Atari 2600 has been playing for over 40 years Yars’ Revenge has endured. Atari has re-released the 1982 action game multiple times, both as a cartridge and on retro consoles. Many developers have attempted to remake, reimagine, or create an official sequel to this straightforward shooter.
In September, developer WayForward Technologies will make another attempt Yars’ Revengebut zigzags where others have already strayed. WayForward The formation of years is an action and adventure game in the style of exploration Super Metroid AND Shadow Complexand instead of a vengeful chrome alien fly, its main character is a newborn hacker — named Emi “Yar” Kimura — who tries to take down a shadowy corporation from the inside.
The formation of years it’s certainly a departure, but it’s made “with the greatest possible respect” for the original Yars’ Revengesays game director James Montagna in an interview with Polygon.
“I made the deepest dive that can be made in the entire history Yars’ Revenge“—Montagna told me during a video call. “I’m even thinking about things like the 1982 vinyl release. Yars’ Revenge — really obscure stuff that maybe two people in the world are interested in. We just tried to soak up as much knowledge as we could, because if we’re going to do it, we want to make sure we do it right. We want to know the legacy of where it came from. And I think that’s really important when you get something like that, because it has a history and we want to honor that.”
Still, The formation of years is thematically, aesthetically and mechanically very different from the original Yars’ Revengebut that’s intentional, Montagna said. Some of it serves the modern game’s story, but some of it, Montagna admitted, plays to WayForward’s strengths as a platformer and Metroidvania developer.
History The formation of years is about a black hat hacker who is approached by “a mysterious figure with deep pockets to hack this mega conglomerate called QoTech.” Emi takes the job because the price is right, Montagna explained. “She has this antagonistic streak; she immediately does something a little bit nefarious and dishonest,” he said. “She gets a job at QoTech to gain their trust over the course of a few weeks, and the game starts on the night that she’s going to pull off her heist. As you progress through the game, you learn more and more about her backstory.
The formation of years pays tribute to the original Yars’ Revenge in one important way: the game is filled with hacking mini-games built around the original game concept. To hack things in Growingyou play as a pixelated fly (Yar) and attack an enemy (Qotile) who is protected by a shield. Hacking games are remixed versions of the original’s playfield, mixed with other classic Atari 2600 games such as Space invaders AND Missile Command.
While WayForward tries to do something new and different with their interpretation of the Yars series, Growing is also a love letter to Atari, Montagna said. In The formation of yearsIn the gameplay trailer you can see Computer space cabinets and references to Atari creator Nolan Bushnell. But those nods to Atari history will be more than just set decoration, Montagna explained.
Image: WayForward Technologies/Atari
Even the game’s hacker hero is built around Atari iconography. Emi’s blue hair is a combination of the Atari “Fuji” logo and the silhouette of the original Yar sprite.
But Montagna said that The formation of years you can’t just rely on nostalgia or a familiar game name to succeed. It has to play great and be a good action-adventure exploration game in a crowded market of Metroid-inspired retro games.
“I’m happy to say I think we’ve done a great job of making sure the flow is correct,” Montagna said. The formation of years‘s focus is on precision and gameplay variety. “You can shoot enemies, jump from platform to platform, mow down a series of enemies, and then in the next room, everything changes. It’s going to be a bit of stealth gameplay where we slow down the pace. I think that ebb and flow is good, because if it’s just pure adrenaline, it can be exhausting. We’re also introducing hacking challenges, which also kind of break up the moment-to-moment.”
The formation of years will be available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on September 10.
