Prison City and AVGN 8-Bit NES Edition Physical Versions Available

Physical editions of Prison City and The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit NES Edition are now available through Retroware’s official online store, giving fans a choice between modern console discs and cartridges and a newly produced game for original NES hardware.

The two releases occupy slightly different corners of retro-minded gaming. Prison City is a modern action side-scroller arriving on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 in physical form, while The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit NES Edition is being sold as a real NES cartridge. That distinction matters: one is a boxed console release for current hardware, and the other is designed around the physical format of Nintendo’s classic 8-bit system.

Prison City physical editions: Switch and PS5

Prison City, developed by Programancer, is available for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5 at $39.99 per version. Each physical copy includes the complete game and its post-launch content on the cartridge or disc.

That included content consists of new game modes and remixed stages, alongside a reversible cover and three Crazy Caps. A reversible cover is an alternate piece of printed cover art placed inside the game case; owners can flip it around to choose which design faces outward. It is a modest extra, but it remains a welcome physical-release detail for players who display their games rather than keeping cases tucked away in storage.

The game itself is described as an action-focused side-scroller built around infiltrating eight security zones. Players use chakrams and grenades, confront bosses, and seek out hidden upgrades. Chakrams are bladed throwing weapons, and their inclusion suggests a combat kit with a more specific identity than simply relying on standard firearm action. Grenades, meanwhile, add another offensive tool to the player’s arsenal.

The physical version’s post-launch package also includes customization options, a Boss Rush mode, Bomb Mode, and a retro-themed soundtrack by Raddland Studios. A Boss Rush is generally a mode centered on fighting a sequence of bosses, usually stripping away the exploratory progression of the main campaign in favor of repeated combat challenges. For a game that already emphasizes difficult boss encounters, it gives players a focused way to revisit that part of the experience.

Bomb Mode is included by name, though no additional rules or objectives have been detailed here. Buyers should avoid assuming exactly how it plays until they can confirm its specifics from the product listing or the game itself. What is clear is that the physical release is intended to contain more than the original base campaign, rather than asking players to retrieve those additions separately.

For Switch players, the game comes on a cartridge; the PS5 edition uses a disc. The format remains relevant to buyers who prefer a tangible library or who want the material included directly on the purchased media. It also arrives at a moment when physical disc hardware remains a more closely watched part of the broader console landscape, as seen in discussion around Sony’s remaining disc-based hardware options.

AVGN 8-Bit heads to a real NES cartridge

The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit NES Edition is developed by Mega Cat Studios and is available in two cartridge variants for the Nintendo Entertainment System:

Standard Edition NES Gray: $69.99
Limited Edition NERD RAGE Red: $79.99

Both versions include an instruction manual featuring artwork by Mike Matei. The stated difference is the cartridge variant and price, so prospective buyers should not presume that either version includes different game content. The available information identifies both as versions of the same NES release and confirms the manual for each cartridge.

An original NES cartridge is a different proposition from a download or a retro-styled game on current platforms. The release is specifically presented as real NES hardware media, placing the game in the familiar cartridge format associated with the system. For collectors, that means the color choice is not merely a menu theme or digital cosmetic; it is part of the object itself. The standard cartridge uses NES gray, while the limited option uses NERD RAGE Red.

The price gap is $10. For anyone deciding between them, the practical question is straightforward: choose the gray Standard Edition if the goal is the game and manual at the lower listed price, or choose the red Limited Edition if the alternate cartridge color is worth that additional cost. There is no supplied indication of differing levels, bonuses, or performance between the two.

What the AVGN game plays like

The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit NES Edition is an all-new action platformer set in the Angry Video Game Nerd universe. Its pixel-art opposition includes zombies, mechanical skeletons, and reapers, with familiar faces from the Nerd’s past also part of the game’s premise.

The listed movement and progression options point to a platformer that is not confined to moving in a straight line from left to right. The Nerd can slide under platforms, collect power-ups, and use alternate routes that lead to boss rooms. In platform-game terms, alternate routes are paths that diverge from the most obvious progression route; their mention suggests players may have opportunities to approach certain confrontations differently or discover routes beyond the most direct path.

Power-ups are temporary or persistent gameplay upgrades collected during play, though the specific effects of the game’s power-ups have not been outlined. Likewise, the game’s enemies establish its horror-comedy, pixel-art tone without revealing how each enemy type behaves. These are details best left open rather than filled in with assumptions about weapons, level count, difficulty structure, or boss mechanics.

The result is a release with a particularly literal approach to 8-bit presentation. It is not simply using pixel art to evoke the NES era; it is also being issued in the NES cartridge format. The manual’s inclusion reinforces that package-focused approach, connecting the game’s presentation to the physical materials that accompanied classic console releases.

Two different forms of retro appeal

Although these titles are being offered at the same storefront, their physical editions speak to distinct audiences. Prison City is a current-console release with a modern-retro visual and design identity, complete post-launch content, and extras in the package. It is a fit for people who play on Switch or PS5 and want an offline physical copy that includes the announced additional modes and remixed stages.

The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit NES Edition, by comparison, is built around the original NES format. Its two versions chiefly make the buying choice a physical one: classic gray or red limited-edition shell. The included illustrated instruction manual is another important part of that distinction, particularly for buyers who value the package as well as the cartridge.

Neither release needs to be treated as the same kind of purchase simply because both draw from retro game aesthetics. One is a side-scroller with chakrams, grenades, eight security zones, hidden upgrades, and additional modes on contemporary platforms. The other is an AVGN-themed action platformer on a real NES cart, focused on platform navigation, power-ups, alternate routes, boss rooms, and a cast of pixel-art monsters.

What buyers can confirm before ordering

The available details make several points clear for prospective physical-media buyers:

Prison City costs $39.99 on both Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 5.
Its cartridge or disc contains the full game and post-launch content, including new modes and remixed stages.
The Prison City package includes a reversible cover and three Crazy Caps.
The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-Bit NES Edition is sold as a real NES cartridge.
The gray Standard Edition is $69.99, while the NERD RAGE Red Limited Edition is $79.99.
Both AVGN cartridge variants include an instruction manual with art by Mike Matei.

There are also limits to what has been specified. No further product-package contents have been listed beyond the stated items, and no claims should be made about print quantities, compatibility beyond the NES designation, shipping, regional availability, or how long either edition will remain available. Those considerations may matter to collectors, but they are not established by the release details currently provided.

For now, the key takeaway is simple: Retroware’s store has physical options for two action games that approach the past from different directions—one through modern consoles and a retro-styled campaign, the other through a brand-new cartridge made for Nintendo’s 8-bit hardware.