Much like the subversive comic series Garfield Minus Garfield, Chuck’s Arcade at the Brea Mall answers a question no one thought to ask: What would Chuck E. Cheese be like without Chuck E. Cheese – including the animatronic characters, ball pits, pizzas, birthday parties, and noise? Stripped of all these elements, as well as most of the square footage and video games that defined the chain since the 1970’s, the result is an arcade with a much heavier emphasis on claw- and similar redemption machines, prize stations and candy dispensers. Visitors will still find a handful of arcade games from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, as well as a few newer machines (Halo, Drakons Realm Keepers, Super Bikes 3) and a VR Rabbids machine that may or may not be working.
As adult arcade fans, we’re firmly in the demographic for an adult version of Chuck E. Cheese done right. But this isn’t it: We’d sooner recommend Dave & Buster’s in Irvine and Orange, Round1 arcades in Mission Viejo and Santa Ana, or LA’s Family Arcade.
