As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming history under my belt, I must say that Yars Rising left me feeling a bit divided. On one hand, I appreciate the team’s effort to breathe new life into a classic like Yars Revenge, but on the other, I found myself longing for more depth and originality.
It’s quite likely that many individuals who engage with Yars Rising will be unfamiliar with the series it derives from. Yars Revenge isn’t just a well-known title; it’s as significant to video game history as Pac Man, Donkey Kong, or Doom. Launched by Atari in 1982, this side-scrolling shooter revolves around a conflict between two extraterrestrial races – the Yars and the Qotile.
Yars’ Revenge, developed by WayForward (known for their work on the Shantae series), is a fresh take on the original game. It’s vibrant, full of color, and carries the chatty, witty banter that might have grown tiresome about seven or eight years ago. In this game, you control Emi, a hacker who works for QoTech corporation undercover, but in reality, she’s working with an activist group investigating the company’s suspicious activities.
Under the leadership of a small group of hackers, Emi wraps up her workday and switches to covert operations, slipping quietly through the corridors and ductwork of the QoTech facility. At first, her objective isn’t explicitly stated, but when she uncovers the fact that the company constructs lethal robots, resembling anime mechs according to her description, and is housing colossal alien insects in large containers, things start to take an unexpected turn.
When the game commences, Yars Rising follows a typical pattern for Metroidvania games in many aspects. You traverse, leap, scale, and eventually discover hidden abilities that essentially serve as keys to enter certain areas. The design is somewhat predictable, with Emi encountering a locked door or wall she can’t pass through, only to find the solution a couple of rooms later. This setup lacks the magical feeling that the most exceptional Metroidvania games offer, and instead, it seems like you’re following a predefined path without much exploration or discovery.
Emi can sneak into areas that guards might overlook due to their tendency to be deaf and often preoccupied with gazing at walls during patrols. However, some find this stealth aspect unnecessary given other challenges like laser puzzles, encounters with floating security robots, boss battles against QoTech’s inventions as well as mutated alien creatures. Yet, Emi eventually uncovers the mystery behind the events, connecting it back to the original series.
The primary attraction lies in the hacking feature. Each time you hack, it creates an alternate version of the game where you control a small spaceship aimed at destroying the obstacle preventing your entry. Some of these are simple, but unlocking additional abilities such as standard attacks or the power to break through unique construction walls may require multiple steps. Once unlocked, these abilities can be accessed and played from the menu, adding an extra layer of enjoyment.
At first, the hacking seemed quite novel and distinct. However, there’s so much of it that a significant chunk of the gameplay resembles an arcade game from the 1980s. While it does offer various game modes, at its core, you’re essentially playing a game to infiltrate systems, which doesn’t make any logical sense when you boil it down.
Occasionally, it can be quite aggravating because if you fail at a multi-stage hack, you’re returned to the initial stage, which can be repetitive and irritating. While I understand the concept of merging these two game types, the Metroidvania aspects aren’t particularly captivating, and the frequent hacking sequences feel more like interruptions than integral parts of the gameplay.
The writing doesn’t seem to improve any aspect of this. Emi is quite talkative, expressing opinions about everything from the number of vents she requires you to traverse (which merely underscores the number of vents the player must navigate for her), to what she ate for breakfast, and when she’s not conversing with herself, one of the numerous identical NPCs is on the radio. It would have been more efficient if these elements were represented by a single character, as they all serve the same purpose.
Yars’ Revenge is quite an entertaining game, indeed. The characters are bulky and reminiscent of cartoons, while the environments are vibrant, albeit following a somewhat common pattern within the genre. However, some of Emi’s movements, particularly when attempting to jump onto a ledge, appear to lack certain frames, which always feels disconcerting due to an abruptness that never grows old.
In Yars Rising, there’s been a determined attempt to blend the classic and modern elements, yet its success might hinge on your preference for older-style shooters. Initially, the hacking aspect is entertaining, but it can become overwhelming. The repetitive 2D side-scrolling sections, the constant bombardment of early 2000s humor, and the frequent interruptions make it challenging to enjoy smoothly. Overall, Yars Rising is a passable journey, but it seems an unusual approach to resurrect Atari’s iconic series.
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2024-09-10 16:16