Yars Rising Review - Screenshot 1 of 6
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Over the past few years, Atari has been revisiting its storied history with compilation titles, remakes, reboots, and surprise sequels. So while a revival of Yars’ Revenge really shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise, we have to admit to being a bit taken aback by Yars Rising. After all, what was once a stylish, yet basic top-down shooter has now been transformed into a full-blown Metroidvania with anime-inspired character design, a bonkers, world-ending plot, and gameplay that blends stealth, hacking, and good ol’-fashioned gunplay. Atari, yer mad.

The thing is, though, it works. We can’t imagine that this is the future kids in the early ‘80s had in mind when they first shoved that massive Yars’ Revenge cartridge into an Atari 2600 (and maybe OG developer Howard Scott Warshaw’s long-gestating sequel will be more on par with expectations), but after completing Yars Rising, we honestly couldn’t be more thrilled by developer WayForward’s ambitious interpretation of such a classic.

Yars Rising Review - Screenshot 2 of 6
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Taking place in and around the Qotech corporation headquarters, you take on the role of Emi ‘Yar’ Kimura, who must sneak her way into the building and hack into its selection of mysterious terminals. Assisting Emi is a group of friends who periodically communicate as she ventures further into Qotech.

Every character in Yars Rising is brought to life wonderfully through voice acting, but although we personally adored Emi’s little quips and commentary as she finds herself in increasingly ridiculous situations, the supporting cast can prove a little irritating at times. Much of the dialogue is geared towards younger audiences, so there were definitely times when we felt about 90 years old. It’s not egregious, mind, and if Emi herself is getting on your nerves a bit, you can disable her in-game commentary via the options menu.

Onto the actual gameplay, though. As mentioned, Yars Rising is primarily a Metroidvania in which you explore the Qotech building and its immediate surroundings (plus a third major location later on that we won’t spoil here). As you progress, Emi will earn new upgrades such as the Zorlon Shot and Trionic Nibble; abilities named affectionately after terms coined by Yars’ Revenge that enable Emi to shoot and destroy enemies and traverse across the environment more easily. There are also some light stealth mechanics — crawling through vents or hiding in dark alcoves — but these are few and far between in the grand scheme.

Yars Rising Review - Screenshot 3 of 6
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Gaining abilities, along with unlocking new pathways, is achieved via an extensive hacking minigame. Throughout your journey, you’ll stumble across multiple terminals colour-coded to designate their purpose. Some will open doors, some will grant new abilities called Biohacks (which are assigned via a fun Tetris-inspired grid pattern), and others may even shut down big, nasty robots. When you access them, you’re presented with a minigame that’s essentially the classic Yars’ Revenge gameplay, albeit expanded significantly with unique tasks and challenges.

Some of the earlier terminals are quite literally recreations of the original 2600 classic; you control ‘Yar’ and must shoot or nibble your way through a block barrier to expose the ‘Qotile’ boss to your Zorlon Cannon. Jeez, this probably sounds like a load of nonsense to newcomers, but don’t fret. You don’t need any prior knowledge of the franchise or its terminology to wrap your head around this stuff. In a nutshell, you control a pixelated bug who must overcome a series of obstacles in order to beat the pixelated boss. That’s it.

Yars Rising Review - Screenshot 4 of 6
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

As you get further into the game, the hacking challenges become more unique and more challenging to the point where even the most hardcore Yars’ Revenge fans will need to pause for a spell and really think about how to tackle the more devious tasks (though if you happen to fail them multiple times, you'll be given the option to toggle invincibility). What’s great is that the game pays subtle homage to other classic Atari properties, too; a few of the hacking challenges require you to destroy the Qotile while avoiding meteors falling from above and missiles flying from below, a direct and glorious take on Missile Command. We won’t spoil some of the other hacking callbacks, but if you’re an Atari fan, you’ll spot them straight away.

The references don’t end with the minigames, however. Periodically, you’ll stumble across formidable boss characters, and more often than not, these also resemble classic Atari games. Some are perhaps a little too blatant, such as an arachnid that’s literally called Black Widow, but we enjoyed it for the most part. Most of the boss battles provided a nice challenge, too, although the final foe is a bit of a pushover. After perishing multiple times to some of the earlier bosses, it was anticlimactic to vanquish the last bad guy in one fell swoop.

Yars Rising Review - Screenshot 5 of 6
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Thankfully, once you’ve completed the game, you get access to a new playthrough called Pro Mode. This, as you might have already guessed, amps up the difficulty significantly. In the normal mode, if you happen to fail a hacking challenge, you’ll have 5 HP wiped from your health bar. Pro Mode bumps this up to 15 HP, and when you combine this with increased firepower from your enemies, you can be sure you’re in for a tough time. We loved it.

We suspect many OG Yars’ Revenge fans will want the ability to play the hacking minigames independently from the main campaign, and the good news is that you can. Every hacking challenge you’ve completed from the campaign can be accessed via the ‘Emi’s Hacklist’ option in the main menu, with any you’ve not yet discovered blocked out in grey. So not only do you literally have Yars’ Revenge in its entirety sitting within this section, but you’ve also got dozens upon dozens of Yars-inspired challenges accessible in whatever order you desire.

Yars Rising Review - Screenshot 6 of 6
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

Visually, Yars Rising is a stylish and colourful jaunt from start to finish. It’s got that signature WayForward style, so while there’s nothing here that’s going to blow you away with stunning detail, it’s oozing personality (and keep an eye out for those Computer Space save points too - so cool!). The 60fps performance is more than welcome too; a significant step up from the studio's disappointing effort with Contra: Operation Galuga.

Finally, we have to give a shoutout to the wonderful soundtrack. Composed by multiple artists from several different countries, it’s an eclectic mix of anime-inspired tunes that you’ll be humming to yourself long after setting the game down.

Conclusion

Yars Rising is an ambitious interpretation of a classic Atari 2600 game that resoundingly succeeds in appealing to both newcomers and veterans alike. The Metroidvania structure is good enough on its own, but when combined with the awesome Yars' Revenge-inspired hacking minigames, you've got an experience that feels wholly unique while being great fun from start to finish. Some of the characters may prove to be a bit irritating, and the final boss is a massive letdown for us, but overall this is a great effort from WayForward.

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