When you think of Atari, you generally think of a bunch of dated retro games that have been revisited and re-imagined a multitude of times. Old, finicky joysticks, blowing on the cartridges to clean the contacts, and blocky sprites from the golden age of gaming abound in that mental imagery. But what you probably don’t think of very often is actually playing those games. That’s all about to change.
Accompanying the 50th anniversary of Atari comes Atari Mania, a new and very unique take on a multitude of classic Atari games, some familiar and some obscure depending on your level of familiarity with the Atari Library. iLLOGIKA Studios has worked with pubisher Atari (go figure) to produce a strange and unexpected game that you’re likely not prepared for. Atari Mania has its roots in the microgame genre. If you’ve played games like WarioWare or NES Remix you might have a bit of an idea what to expect here. Basically the game consists of a whopping 150 short mini games of various types. But there’s more going on under the hood than just a series of challenges. Atari Mania has a plot!
In point of fact, you play the Caretaker for the Atari Vault where all the old Atari games live and people can come play them. That’s right, live. The creatures and people from those old Atari games are alive and they live in the museum which is part Wreck-It Ralph and part Night at the Museum. Millipedes and old outlaws are wandering the halls outside of their games and weird creepy teddy bears from Crystal Castles are mixing it up with aliens from Yars’ Revenge and a whole host of other games. It turns out that some dead pixels are spreading throughout the vault creating havoc and it’s your job to fix things before the whole collection goes under! There’s more going on of course but it would be a shame to ruin the surprise.
Unexpectedly, Atari Mania is as much of a vintage graphic adventure as it is a mini game smorgasbord. As the Caretaker, you’ll have to figure out how to unlock different areas, activate gates, and solve puzzles in order to progress and stop the plague of dead pixels. Along the way you’ll find vintage Atari game artwork and even mice that have stolen the manuals for the games! Once you find some dead pixels, there’s a story sequence and the games get all jumbled up. Then it’s time for the games!
Atari Mania mixes multiple vintage Atari titles in unique ways. Each gameplay segment consists of ten mini levels which combine three different games in multiple ways. You might be shooting at outlaws in a duel using a tank or shooting a millipede while flying across a level. Every playthrough of a stage is randomized so you never know what combination of controls and expectations you’ll have to react to and each stage only gives you a handful of seconds to react so you’re probably going to fail a lot. Suddenly having to defend the millipede with your gun for example is rather unexpected when you were shooting at it less than a minute ago.
To top it all off, the controls are inconsistently responsive so you might be forced to swap between the stick and the d-pad depending on which game you’re playing or risk failure! The games really feel like you’re playing a classic Atari game on an old stick even when you’re using a Switch Pro controller, which is a win in terms of authenticity but can be a bit frustrating. At the end of each stage is a boss that consists of a variety of the mechanics from the games. They’re fairly straightforward but more challenging than you might expect and bosses might take you a few tries. Fail to beat enough stages and it is back to the beginning for another randomized set of 10 mini games!
Remember those mice that had the manuals? They have their own mini games as well, though they aren’t quite as challenging, at least at first. Each mouse is activated by bringing it some cheese. Then you’ll have to make it through their stages to unlock a manual from a vintage Atari game in glorious HD! Sadly, aside from manuals and box art, there’s nothing else to unlock here. It’s definitely a missed opportunity not to be able to unlock the original games that these mini games are based on but they’re probably all included in the big 50th anniversary collection that’s coming soon.
Eventually, you’ll make it through the different areas of the vault and save the day. Atari Mania isn’t a long game and if you’ve got game so to speak, you can probably blow through the whole think in an afternoon or so. Sadly, the Caretaker is clunky to control and while some of the mixed up games are fun, others are tedious. Because you have to repeat areas if you fail along the way, chances are high you’ll end up with an uneven experience in terms of fun factor. While playing the caretaker you’re mostly just waiting to get to the next set of games, so it can be a bit of an exercise in frustration to play through Atari Mania even though the script is actually quite good and the overall plot is refreshing and fun.
Visually, this is a vintage Atari game across the board, so don’t expect much in the way of fancy graphics other than the occasional story element, but that’s not a bad thing. The Atari aesthetic is its own beast and if you’re old enough for nostalgia, you’re old enough to appreciate those blocky pixels. The classic music is a bit of an earworm too and though you won’t be rushing out to grab a soundtrack, it doesn’t quite wear out its welcome before the game is finished.
All told, Atari Mania is a mixed bag of a game with inconsistent pacing and controls, a solid story and fun script, and a bunch of vintage art and media that is enjoyable if you’re the reminiscing sort. With a $25 price point it might be a game you’ll want to wait for a sale on though. If you’re a younger player, chances are high that some of these missteps will lessen the experience for you so don’t expect a masterpiece here. However, beneath the bumpy exterior there’s a decent experience waiting for Atari aficionados or the historically curious. If nothing else, Atari Mania is both unexpected and endearing so if it catches your fancy, don’t hesitate to check it out!
This review is based on a digital copy of Atari Mania provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and played equally well on both. Atari Mania is also available for PC on Steam.