1982’s Yars’ Revenge is one of Atari’s biggest hits from the days of the Atari 2600. It sold more than any other original game for the console, and it only makes sense that it would eventually be part of the publisher’s ongoing series of Recharged arcade revivals. Yars: Recharged is a new version of the insectoid shooter coming later this year from developers Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox.
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Like the rest of the Recharged series, this new Yars features upgrades on the original’s classic shoot ’em up, bullet hell gameplay. In particular, Yars: Recharged introduces gameplay staples like co-op play and power-ups that wouldn’t become common until generations later. Players can see these in action in the original arcade configuration or take on challenges in Boss Rush and Mission Mode, each presenting different remixes of the game’s challenging battles. And as was announced, Megan McDuffee is also composing the soundtrack, an artist that was renowned for her musical work on River City Girls.
Yars: Recharged is the seventh game in the Recharged series, a line that has created some inspired takes on classics from days gone by. Released in the wake of the release of the Atari VCS console, the series has kept a constant flow of arcade reimaginings flowing into digital storefronts, as seen in games like Black Widow: Recharged, Gravitar: Recharged, Breakout: Recharged, and Asteroids: Recharged, just to name a few. Thankfully, Yars won’t be exclusive to the VCS, and will be on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Stadia, PC, and, as mentioned, Atari VCS.
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Yars’ Revenge captured the imagination of gamers in the ’80s thanks to its multifaceted gameplay. In a time when many popular releases stuck to one style (and often one screen), Yars felt like an adventure thanks to multiple waves of different foes and gameplay loops that frequently changed things up. Thanks to its success, Atari signed off on several follow-ups over the years, including an initially unreleased 2600 sequel and an Xbox Live Arcade game set in the same universe in 2011.
