Platform, what an interesting place to visit. I don’t say this for any negative reasons, more that it’s a unique chain of bars that allows you to play an assortment of games with your pals while you eat some pizza and sink some lovely cocktails. What’s not to like about that? Before I dive into what you can expect from the menu, let me set the scene for you.
I went to Platform Shoreditch shortly before its location in Canary Wharf opened. As soon as I walked through the door, a cheerful member of staff greeted me and helped me before leading me and my plus one to a booth that clearly fits a fairly large group. To the right of us, we could see a party of friends together having fun, drinking cocktails, eating pizza, playing games, and oh, how we couldn’t wait for that to be us.
Well, the member of staff soon left to get our menus and we could see a Nintendo Switch and PlayStation in front of us, all with plenty of games for us to play. Our session was only 75 minutes long, so we knew we had to make our time here count. Naturally, this means we went straight for the Nintendo Switch. However, before I dive into what games are on offer for that platform, allow me to tell you a little about what you can expect from the PS offerings.
When with a group of friends, you might want to enjoy a good fighting game, and Platform gives you the chance to play Mortal Kombat 11, Street Fighter V, and Tekken 7 – the three big fighters of the previous generation (well, mostly. More on that later). Or, for those after a good time with sports titles, Fifa 23, NBA 2K23, UFC 4, Tennis World Tour, and Golf With Your Friends. Other games available include Team Sonic Racing, Towerfall Ascension, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, and more.
As for the Nintendo Switch, the console we jumped on, you can play one of the best Switch fighting games out there, Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Better still, this game allows up to eight people to play at once, so you can involve your entire group at the same time. Other titles available include Mario Kart 8, Switch Sports, Super Mario Party, Super Monkey: Ball, Just Dance 2022, Mario Tennis Aces, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and more. As you can see, there’s a range of games from various genres on offer.
You can probably guess which game myself and my associate played first – Mario Kart 8. Hey, you see Mario Kart 8 is available, and you jump behind the wheel to throw some shells, avoid bananas, and make your fellow racers eat your dust. However, we remain at an impasse because we won an even number of races each before we moved on to the next game.
But wait, it’s time for food and drinks to arrive. I had the Super Mario (ham and mushroom) while my pal went for the NES Classic (a plain ‘ol margarita), and yes, all of the pizzas have some fun names – Chocobo and Chorizo might just be my favourite. Now that you know what food we ate, you might want to know what that cocktail menu looks like. Well, one of the drinks on offer is called Rainbow Road. Need I say more? It’s one of the strongest yet tastiest cocktails to speed across my tastebuds.
The other cocktail to make the cut is the Crystal Coconut which is essentially a Pina Colada – it was creamy and delicious. When it came to the pizza, it admittedly was pretty lacklustre and was almost a bit cardboardy. However, it was edible and did the job. At the end of the day, this is a videogame bar, not an Italian restaurant, so for the purpose of what Platform is, I’d say the pizza hits the spot.
With some food and booze in us, it was time to play Nintendo Switch Sports – because playing a game that requires movement after food makes perfect sense. Now this was a lot of fun. The atmosphere in the bar was great, my guest and I were enjoying ourselves as were the other people, the drinks were tasty, and our competitiveness meant that the rest of our allotted time went quite quickly as we lost ourselves to the various sports on offer in the game.
I think now is a good time to point out that you don’t have to be in a group to enjoy your time at Platform. There are some computers available for those that want to put on some headphones and play games alone for a few hours. There’s also a little area if you want to sit and have a drink while you chat with your fellow gamers – a great way to meet some new like-minded individuals.
Furthermore, the staff at Platform Shoreditch are lovely. They’re attentive, polite, and keen for you to get the most out of your time at the bar. It’s important to note that it’s 90-minute sessions that you can book, which costs £12 per person, and you need to order your food and drinks as extra, though the bottomless brunch for £35 has you covered in that regard.
Honestly, if you’re after something fun to do with pals or want to be social with your work colleagues, Platform makes for a good time out. With good food, drinks, and company, you’re bound to have some fun. It might even have you asking what the best mobile multiplayer games and best Nintendo multiplayer games are, and our guide is right here to help with that.