Hands On: Rejuvenated Atari Is Bringing Some Absolute Bangers to PS5 1
Image: Push Square

You may not have been paying attention, but Atari is back.

The once legendary console manufacturer turned third-party publisher has gone through all kinds of turmoil and management turnover, but the current incarnation of the company is awesome: it respects its legacy – warts and all – and genuinely seems committed to bringing back the best of its catalogue, whether that’s creating new games inspired by its classics or emulating the originals.

We got to go hands on with three titles from its upcoming portfolio at GDC this week, with time limitations meaning we missed out on the awesome-looking Breakout Beyond. (Sorry Choice Provisions, we’re fairly confident this is going to be banger, too!)

Here’s what we played:

The Best and Worst of Bubsy

The current incarnation of Atari is not afraid to look in the mirror, and we really respect that. This was evident in the excellent Atari 50 compilation, which documented the highs and lows the iconic organisation, and didn’t sugar coat any of it.

Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection developed by Limited Run using its emulation platform the Carbon Engine, is a bit like that.

The team knows it’s not necessarily dealing with all-time classics here, but it wants to respect the source material as well as possible.

This is evidenced by the inclusion of multiple versions of the same game: the first two Bubsy games released on the Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis, for example, and both versions are featured here. The team explained how the colour palettes and resolutions differ across consoles – all of which has been preserved.

The Game Boy version of the sequel is included as well, with all of its input lag immaculately preserved. And there’s even the rare inclusion of the Atari Jaguar entry, which opens with a mildly attractive Alice in Wonderland level – albeit one which is pretty much entirely undone by its impenetrable level design.

The star of the show for PlayStation fans will, of course, be Bubsy 3D – developed by Bend Studio, the makers of Days Gone. This was infamous at the time for being an early take on 3D platforming which failed dramatically to measure up to the highs of Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot.

Playing the game, it actually holds up better than you’d think, thanks to its simplistic graphical style and an excellent widescreen mode added with the Carbon Engine (albeit one you can toggle off if you’d prefer to preserve the original experience).

It’s slow and turgid and the team knows that – but it’s an interesting snapshot of early PlayStation game design, and the whole compilation serves as an interesting time capsule overall.

Missile Command Delta’s Deviously Smart Design Is a Delight

The original Missile Command, a hit in the 1980s, is primitive by modern standards.

Make no mistake, it’s still fun placing missiles on the stage to protect against a barrage of incoming enemy fire, but its pace feels glacial by modern standards.

Missile Command Delta’s solution is slow the action down even more, and transform it into a card-based puzzle game where your rockets each have a usage cost and limited distance of travel.

It’s brilliant.

This is one of those tactics games that, at least in its early stages, makes you feel smart without taxing your brain too hard. There is a solution – usually it’s staring you in the face – but you may need to retry a couple of times to get it just right.

Despite being such a big deviation, it’s also true to the source material. You’ll select a card and then pick which direction to fire it, and should its subsequent explosion obstruct the path of an enemy rocket, your base will be protected. Compound detonations increase the radius of your protective firepower.

There’s a first-person mystery which surrounds the card playing segments – it seems you are the eponymous missile commander and the plot aims to depict exactly what’s going on in your bunker – but we didn’t really get to experience that in our demo.

No, we just had a wonderful time detonating bombs, and we think this is definitely going to be one to watch.

I, Robot Is All Jeff Minter, All the Time

I, Robot, not to be confused with the Will Smith movie of the same name, is one of those lesser-known Atari games that’s actually a lot of fun.

A little bit like Pac-Man, a little bit like Tempest (we suppose), the game sees you flipping tiles in an attempt to fend off an enormous eye, which can destroy you if you jump while it’s looking at you. Weird? Maybe. Compelling? Definitely.

This version, developed by Jeff Minter, has the kind of features you’d expect from the iconic British farm animal fan: warping backgrounds, seizure-inducing visuals, and tight arcade gameplay.

Some levels are all out carnage, others require a more methodical approach. Whatever your approach, though, the pull to ace each level and master each encounter is consistent throughout.

Playing with PSVR2, which it supports optionally and seamlessly, is a reminder of how wonderful virtual reality can be when you’re in a stationary position and “gazing” into a kind of diorama. The game runs flawlessly both in and out of the headset, with a blistering framerate and a visual style you could easily identify anywhere.

While its generally more complicated concept means it may take a little longer to get to grips with than the likes of Tempest 4000 or Akka Arrh, we reckon it’ll be just as rewarding. Personally, we can’t wait to ascend to higher sense of consciousness while trying to run through this without dying once. (Impossible, by the way.)

What do you make of Atari’s lineup these days? Are you impressed by the selection, or is the publisher’s output still not really doing it for you? Let us know in the comments section below.