Yars: Recharged
Yars: Recharged is the latest title from Adamvision Studios and SneakyBox, the team behind the Atari Recharged series, infusing elements of arcade, shoot-em up, and bullet hell into the classic's formula. Yars: Recharged requires players to remain acutely aware of visual and audio cues that hint of impending danger, and to master rhythm of each boss as they navigate increasingly complex enemy defenses, all to epic soundtrack by Megan McDuffee.
| Released | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Adamvision Studios |
| Publisher | Atari, Inc. |
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Platforms & ports
Screenshots
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Video
Story
A daring attack against the enemy homeworld, guarded by mechanical hives that pulse deadly cannons and emit flurries of swirling missiles. Shoot from range as you find pockets of safety amongst the hail of incoming fire, and then dart forward in daring forays to nibble away at the enemies defenses. Gather enough energy by destroying the enemy’s shields and you can power up your massively destructive Zorlon cannon, which sends searing blasts of golden energy into the enemy hive.
History
Yars: Recharged is a twin-stick shooter developed by Vancouver-based company Adamvision Studios and published by Atari. It is a remake of Yars' Revenge, a 1982 Atari 2600 shooter. It was released on August 23, 2022, for Atari VCS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. Unlike the previous remake, Yar's Revenge, it stays significantly closer to the source material, with top-down neo-retro style graphics and its Yar protagonist being an anthropomorphic fly. The player must charge a meter that powers the Zorlon Cannon, the only thing that can penetrate the shields of the Qotile, while defeating other enemies and dodging the Qotile's devastating lasers. The game received positive critical reception, citing how it built upon the original game while maintaining its classic arcade feel. The game is part of the Atari Recharged remake series.
Reception
The game received an aggregate score of 83/100 for its Switch version on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Shaun Musgrave of TouchArcade rated the game 9/10 points, calling himself a "big fan". Saying that its stage designs set the game apart, he praised it as adapting the good aspects of the original while improving on it both in visuals and gameplay. Retro Gamer magazine rated the game 78/100, describing it as a "fresh take" on the original, despite minor performance issues and high difficulty.
In contrast, Tom Massey of Nintendo Life rated the game only 6/10 stars, calling it repetitive. While saying it had fun core gameplay and clean graphics, he noted that it had a slower pace than the original.
References
Adapted from Wikipedia , licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may have been shortened.