Before there was Nintendo, there was Atari.
Once a dominant player in the gaming industry, his story is one of dramatic rise and fall. For years, Atari did little more than sell licensed T-shirts and shoddy plug-and-play consoles. But since coming under new management in 2021, Atari appears to have undertaken a long-awaited strategic course correction, as evidenced by its Recharged series of retro arcade-style reboots.
In addition to new acquisition announcements left and right, new software has been at the forefront of young CEO Wade Rosen’s vision for the company. While the critically acclaimed Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration showcased classics and hidden gems in playable documentary form, the Recharged series set out to modernize and overhaul them.
Rosen, in a recent interview with MinnMaxx, said that Atari needs to offer gamers something more than decades-old versions of its iconic titles. That’s how Recharged games were born. For retro fans and arcade high score hunters, this writer would argue that the ten entries now on Switch, while generally underrated, are essential budget picks and the best way to (re)acquaint yourself with Atari.
Some titles in the series introduce new roguelite elements, while others opt for more faithful reimaginings, though all add optional power-ups and co-op modes that liven up the gameplay. What’s amazing is how the Recharged series proves that fundamental game designs from the dawn of the medium, all originally coded with mind-boggling memory limitations, can still shine for decades.
Likewise, when life is already too complex, I’m drawn to games that don’t require much mental bandwidth. “Live, die, try again” is my credo, and that’s what Recharged games do best. With that said, here’s a quick overview all ten Recharged games in order of release help prospective players decide where to start. Below that you’ll find the author’s pick of titles that should be Recharged next…
Every Atari Recharged Game On Switch (in order of release date)
1. A centipede still has legs
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Centipede: Recharged offers a smooth, fluid take on the top-notch arcade classic from 1981 that looks and feels exactly how you’d want it to. The gameplay of the original is completely intact and upgraded with new power-ups, neon vector visuals and challenges that spice up the age-old fixed shooter formula. As with the other titles, there are achievements, leaderboards and a great soundtrack.
2. Splat insects, get money
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
You’re a spider on a pest patrol in this sublime reinvention of the pioneering twin-stick shooter. Black Widow: Recharged boasts smooth controls and strategic elements where the player maneuvers to collect dollar signs from fallen enemy bugs and blow up a partially cleared grid at the right moment. Simply put, it’s one of the best Recharged offers. Exhilarating.
3. Damn it!
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Asteroids: Recharged is the best version of this game, period. Infinitely reproducible by design, this iteration offers the coolest visuals, the catchiest theme music, and an array of power-ups that make blasting space rocks and UFOs a revelation. The standouts here are vector graphics and fireworks-like effects that dazzle and elevate the game, which doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel.
4. You are now being shot by bricks
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Breakout: Recharged’s biggest twist is that it turns the legendary brick-breaking game into a shooter of sorts, introducing homing missiles, explosives, and, yes, bricks that shoot at you. Like any game based on late 70s technology, its elegance is in its simplicity. The controls are excellent using the Switch Joy-Con, and the challenge mode in this version is a particular standout.
5. Your mission is precision firing
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Gravitar: Recharged breaks new ground in the series with a pastel art style and an emphasis on exploration and survival. Based on the notoriously difficult cult arcade title, players must carefully start their ships’ engines à la Lunar Lander
6. Not your father’s Yars
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Yars: Recharge takes the core gameplay of the iconic 1982 console original – shooting or nibbling at enemy barriers while dodging incoming fire and powering up your cannon to take down the big bad – and reimagines it as a multi-stage twin-stick shooter. If you only play one Recharged game, you might grab this one.
7. This is the END, my only friend
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: AdamVision Studios, SneakyBox
Like its infamous arcade processor, Missile Command: Recharged is a game about a nuclear apocalypse and the end of the world. It retains the tried and true key gameplay of destroying incoming missiles and enemy aircraft, avoiding a major gameplay shake-up. Being quite difficult, the inclusion of upgradeable defensive attributes adds a welcome element of progression to the title.
8. Think Downwell, but on Mars
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: SneakyBox
Caverns of Mars: Recharged is another contender for the best entry in the series. A side-scrolling shooter based on a title released for the Atari 8-bit computers, this snappy revision absolutely appeals to the Switch. It introduces roguelike elements that make each run unique and boasts a lit techno soundtrack that keeps players in the zone as they explode, navigate and descend. Exciting.
9. Become a literal Loop Hero
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: SneakyBox
Quantum: Recharged is based on the 1982 arcade game where players used the trackball to surround enemies to create dead zones that pull them in and swallow them, avoiding the shooting mechanic. The deepest cut in the series to date, this revision brings visual pizzazz and incredibly precise gameplay, along with a Zen mode that makes collisions survivable allowing for extended gameplay.
10. Being killed by a maniacal ball
Publisher: Atari / Programmer: SneakyBox
Berzerk: Recharged is the latest and most divisive entry in the series thanks to its almost mobile-like art style. Based on the seminal 1980 maze shooter, you move through procedural environments destroying robots and being verbally taunted by the titular spherical villain, Evil Otto. Room-to-room gameplay like Binding of Isaac is very polished and perfect for “one more run” addicts.
Cheering for Atari, warts and all
Recharged titles have their imperfections, sure. The first four entries have a strange, almost broken global ranking system. Developers SneakyBox and AdamVision Studios have found their technical footing and fixed this issue in subsequent entries, but the leaderboards in earlier games should rightly be revised given that high scores are such a huge incentive to play.
Some of the titles have minor performance issues when things get too busy on the screen. Mileage will vary with these games depending on the player, their penchant for arcade action, and their personal depth of nostalgia. But the good certainly far outweighs the bad with fine controls, modern visuals, and a consistently excellent soundtrack throughout all of Megan McDuffee’s entries.
Like the Atari 50 collection, the creators of Recharged have a deep respect for the source material. Wade Rosen’s Atari is clearly a different animal, eager to assert its relevance with an “innovative retro” focus that includes reboots, new IPs and hardware like the excellent 2600+ (which rules). As gamers, it’s natural to want to cheer for Atari’s steps in the right direction after decades of stumbling.
As for my personal preference as to which title should be charged next? Must be 1983 A great desolation, a vector arcade title that includes fixed shooting, platforming elements and a lunar lander sequence. The Recharged devs have done their best and they could definitely take this arcade classic to new heights. Atari’s future is, in many ways, its past – and that’s a good thing.
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