Berzerk: Recharged

REVIEW #95 Berzerk: Recharged ---------- As I write this, Steam user reviews for Berzerk: Recharged are closely split between positive and negative. Being a fan of both the arcade and Atari console versions of the original Berzerk game, the feedback from other players almost deterred me from trying this title out until I took time to read what was being said. It seems like many are turned off based on nostalgia-fueled expectations and how this game failed to meet them versus the actual quality of what's presented here. In light of this, let me start with this disclaimer: if you're expecting an almost-exact replica of Berzerk with maybe just a shiny coat of paint on top, you will not find what you're looking for here. However, if an action game that takes the themes and gameplay elements of the arcade classic and works with them just enough to be similar to the source material but also manage to feel like a unique experience AND still be a heck of a lot of fun to play sounds interesting to you, then I encourage you to give Berzerk: Recharged a try. With that out of the way, let's get a bit more into the nitty gritty of what's offered here. Berzerk: Recharged is a top-down(ish) twin-stick shooter with 2 variations: arcade mode and challenge mode. In both variations, players must navigate a maze full of robotic adversaries and environmental hazards with the goal being obtaining the highest score that they can. Challenge mode has 20 preset maze configurations, whereas arcade mode randomly generates a maze layout every time and continues endlessly until the player runs out of health. The players and some of the robot enemies can shoot projectiles, and the game can often feel like a bullet-hell title, which makes gameplay feel tense and fast-paced. There's also a time-based score multiplier which gives the player incentive to keep moving if they want to quickly rack up points. Power-ups and a dash ability are included, but disabling these features (as well as the player's health bar) will result in hefty scoring bonuses being added to a game's final total. Presentation-wise, Berzerk: Recharged is okay. There's nothing offensive or subpar as far as sound design or graphics are concerned. In fact, the bright color scheme works well with the game's sense of style, and everything animates well. However, there are some odd design choices here. For example, the robotic voice samples are very low in the overall sound mix, which makes it often hard to tell what's being said. Also, the protagonist looks like Ronald McDonald going out on Halloween as a space cowboy, an impression that's especially due to the character's red/yellow/white/black color palette. That isn't a deal-breaker by any means, but it's a bit distracting and certainly looks out of place from the rest of the game. Also, while I don't exactly count this as a major negative, the general presentation of the game did sometimes feel weirdly like I was playing an Original Xbox Live Arcade title, which not all players might vibe with. Technically, while bugs have been reported by other Steam users, Berzerk: Recharged has been running almost rock-solid for me (except for one minor glitch that causes Evil Otto's face to vertically invert sometimes). Controlling the main character also feels smooth and responsive, especially with an Xbox One controller. In the end, what really works for Berzerk: Recharged is how it plays, and it feels to me like an addictive arcade-style shooter that I definitely would've been pumping plenty of quarters into if I found it in an arcade in the '80s. It took me all of 10 minutes to decide that I really like this addition to Atari's Recharged series, and if the trailer and screenshots on the store page interest you, then I suggest picking this one up. NOTE: local co-op is available but was not evaluated for this review.

I liked the previous nine Recharged games (though wish they had the dip switch settings of the originals), but man, I pretty much had a visceral dislike of this one. I've never uninstalled a game so fast before. Twice in less than half an hour of play-time. I gave it a third try the next day and disliked it less, but still ended up uninstalling it. It feels so generic and is too different from the original to trigger any sort of nostalgia. Definitely watch a video or two before you buy this. The other Recharged games are basically the originals with “more” and/or power-ups, but this one changed things all over the board. The overall speed is way faster than the original, which necessitated twin-stick controls (though you still have a fire button). It has way more bullets on the screen and quick homing enemies practically from the word Go, an isometric viewpoint that is surprisingly difficult for me to parse, significantly less voice samples compared to the original (which might be the biggest crime of all), and modifiers which only make the game more difficult. They could at least have given the equivalent of Missile Commands' Calm modifier so you could have pacing closer to the original. Maybe if it had the control scheme of Robotron 64 I would have liked it. In any event, I find myself among the haters, and the only reason I’m not returning it is because I bought it as part of a Recharged bundle sale. The biggest downer might be that going forward I’m not going to buy any Recharged titles before I have a chance to really look into them, including seeing how the reviews shake out.

Atari isn't really Atari they are a subsidiary of a subsidiary and doesn't really have a soul anymore. That being said this games fun. Its a very very simple twin stick game. The only gimmick I can think of is that if you don't clear the room in like 15 seconds an orb starts chasing you around. The arcade mode is fun just try and survive. The challenges are dumb all the ones I played were just kill X amount of enemies. I don't see the point id rather just play the arcade mode. I have never played the original so I have no nostalgia to it. But the game is ok feels like some early 2000s flash game. Overall its OK and if you already wanted this game you probably own it. I got the whole set for like 30$ I think that was too much. AGAIN I like the game its just you could get a similar experience from other free games.

fun

É um jogo que remete ao clássico de 1982 da Atari. Legalzinho, mas eu apenas recomendo de você gosta de jogos clássicos como eu e se estiver em promoção. Não chega a ser um jogo ruim, mas poderia ser melhor. E não é muito desafiador, a meu ver.

this ain't berserk but if you can ever find this in a bundle or on sale it is an alright twin-stick arcade shooter. pure scoring gameplay and not much else.

4.5/10 decent little game dont think its worth 10$ if you put yourself right on walls your guns hitbox will damage things right on the other side of them cool!!! you can be damaged the same way.... oof wait did the enemy just fully shoot through that wall???? wtf!!!! looks like its a bug

Have liked the other recharged games. Not this one. Controls feel clumsy and what is going on with the walls. Why can some bots and shots move through some walls and not others? I feel this is some sort of aesthetic thing and not a clipping issue. Anyway - it is incredibly distracting when a shot or bot goes right through a wall to nail you. Hard pass unless they fix the walls and the clunk. Oh and the bots need to talk more with different voices ... like the original did ... 40 years ago. Evil Otto is pretty cute though.

Ok, I'm going to say outright. This is not a bad game, but it's also not a great one. Whatever you do, DO NOT BUY THIS AT FULL PRICE. Don't buy it at a slight discount either, buy it as part of the bundle or wait until they finally do a good discount. If what you want is straight forward twin-stick shooting, this game delivers. The dash and the powerups don't really add much but the game plays just fine. However, it doesn't have enough content to justify it's 10 dollar price tag. You've got a very basic arcade mode and some missions. That's it. They really should have added a port of the original arcade or Atari 2600 game as a mode, it's a shame that they didn't because as far as I can tell Berzerk hasn't been ported to modern PCs or consoles yet. I think the only way you can play it is through emulation While I don't think the game looks ugly, the graphics are pretty bland and generic. Also, hearing "fight like a robot" every 2 seconds in an 80s arcade game is funny, for a game released in 2023 it's lazy and repetitive. It would not have taken much more effort to have the robots say a few more things. It's odd that of all things they decided should stay true to the original, that's the part they picked. I know the majority of this review has sounded negative but again, it's not BAD it's just not as good as it could have been. If you get it cheap or get it as a gift it's a cute, simple game to kill some time with. It's honestly refreshing to play an overhead shooter that doesn't have a ton of complex mechanics, a story mode, or meta progression. Sometimes you just wanna shoot stuff until you lose. And for that reason, I think i'll be picking this one back up from time to time. Lastly, here's a message to the devs: It's not too late, you can add a port of the original Berzerk in an update! Either that or you could add some kind of mode that's nearly 1 to 1 to the original. It'd be easy to do but would add a lot of value to this release. Please consider it!!!

I don't know what I should say xD I finished this game in 82mins with every Achievment and I could litterly refund it now! The Challanges at all are damn boring because they are so repetative. At all I am a bit disapointed but still a bit fun to play the arcade if you want to waste time a bit but yeah. I would not recomment it but I will at the same time so I give it Thumb Up for now.