Yars Rising is the successor of the 1982 Atari classic Yars’ Revenge. However, on the surface, it has little to do with the original game created by Howard Scott Warshaw. After all, one is a 2D space shooter while another is a modernized sci-fi Metroidvania. However, with homages to Atari and gaming’s past galore, all developed by a renowned studio like WayForward, this release could be one to look forward to when it arrives on its newly announced September release date.
Taking control of a hacker named Emi (codename Yar), players must blast, hack, and sneak their way through various areas. As she progresses, she unlocks new powers that allow her to take out enemies more easily and, in true Metroidvania fashion, access new areas. Yars Rising is published by Atari and pays homage to the company’s past, including bosses and minigames that borrow gameplay elements from classic Atari titles.
Though the game is coming to a broader array of platforms, PlayStation 5 and Switch players can pick up physical editions of the game. We recently had a chance to go hands-on with Yars Rising and included our impressions in our list of the coolest things we saw at Summer Game Fest. To read that entry and see the rest of the list, head here. Yars Rising arrives on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on September 10.