Atari Mania | Switch Review
Growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, I belong to a generation that was in love with early home video games from companies like Nintendo and Atari. However, as I have grown older Atari seems to have fallen to the wayside. Well, now thanks to the developers at Illogika, I can happily say that Atari Mania is helping to revive some of my childhood in a new fashion. So grab a joystick and crank some sweet tunes as we determine whether Atari Mania is a game for you.
What In The World?
Atari Mania is an interesting specimen at first glance. It brings together multiple early genres on Atari and blends them together in new and exciting ways. First, you play through the game as a character known as Caretaker. You have been charged with maintaining the Atari Vault and keeping an eye on the different cast of characters that reside within. However, one day you notice that day-to-day proceedings have gone off the rails and dead pixels have been wreaking havoc. Now it is your mission to save the lost characters and figure out how to set things right.
In The Heart of the Vault
As you play through Atari Mania, the vault is broken up into multiple floors with different puzzles and a dead pixel boss. Some of the puzzles you encounter need specialized tools, which can be acquired from defeating the bosses. For instance, you might get a magnet to pull metal objects along or a wrench to repair walkways to unlock new areas of the level. Later in the game, some have to be used in tandem to solve more complex puzzles. It happens to be a fun little way to flesh out Atari Mania in a way that prevents gameplay from becoming stale.
The real treat while playing Atari Mania is the boss fights, or running up to them would be a better way to describe the instances. In each battle with a dead pixel there is a series of challenges that mashup multiple Atari games that you have to overcome before challenging the boss. Combining games like Pong and Gunslinger into a whole new little mini-game is one such example of the madness concealed within Atari Mania, and I’m completely onboard. You do have a certain pre-set amount of lives as you try to navigate through, but don’t worry. If you fail, you can always try again. With each new instance run, some of the mini-games will be repeated, but some new ones may rear their heads as well.
Joystick Snapping
I will say just because these are older stylized games that look easy, don’t underestimate them. At times they can get unbelievably frustrating. I will admit there were multiple times throughout playing I had to step away because the difficulty was getting to be a bit much. For certain types of gamers, this can be the final straw and become too much to handle. With that being said, I found myself being drawn back in and wanting more. Atari Mania is a bit addicting at times for older gamers like myself. It tugged at my heartstrings while making sure to provide enough new mechanics and gameplay to keep me entertained.
Throughout my time playing Atari Mania, I also enjoyed the collectibles hidden throughout the Vault. This included some simple things like finding posters that are the exact likeness of the original box art of some Atari classics. The really fun ones were challenging the mice in more mini games to acquire copies of the original instruction manuals that these games used to come packed with. It’s just another example of the love and thought put into the making of Atari Mania that stirs up nostalgia and also educates newer generations of gamers alike. I do wish that more iconic titles would have made an appearance throughout the journey in the vault.
One Last Look at My Memories
Here are some final thoughts as I put Atari Mania back in its box. This is a game that checks so many boxes for older games and also resurrects titles for people who never had a chance to play them. Granted, all these games are not in their original form, but it provides a glimpse into the past and hopefully enough interest for some gamers to seek them out. With the waves of remakes and remasters that have been showing up all over the market today, Atari Mania makes a stand with a new creative formula that shows older games can still have relevance in the world today.
To hear me talk more about Atari Mania, be sure to listen to Episode 421 of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 53:48 time stamp.
This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Atari Mania provided by Uber Strategist for coverage purposes. It is also available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Atari Mania
$24.99
Pros
- Nostalgia for Days
- Addicting Game Play
- Fresh Idea
Cons
- Can Be Quite Difficult at Times
- More Titles to Smash Up
