Gaming used to be simple. We didn’t used to have the hassle of day one patches, of online multiplayer and subscription access, let alone FOMO-inducing battle passes. There was a purity, a focus, that’s been forgotten by many in recent years. ModRetro wants you to remember. They set out to perfect a piece of gaming royalty: the Nintendo Game Boy, but unlike other Game Boy-shaped things, they didn’t iterate or diversify, instead opting to imagine what the device would look, feel and perform like, if it was brought to market today. Imagine my surprise when I found they’ve not only resurrected a long-dead gaming giant, they’ve made it stronger than ever before.
The ModRetro Chromatic is still a Game Boy. It has a slot for the physical cartridges and one of the greatest things being that it plays all of your original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, as well as a new batch of games that ModRetro have curated themselves. (more on that later).
It even runs on AA batteries, though we’re down to three over the original’s four, and there will be a rechargeable pack option if you’re willing to spend more. Admittedly, it should have been there as standard, but the AA batteries provide the necessary heft, and inserting them sure feels nostalgic. We can complain when Microsoft stop using AAs in their controllers.
The Chromatic also has an original aspect and original resolution screen, and it’s the sharpest and most colourful Game Boy screen you’ve ever seen, outside of the Analogue Pocket’s 10x resolution display. The team at ModRetro were so clear about getting the screen right, they manufactured it themselves, and not only does it showcase the level of commitment to the project, it’s exceptionally sharp, bright and colourful. Thanks to the original aspect ratio, games look and feel authentic, represented as they were intended to be, but with modern enhancements like IPS panel tech and backlighting.
One of the most obvious changes is the shift to a metal body over the original’s plastic. Available in several colours – our review unit was a 70s-evoking bright yellow – this is a case that will outlast multiple generations. The team have even shown it surviving being driven over by a car, though it should be noted that attempts to recreate that by other reviewers have been slightly less successful. While I wouldn’t necessarily want to put mine under half a ton of car, it is unequivocally strong and robust, delightfully cool to the touch, and it’ll definitely take a few knocks in your bag or live through being shoved off a table.
There are exactly as many inputs as you’d expect here, so you’re getting a D-pad, A and B buttons, and then Start and Select. They’re a little clackier than I remember my Game Boy being, but they feel tight and responsive, reacting perfectly to spinning and dropping yet another Tetronimo in Tetris.
There’s a USB-C socket down the bottom for that additional battery pack and firmware updates – alas, we can’t escape software updates entirely – as well as a 3.5mm headphone socket to pump the glorious chiptunes straight into your ears. Besides that, there’s the down-firing speaker, which sends audio downwards rather than straight at you or the palm of your hand. It goes plenty loud though, and there’s no hint of distortion or crackling from it, once again maintaining the clarity and vision of the original composers and sound designers.
The volume is controlled by a plastic rotary wheel on the right-hand side of the unit, and it’s one of the few things here that feel cheap. Our review unit’s action wasn’t all that smooth either, though it stayed happily in place once the volume level had been set.
There’s then the link cable port on the left-hand side, and, coming across from the original Game Boy Color, an Infrared Blaster for communication between the games that support it. The team have ensured that every single original Game Boy and Game Boy Color game can be played, with all of their original features intact, and it lends the Chromatic the sense that this isn’t just a Game Boy-shaped device, it’s the Game Boy as it was always meant to be.
One solitary sign of true modernity sits alongside the volume wheel, and that’s the addition of a Menu button. This opens an overlay with a level of deeper control that the original Game Boy could only dream about, from brightness settings for the backlit screen, as well as frame blending, streaming setup and the ability to prevent unwanted diagonal inputs from the D-pad.
Some of this functionality is there to deal with the oddities of a small number of games and how they behave under emulation. It’s impressive to find that the ModRetro team have given the Chromatic that level of consideration and then found an answer for it, and it shows that this is a team of people wholly committed to bringing the Game Boy and Game Boy Color back to modern audiences.
Games. It is, of course, all about the games. The Chromatic is bundled with a new version of Tetris, and few titles could give you the same sensory experience in this form factor. I’ve spent hours playing Tetris on the Chromatic, and loved every single one of them, since it’s a game that just doesn’t get old. For me, it completes the concept, and if you ever owned one of the original Nintendo handhelds, you will be won over the moment you start spinning those shapes.
You can then play your original games. All of them. Slot a cart into the top of the unit, and away you go. I loved returning to Pokémon and Kirby’s Dream Land, two games that formed the foundation of my Game Boy collection, and it’s remarkable to find how modern they still feel when played on a brand-new device. If you’ve got a batch of old cartridges sitting around in the loft – or proudly displayed on a shelf – then you owe it to them to grab a Chromatic and re-experience them on what is, fundamentally, the best Game Boy that’s ever existed.
For all that the Chromatic is an incredible, nostalgic achievement, the most intriguing thing the team have done is curate a new batch of games to release alongside it. These are fully compatible Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, which work on original hardware, with brand-new 8-bit titles on them. So, you’re getting new Game Boy games in 2025. Unbelievable.
These range from the lovable and old-school like puzzle-dropper Patchy Matchy, to Hermano, a 2D platformer featuring a cute skeleton that can throw his head at enemies. My favourite? Chantey, a pirate RPG, with a classic Game Boy open world, whose battles are played out by a pirate band with rhythm-action gameplay.
It’s hard to argue with ModRetro’s approach to the Chromatic, with a balance between nostalgia and new experiences that’s incredibly alluring. Alongside Evercade, it feels as though our gaming past – and future – is in good hands.
The only mild question mark is the price. At £152 in the UK, that’s not an insignificant chunk of change, and it probably puts the Chromatic just outside the instant-buy category. That’s not so bad when considering the cost of buying an original Game Boy and retrofitting it with a modern IPS screen, new case and other mod cons – this can easily run you over £100. It’s also a good bit cheaper than the Analogue Pocket, which offers a similar quality experience, albeit gaining the extremely useful ability to play Game Boy Advance games. That said, the Chromatic feels truer to the spirit of the original Game Boy, whereas the Analogue Pocket appears a bit sleeker and more modern.