As someone that travels the country looking for retro game shops, it’s very clear that the West Midlands is the best location to live in.
There are several shops within a short-ish distance from each other, which seems to breed great competition.
Hidden Chest is a very big part of the retro scene – and it is fully deserved.
What a great, hidden gem of a shop. There are too many ‘retro’ gaming stores with their earliest offerings from the 16-bit era. But Hidden Chest had hundreds of tape games from the 8-bit era, and not just the popular C64, Spectrum, and Amstrad, too. There were even games for my beloved Oric as well as the Electron, MSX, and several others. Amazing!
And what a nice guy that runs the place, too. I mentioned competition earlier in this review, but that competition is entirely friendly, with all the owners of the shops in the area knowing each other really well. Not just that, they recommend you shop at each other’ stores, too. In Hidden Chest, I was given the flyers for three other local retro stores which proves the point even further.
The guys behind Hidden Chest are also big on the events scene, too, further adding to the community feel.
I was so happy in my experience of the shop, as it was like stepping back in time to see many of the games from my childhood. I also bought a few items including an Amstrad CPC 464, Wii, and a couple of tape games.
Is it worth travelling for retro?
100% it is. I live exactly 50 miles from the store, and I will be visiting regular from now on. If you love quirky 8-bit things, then you will love the store even more than a typical retro escapade.
You can find Hidden Chest Gaming at Unit A Wedgbury Wy., Brierley Hill DY5 3JU.
Their socials and website are: