Back in 1982, Atari launched a shooter called Yars’ Revenge. In the decades that followed, the game received a reboot and remake, but it took until this year for a full sequel to come out. Rather than return to the same genre as its predecessor, this sequel, Yars Rising, looks to the design elements of Metroidvania games like Hollow Knight, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and Blasphemous for new inspiration. The result is a reinvention helmed by Shantae and the Seven Sirens creator WayForward that’s just launched on Steam.
Yars Rising reimagines the Atari classic as a Metroidvania game, casting players as a hacker named Emi “Yar” Kimura. In this version of the game, Yar is imprisoned by a mysterious corporation she’s been hired to hack and, through the story that follows, ends up discovering secrets regarding her own background and the nature of an alien race connected to both her and the corporation whose headquarters she’s trapped within.
Navigating this corporate building involves platforming, fighting, and stealth sequences along with the kind of incremental power unlocks and exploration that characterizes the Metroidvania genre. As a hacker, Yar is also able to take part in mini-games based around her computer talents, these serving as breaks in between navigating a sprawling map and taking part in genre-mixing boss fights. The game also has a sharp visual style that blends metal-dominated level environments with colorful, cartoonish characters.
Yars Rising is out now on Steam. You can grab a copy right here.
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