
The Polycade Sente is securely shipped in its own box, wrapped in protective plastic and foam. Removing the Polycade Sente from its box. Image by Paul Benson.
Once the arcade machine is freed from its packing materials, it simply gets hung onto the stand. The Polycade Sente mounted on the stand. Image by Paul Benson.
As I had the optional light-up RetroGlow marquee, the next step would be attaching that to the stand. This is a fairly easy process; you just have to be careful and connect it properly to the control board as shown in the instructions. With the marquee installed. Image by Paul Benson.
The Polycade Sente comes with an already-installed sound system, power supply, and control board. You have to either install your own Mini PC, or the one that you can purchase with the Sente when you order. The Mini PC that Polycade sent is a gaming PC, with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U CPU, 16GB Ram, 1TB SSD, Radeon Vega 8 graphics, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. Installing the Mini PC involves simply mounting it onto the keyholes at the back of the Sente, and then connecting all of the cables. The gaming PC mounted at the back of the Sente cabinet. Image by Paul Benson.
The Sente also ships with a branded tenkey-less gaming keyboard and mouse, which can be hooked up to the USB ports on the keyboard tray inside the cabinet. The keyboard and mouse set up on the keyboard tray. Image by Paul Benson.
Once all that's set up, it's time to plug in the Polycade Sente and power it on! It's alive! Image by Paul Benson. Using the Polycade Sente
The Polycade Sente comes with the Polycade AGS, or 'Arcade Gaming Software,' pre-installed, if you're getting a unit that includes the mini-PC. This free software, which is downloadable on any PC, provides a framework for playing games from multiple platforms. The game stores currently supported are:
There's also pre-configured ROM emulators in AGS included for: Arcade (MAME)
NES
SNES
Sega Master System
Sega Genesis
Atari 2600
Gameboy Advance
TurboGrafx-16
Add additional emulators yourself!
The AGS has a built-in game store, which is the easiest way to automatically add new games to the Polycade Sente. A look at the AGS software in action. Image by Paul Benson.
Installing from other sources like the Steam store are also easy to accomplish. Part of the point of the Polycade AGS is to make the process as simple as possible for the user, so that you can just focus on the enjoyment of playing games on the machine. This philosophy is further exemplified in the way that the modular controllers work with the system. Here's a look at the main controller for the system, when it's not hooked up: This is the controller that ships standard with the Polycade Sente. Image by Paul Benson.
To attach a controller, you simply connect one of the USB cables inside of the Polycade Sente to the back of the controller, and then slot the controller into the machine. There are also screws to secure the controller to the Sente, but those are optional and really only needed if you're concerned someone might steal one of the controllers.
The main controller panel has two sets of arcade-quality JLF joysticks and Sanwa buttons, providing enough controls to play many of the arcade games out there. There are even two side 'flipper' buttons, so that you can play pinball games on the Sente. You simply slide the main controller into a secondary position that exposes the buttons, as seen below: Ready to be a digital pinball wizard. Image by Paul Benson.
As I mentioned previously, my Sente order shipped with a couple of additional controllers, the Trackball Arcade Controller and a Retro (4-Way) Arcade Controller. Each of these controllers is half the width of the main controller, so you can have any two controllers connected at one time. As with the main controller, you attach the USB cord to the back of a controller, slot it in, and you're ready to play. These controllers features arcade-quality components, just like in the main controller. The trackball certainly brings back the muscle memory of being a teenager feeding quarters into Centipede and Missile Command. An alternate control scheme. Image by Paul Benson.
If you're familiar with classic arcade games, you'll know that there are certain games that require specific controllers in order to play them. For example, if you enjoy games like Centipede and Marble Madness, you'll definitely need a trackball. Want to play Robotron in the same way as in the arcades? You'll need the Dual Stick Arcade Controller.
Of course, flexibility is the name of the game with the Polycade Sente. The buttons on the Polycade Sente are recognized by the computer as Xbox buttons. So want to use an Xbox controller with the machine? You can hook it up either through USB or via Bluetooth, and it will work just fine. There are also button magnets included with the Sente if you need easy reference for which Xbox buttons are equivalent on the main panel. And because the Sente controllers are built with the same steel as the Sente itself, the magnetic decals are easy to attach and remove at will. One of the two button magnets in place. Image by Paul Benson.
The Polycade Sente ships with several officially licensed retro and modern games. However, these by no means cover the gamut of all the arcade and console games that have ever existed! I tried various ways to add games, from using the AGS store, to installing Steam on my Sente and purchasing games through that platform, to adding individual game ROMs. All of these methods were quite easy to accomplish, though the ROMs do have to be compatible with the emulators installed on the Sente, so some trial and error was necessary for those. It is also possible to add additional emulators, but that's not an officially supported process at this time. Adding a ROM to the game library. Image by Paul Benson.
Here's a look at the AGS in action, along with a few attract screens of different games installed on my Sente: Polycade Sente – Final Thoughts
Let's face it- as much as we may fantasize about it, not many of us have the space in our homes or the money for a dedicated arcade with multiple machines on the floor. With the Polycade Sente, you can get a classic arcade experience, with just a single machine. The included mini-PC has more than enough power and hard drive space to load up and run hundreds of arcade titles. And the sturdy construction and high quality components of the Sente will allow you, your family, and your friends to play just like you did in the arcades.
The modular design ensures that you will be able to play your favorite arcade games, using the same controller type that you remember from the arcades. The different controllers are quick and easy to exchange in the Sente, and combined with the responsiveness of the well-designed AGS, you can switch between different games in a heartbeat. Getting ready to play an arcade classic from '82. Image by Paul Benson.
In addition to the controllers that shipped with my Sente, there's also a Spinflight controller which has both a joystick and a spinner, for games like Tempest or Tron . There's even a Buttonmash controller, for button-only arcade classics like Asteroids and Space Invaders. Polycade is in the process of developing and testing other modular controllers for the Sente, including a Driving controller for games like Pole Position and Cruisin' , and a 4-player controller for games like Gauntlet and X-Men.
While those controllers are being developed in-house, Polycade also has partnered with Sinden, who manufactures some of the best light guns available for home arcades. As mentioned earlier, I'm currently waiting on my light guns and magnetic decals to arrive later this Fall. So expect another look at the Polycade Sente and those accessories when I receive them…and possibly even a hands-on look at some of the other controllers that Polycade has been working on.
Here's the bottom line: yes, the Polycade Sente is not exactl what you'd call inexpensive. But it's an investment into not just a very high quality arcade system, but a gaming ecosystem. The Polycade Sente is designed by gamers, for gamers, and it shows in both the quality of the build and the ease of use. It's also built future-forward (if you can say that about a retro gaming machine?) with its modular design. It's simple to swap out controllers, computers, or even hook up a gaming console to the Sente. And with its backlighting, optional marquee, and silhouette, it's an attractive addition to your home. So if you're looking for that one arcade machine to rule them all, definitely take a look at the Polycade Sente.
For more information or to purchase a Polycade Sente, head to the Polycade website.
Polycade provided a Sente for evaluation but had no input into this review.