Yars Rising Reviews
Yars Rising is a terrific platformer. It features satisfying puzzles, shooting elements, a fast-paced and humorus story, along with a clever integration of a classic Atari game. Apart from some annoying loading screens, this is absolutely a game worth checking out.
A collection of fun hacking minigames attached to a bland metroidvania.
Yars Rising keeps the spirit of its inspiration alive through the robust old-school challenges of a hacking game, but as a 2D Metroidvania it all falls a bit flat. Great controls, fun ability progression, and a killer soundtrack can't elevate the game past the limitations of its straightforward level design.
Yars Rising is an ambitious interpretation of a classic Atari 2600 game that resoundingly succeeds in appealing to both newcomers and veterans alike. The Metroidvania structure is good enough on its own, but when combined with the awesome Yars' Revenge-inspired hacking minigames, you've got an experience that feels wholly unique while being great fun from start to finish. Some of the characters may prove to be a bit irritating, and the final boss is a massive letdown for us, but overall this is a great effort from WayForward.
Yars Rising is a decent enough adventure, but it feels like a very odd way to revive Atari's legendary franchise.
Yars Rising blends metroidvania and retro with mixed results. Appealing graphics and nostalgic tributes don't offset basic level design and repetitive mechanics. A decent adventure that fails to leave a mark, suitable for genre fans seeking an accessible but uninnovative experience.
Review in Italian | Read full review
I hope that Yars Rising serves as a blueprint for Atari moving forward. Heck, I hope any publisher struggling to keep a series as old as Yars fresh is paying attention. Yars Rising is a loving ode to the past that reveres its source material enough to confidently expand on it rather than give it an easy refresh. It takes the original franchise’s worldbuilding seriously and finds a way to twist every morsel of it into a larger adventure that’s worthy of the Yars name. Sometimes the best way to keep the past alive is to let it evolve into something new. Precious nostalgia is an anchor, and Yars Rising flies free without that tying it down.
When it isn’t tipping its hat to Yars’ Revenge, the game offers only simplistic platforming.
The final product doesn't do much to elevate the Yars franchise, due to an excessively flippant tone, an over-reliance on unsatisfying stealth and hacking mechanics, and generally straightforward, unsurprising gameplay. The controls are solid, the power-ups are interesting, and the exploration is rewarding, but that's not quite enough to save the game from mediocrity.
The grab-bag remixes of Yar’s Revenge are surprising and not knowing what is coming next keeps the gameplay engaging, even if Emi’s stealth mechanics are as basic as possible. At the very least, WayForward took an old Atari game that nobody cared about and did something new and interesting with it.
As much as it plays it safe and doesn't bring many innovative advances to the genre, Yars Rising is a competent metroidvania. The title is permeated by a good narrative seasoning, firm and soaring mechanics, a beautiful 2.5D visual, a beautiful sound composition between music, voices and effects, as well as well-behaved nostalgic pinches.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Taking elements from the best MetroidVanias, retro shooters, and anime series, Yars Rising delivers a truly immersive experience with mass appeal.
I don't care what anyone else thinks; I absolutely love Yars Rising. With its clever Atari game references, awesome characters, fun hacking challenges, catchy music, and the fact that it feels like a Mega Man Metroidvania, it's a game specifically made for folks like me. 👾
Yars Rising is a creative take on a classic that not only incorporates it into the game but expands upon it with an unexpected genre alongside a charming main character and solid storyline.
Yars Rising is the ambitious reinterpretation of the Atari classic Yars' Revenge that manages to capture the essence of the original game and incorporate it into a new metroidvania genre game that knows how to successfully integrate all the iconography of the Atari classic. Great work by WayForward that does not shine more for small details, but still offers a title that, whether you are a fan of Atari or simply like the metroidvania genre, offers an experience that you should not miss.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Yars Rising doesn't intend to revolutionize or stand out in the genre, but the approach of adapting an Atari classic into a metroidvania, even with the creative liberties adopted, resulted in something, at the very least, interesting, although it needed more inspiration. I had fun in sporadic sessions, solving minigames and destroying repeated robots while listening to an incredible playlist, but, in the end, it's not something that stands out.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Resurrecting the Yars franchise in a new format but with loving nods to the original game and other Atari works, Yars Rising is full of charm, challenge, and fun idea. The only thing that lets it down is that the ending is too abrupt, but that just makes me hope for a sequel.
Yars Rising is a fantastic action-adventure game that brings back the charm of the original while adding fresh, modern gameplay elements. WayForward’s signature style is evident throughout, from the humour and exploration to the engaging combat and clever hacking mini-games. While the stealth sections may not appeal to everyone, the overall experience is compelling, especially with its excellent performance and polished presentation. Whether you’re a longtime fan of Yars’ Revenge or new to the series, Yars Rising is well worth your time.
Despite being a sincere love letter to Atari and retro gaming in general, Yars Rising is more of a warning of blind nostalgia's follies than an affirmation of it. It’s also a reminder of why hacking minigames are just that: minigames. These repurposed Atari titles were better in small doses, and should arguably never have been turned into an entire title's gameplay loop. Their high frequency and tedious difficulty just made Yars Rising a chore to play through. It’s far from the worst game of this year or of its kind, but Yars Rising just can’t stack up to the proud legacy of Atari and WayForward itself.
Yars Rising reminds us why Atari games have made a mark on the video game industry
Review in Greek | Read full review