Yars Rising

shockingly underrated game, found this one day in my discovery queue. I had never heard of Yars until playing this game, and I haven't seen ANYTHING about this game specifically on any social media, which is a travesty tbh. as a metroidvania, its more vania than metroid. it's pretty linear but the map was large enough and there's enough optional areas and such and the gameplay is fun enough that the exploration being a bit lacking didn't affect my enjoyment at all. the level design and puzzles are well done, and the combat is enjoyable. full points the only real complaints I have about this game are: 1) there's no real way to attack enemies that are above you (that i figured out) and yet this game does, obnoxiously, have flying enemies, so you kind of just have to either jump around and shoot like a spastic, or just tank the hit. and 2) the hacking minigames pretty much all suck. there's a good portion, especially the earlier ones, that are "fine", but overall they're just annoying. I understood after beating the game and looking it up that the hacking minigames are actually supposed to be the classic "Yars Revenge" gameplay from 1982, but honestly, they should've stayed in 1982. unless you are SPECIFICALLY a fan of the original Atari 2600 Yars gameplay, trust me you will have a better time with this game if you just turn the hack invincibility ON from the beginning overall very good game, like 8.5/10! highly recommend

How does this game not have settings to adjust? Has some vsync or something low FPS idk what it is but it's not making a good experience.

I wanted to love this game and did for the most part, but there's a bunch of small issues ranging from the odd layout for controls to the extremes of the hacking minigame, the game of pong you have to win just before the final boss, and even the amount of stuff on the screen during the final boss (between the contact damage if I hit the crystal and all the projectiles I don't know if I'll ever actually finish it). All these issues drag the game down for me and make an otherwise fun and interesting metroidvania game a drag to play, to the point that I actively don't want to do more. I will never recommend a game that makes me not want to play it, so I'm advising that people give this a pass unless you want some light bullet hell elements (nowhere near the level of an actual bullet hell but that's how it feels to me) in your metroidvania.

A well-crafted metroidvania that's easy for beginners to start but still requires a high level of precision to complete. (I've not completed yet as of this review.) The use of a twisted imitation of 2600 Yar's Revenge game as a hacking mini-game is genius. The neon cyberpunk atmosphere and the vapourwave/city-pop soundtrack gives this a weeb vibe that's a nice break from the usual(?) grim dark aesthetics for this genre.

Average search action game(tm). Great soundtrack. Short and simple (around 8 hours if not doing completionist or NG+). The constant yapping from the main character and dubious writing may not be to everyone's taste. She's Bubsy levels of one-lining. The hacking minigames are variations of the OG Yars' Revenge game and you'll be doing those a lot so hopefully you like that game. Get it when at a discount.

This game is flawed but fun turn on the hack invinciblity in the setting if you have trouble with them (one of the flaws) also the game can break in many ways resualting in the camera bugging out but there are many save points so it's mostly okay the sound track and the writing is amazing and the actual gameplay is good but a little finicky 7/10 I would try to get it on sale

I am surprised that a Metroidvania thematically based on an old Atari game ended up being such a unique and charming experience. The actual platforming and shooting action is fairly standard, although the controls are a little stiff. While it's nice that you can use any of your acquired powers without having to select them from a menu, that also means sometimes fumbling around with confusing controls where every button does something different. The customization aspect, where you acquire block formations that grant you powers and place those formations onto your personal grid, is really well implemented. There are a large variety of effects and bonuses they grant you, and choosing what you want to have boosted can have a significant effect on your experience. You can make your regular shots much, much stronger, but doing so means you have less room to boost your max life, power up your secondary abilities, or make the hacking challenges easier. The hacking challenges, incidentally, are the most significant way Yars Rising pays homage to its source material. There are dozens and dozens of challenges that build upon the gameplay and ruleset of the original Yars game. While it felt gimmicky at first, I'll be damned if I didn't eventually find myself looking forward to finding another terminal to hack. The challenges become increasingly complex and demanding, and these 2D retro excursions served as an engaging diversion from the jumping and shooting. I'm genuinely surprised that two such incongruent gameplay styles meshed so well together. The hacking isn't the only connection to the old Atari days, of course. The protagonist has a Yars "tattoo" she received from a member of the Yars alien race as a child (giving me Metroid lore vibes). As the game progresses, she gets wrapped up in helping the friendly aliens take on the evil Qotile force. She has Atari-themed memorabilia in her room. The save stations look like the original Computer Space arcade cabinet. One of the main villains is named "Philip Ong" and you beat him by besting him in his namesake. A good amount of effort was put into infusing the retro Atari vibe into the game and I appreciated that. Upon beating the game, you get access to a more difficult "pro" mode. You can also play all of the hacking challenges in isolation (unlocking even more, increasingly difficult challenges). There is enough here to keep one engaged for a while. Oh, and I would be remiss not to address the writing and voice acting. While I love the character design (particularly for the main character, who is wonderfully animated), much of the humor and acting leans more towards cringe. Some of the jokes I found genuinely funny, but a lot of it just seems like it's trying too hard. If you're sensitive to cringe humor, that might compromise your ability to enjoy this game, but I didn't find it to be a big deal. Still, I enjoyed Yars Rising more than I thought I would. I actually want to check out the original Yars now that I've played this. Recommended for fans of both Metroidvanias and retro gaming.

It excites me to see Atari titles making a comeback. Would be exciting to see the first video game console I ever played, top the currents.

This was an awesome metroidvania. Good graphics, interesting story, and likeable main character.