Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Reviews

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is ranked in the 96th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
IGN
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2022

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration offers a completely new, very fun way to explore several decades of Atari arcade machines, consoles, handhelds, and PCs.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2022

With Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, Digital Eclipse has set a new bar for future historical compilations in video games. It's a digital traveling museum exhibit, as the game bursts at the seams with nostalgia thanks to more than 100 playable games and hundreds of relics from the developer's vault. While a good amount of the games offered will pass by quickly, those brief life spans cannot weigh down the amazing historical value of Atari 50, and I hope Digital Eclipse has more wings of its digital history tour opening in the coming years.

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8 / 10
Nov 8, 2024

Several of the 19 new games — specifically those not found on the 2600 — are sadly not included in the new timeline and will need to be located within Atari 50’s game library. It’s no dealbreaker, but it would’ve been nice to get a bit of background information on their creation. We also feel like the exclusion of the original games created for the Intellivison to be a bit of a missed opportunity, but understandable given that this is Atari 50, not Intellivision 50. Fingers crossed Digital Eclipse will create something specific to that console's history now that the brand and associated IP are in Atari's hands.

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8 / 10
Nov 11, 2022

That it's called 'The Anniversary Celebration' rather than 'collection' is a substitution of phrases that couldn't be more apt. With its smooth, fast, and perfectly-pitched interface, and rich, thoughtfully created content, Atari 50 really is an honouring of the company that founded the industry. It's true that its content is going to have a greater appeal to an older generation of gamers, to today's parents (and grandparents) who grew up in the whirlwind of the '70s and '80s arcade scene. For them, reliving moments and experiences that used to cost a pocketful of coins will be joyful. For others, understanding the appeal of a lot of these games will take work, and few of the titles outside of the Lynx and Jaguar catalogues are easy to pick up and play for the uninitiated. At the same time, Atari 50 is so thorough and engrossing a retro gaming tunnel, akin to exploring a virtual museum, that it transcends its target audience somewhat. For those interested in video gaming's history, the unearthing of the past, and for gamers not afraid of what today is considered rudimentary, there's a great deal of enjoyment to be had in this trip down memory lane.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2022

Fifty years is a long old time to remain even slightly relevant in the games industry, and whilst this package probably wont win too many new fans, it gives retro fans a great walk down memory lane.

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8.5 / 10.0
Nov 20, 2022

A wonderful way to celebrate Atari's history, with plenty of information and lots of games to play and re-discover.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
8 / 10
Nov 11, 2022

More than just a retro compilation, this is a fascinating attempt to create an interactive history of Atari, that goes above and beyond in terms of trawling the archives and creating new remakes.

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90 / 100
Nov 16, 2022

For game buffs, or Atari fans, this collection is a no-brainer and if there is any collection that could be considered a must-have, this is it.

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8 / 10
Nov 13, 2022

While many of the included games may border on unplayable from a modern perspective, the painstaking attention to detail in Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is extremely easy to appreciate. The museum-like carousel of content, from interviews through to original artwork, is presented so handsomely that you can't not get swept up in Atari's dramatic story. And the fact that there over 100 of the company's most famous titles, emulated excellently with their original instruction manuals available to pore over, adds playable context to a lot of the content. This is just an impressive overall experience that will appeal to those who lived through the rise (and fall) of Atari, as well as younger players eager to learn a little more about one of the industry's true pioneers.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
10 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2022

This collection goes above and beyond any other to date. Digital Eclipse continues to outdo themselves with these classic compilations each time. This one sets a bar though that will be nigh impossible to outdo. Not sure what is next on their docket, but I cannot wait to play it. As it stands this collection is a must for anyone who calls video games their hobby. It is absolutely incredible on every level and I spent hours just absorbing all the content here. Sure I would love some DLC (Ultra Vortek anyone?) but what is here is more than worth the price of admission.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2022

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is an absolute masterclass in how to fashion a retro compilation, all the while providing both contemporary and older gamers with an immediately accessible and immaculately produced window into the halcyon days of one of the video game industry's most prolific pioneers. This is the preservation of video game history done right and Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is the best retro compilation ever made, bar none.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 9, 2022

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration offers a lot, but the shadow of a legendary brand like Atari pushes to demand even more. The absence of Atari Games' historic coin-ops along with many of the more distinctive home machine games weighs heavily, but the new games created by Digital Eclipse somehow manage to save the party. As a work of preservation and divulgation, however, it plays in a league of its own that is really hard to approach.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8.8 / 10.0
Nov 23, 2022

50 years of memories. 50 years of being the king. I love how the 50th Anniversary Collection shows the ups and downs, and exposes the vulnerabilities, of one of the greatest companies of all time. Although some games could go, and I would love to see some DLC. Digital Eclipse deserves a round of applause for this as well. You love documentaries, and you love games, so here's both. And you're going to love it.

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80 / 100
Nov 10, 2022

More than a compilation, this is better described as a virtual museum with more than 90 games to play with. An ode to the history of Atari and a game collectors must have in their libraries.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

90 / 100
Dec 6, 2022

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is both a game collection and an interactive documentary, and excels in each aspect. There may be a few hits missing, but the 90 games available are perfectly emulated and serve as an incredible time capsule of a bygone era. The unexpected star of the show is the interactive documentary, filled to the brim with interviews, documents, pictures, and interesting stories all told by pioneers of the era. If you have any nostalgia for this era or just enjoy learning about the history of gaming, check out this collection.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 14, 2022

Whether you're looking for a nostalgic kick, curious to check out rare titles, or looking to bone up on games of a bygone era, Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration has you covered. Yes, some odd omissions, seemingly from something other than licensing, leave you wondering. And there are numerous redundant and "one time is enough" games. But the rare gems are worth finding, playing, and replaying.

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9 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2022

Atari 50 from developer Digital Eclipse provides a proper path down memory lane with video interviews, old commercials, and a cornucopia of information to dig into about Atari’s history, the good and the bad. The inclusion of early Atari games, arcade experiences, the Atari computing systems, Lynx, and Jaguar are just icing on a well-baked, delicious cake.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 11, 2022

Final Thoughts: Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is a monument to the gaming industry, and with new titles is an easy recommend for Atari and Video Game history fans.

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4.4 / 5.0
Feb 5, 2023

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration is a tremendous and perfectly presented package at a solid price point. Its terrific and closest look at the history of Atari – supported by wonderfully playable versions of its titles – make this perhaps the best gaming compilation of the modern console era.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 15, 2022

All of this, for lack of a better term, content, is found in-between video interviews, mini-documentaries, concept art, advertisements, photos, and more.

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