A Cyberpunk Metroidvania With Thirst-Worthy Characters--What's Not To Like In This Series Reboot?
Jessica Cogswell
7/12/2024
Okay, I'll admit it: Outside of my brief love affair with Galaga and the small bit of Frogger I played as a child, I've never meaningfully engaged with the vast majority of arcade games. It's my weakest area in terms of video game genres I'm knowledgeable in and as such, I walked into my appointment to play Yars Rising only minimally aware of its first entry and the impact it had at the time.Upon its release in 1982, Yars' Revenge--the first entry in the Yars series--became the highest-grossing original title for the Atari 2600. It's been included in more than a few Atari classics collections, a handful "Greatest Games of All-Time'' lists, and a display on video game history at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Though part of its popularity was due to Atari's status as a video game powerhouse at the time--thus giving the studio the necessary resources to actually promote Yars' Revenge and build "hype,'' as we'd call it here in the year 2024--it was also just an incredibly solid sci-fi shooter.Yet, despite its success, a follow-up to Yars' Revenge (a rail-shooter called Yar's Revenge) didn't emerge for nearly three decades and was largely met with disdain--even from series creator Howard Scott Warshaw. But after another decade--and another stab at regniting the Yars fandom with Yars: Recharged--Atari has recruited a new studio, Shantae and River City Girls developer WayForward, to help revitalize the series. The first challenge for WayForward? Steering Yars away from flies and aliens and into a new, flashier direction. And based on my time spent with the upcoming reiteration, I feel confident that it's going to nail it.Continue Reading at GameSpot...
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