Atari's asking you to save the company's history by fighting off killer pixels and difficult puzzles in Atari Mania, a brand new game which sees you defending the Atari Vault. If only that was a real building...
Developed by ILLOGIKA, Ataria Mania contains 150 microgames based on various Atari properties from the '70s and '80s. The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary later this month, and this collection seems like the perfect celebration.
Taking a leaf out of WarioWare's book, the compilation is set to be filled with humour and increasingly difficult fast and furious puzzles, all supported by a storyline that will be told as you play through the microgames.
Gaming classics such as Pong, Asteroids, Centipedes, and tons of others will make an appearance as games, Easter Eggs, and maybe even characters! While the full list of games hasn't been revealed, we do have a pretty good idea of what to expect from this microgame compilation thanks to a press release:
In Atari Mania, you’ll step into the shoes of “Caretaker of the Atari Vault,” tasked with watching over the storehouse of retro-tastic Atari games. One night, a dead pixel appears, and then soon enough, all heck breaks loose! As you journey through the Vault, you find that familiar and beloved games have begun to warp, mutate, and meld into a series of increasingly wild challenges.
With over 150 lightning-fast microgames to master, you will have to beat killer combinations of well-known Atari properties, solve puzzles, complete challenges, and beat the clock, all with fun Atari easter eggs to uncover along the way. As you advance, you will complete runs of increasingly difficult microgames in randomly generated order, before facing a series of epic boss battles.
Key Features of Atari Mania Include:
- Manic Mashups: Over 150 microgames inspired by the breadth of Atari’s decades-spanning catalog, from Asteroids to Yars' Revenge. Fight back Centipedes with a Pong paddle while the iconic Adventure dragon hunts you down! It’s crossover madness in the best way possible!
- Excellent Exploration: Solve tricky puzzles and utilize clever tools to progress through the Vault and discover classically-inspired Atari Easter Eggs.
- Pixel-Perfect Pizzaz: A charming neo-retro art update to the classic Atari 2600 style is completed by a soundtrack of retro-inspired jams.
- Characters Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before: Go face to antennae with some of the greatest games and characters in video game history. Trust us — you’ll never think of Bentley Bear the same way again!
- Treasure Trove of Atari History: Collectibles abound, including vintage Atari art, posters, manuals, and fun facts. Fully playable versions of remastered Atari classics are unlocked by completing cheeky challenges.
Atari Mania launches on Switch for $19.99 some time this summer. We'll let you know as soon as we have a concrete release date. For now, share with us what games and references you want to see in the comments!
Comments 49
❗️Nintendo takedown in 5️⃣... 4️⃣...
@BlueGBAMicro Nintendo cannot sue people for copying basic ideas for games, they never patented the idea for microgames.
@BlueGBAMicro Nintendo takedown. For a game confirmed to be releasing on the Switch.
That's a good price point for this! And that little note at the end that fully playable remastered versions of Atari classic games will be included is VERY interesting.
Atari has actually been steadily making more modern version of it's back catalog under the "Recharged" brand. They have also already have their classics on the Switch. It's curious to see how these will fit in, maybe somewhere in between? Some classic gameplay with updated visuals??
I just can't really trust Atari. I feel like they've become one big scam. Obviously, there was their crowdfunded retro console that wound up being a huge disaster. And they recently released a new version of Breakout, which I bought on Switch and played once and thought it absolutely sucked.
Ah yes, its that time again to trust people who bought Atari from the people who bought Atari from the people who bought Atari from the people who bought Atari from the people who bought Atari.
I'm glad Atari is doing something with their IP unlike the Intellivision Amico.
This looks pretty fun! Will see how it shakes out.
Pitfall isn't an Atari game.
I'll be getting this for sure. Happy with everything Atari has put out on Switch so far. Aside from action titles, I could see simple games like 3D TicTacToe and Hangman becoming compelling when tasked to create a line or word very quickly.
@Bubsy I didn't see Pitfall. Where?
This could very well hit me right in the nostalgias if done right!
This has the potential to be very enjoyable and very much my kinda thang. Cautiously optimistic
"Fight back Centipedes with a Pong paddle"
The thieving [REDACTED]
Didn’t grow up with Atari but this could be fun.
Nintendo should put NES Remix on the Switch and also make a sequel. Btw, the "modern" graphics in the screenshots look AWFUL!
NES Remix proved to be a fun way to revisit the classics, and Atari games fit nicely into that mold. I'll grab it for sure.
Sounds fun to me!
Adventure was the first game I ever laid eyes on and Centipede was the first game I ever played, one Xmas day in the very early 80's.
Atari's IP could work very well with a game like this but then Atari aren't really Atari anymore, so we'll see how it turns out.
There was Hot Pixel , also an Atari game , also like WarioWare for PSP 15 years ago .
Atari is History already. Let's move on from this. They messed up themselves and we got plenty of pixel games for Switch already.
I've enjoyed the Atari Flashback collection on Switch. I'm surprised at how often I revisit it. Games like Centipede, Asteroids, Tempest, Millepede and Crystal Castles are still a blast even to this day.
It's too bad this collection will likely not feature the mid 80s Atari IPs like Marble Madness, Paperboy, Gauntlet and the like, since those came out after the company split up.
Doesn’t look like WarioWare at all to me. Maybe reminds me of the NES Remix concept a bit though.
@Jayenkai
Still hoping for an update to Centipong that allows me to save highscores 🙂
Really liking your recent pitfall like game too.
@thinkhector Agreed, I want to play a version of Adventure that can speak for itself.
@HIGHscores85 oh yeah, I still need to do that.
I broke it quite badly, when I tried doing it!!
Maybe a complete rewrite might work better?
If you ignore the non gaming stuff, this version of Atari is doing a good job.
@Strumpan Еhm... Check out NES Remix 2 on Wii U.
@Vyacheslav333 Of course, I meant a sequel to NES Remix 2. Preferably with remixes of games from other Nintendo platforms as well.
Soooo... where's SNES Remix? It's due.
If only Microsoft would also buy Atari. Then we could finally get REAL Atari collections, since, as everybody knows, the best Atari games were all made by Activision.
Looks kind of like nes classics which I love and waiting on a rerelease. Would also love snes and gameboy classics in the same way.
If it has some reference to "Adventure" on there, then Fhqwhgads will intensify, and we will all say with exaggeration:
"SOMEBODY GET THIS FREAKIN' DUCK AWAY FROM ME!"See, this would have been a great game for them to release on the Atari VCS! It’s sad that Switch is receiving more Atari support than Atari’s own console!
NES Remix double pack on Switch is looooooong overdue. It’s almost shocking that it hasn’t surfaced yet.
Even better if the “Remix” games are slightly rebranded with 9-Volt (and friends?) as a mascot, which would serve as a tribute to his much-beloved stages in the WarioWare series.
@BlueGBAMicro a nintendo takedown for a game going on the switch? That’s gotta be the most paradoxical thing I’ve ever heard
Color me intrigued...
The real Atari hasn’t really existed since about 1983 or so. It’s been bought and sold a ton of times since then.
I played plenty of Atari after school in the early 80s and would enjoy an NES Remix style Atari game if it feels legit. I’ll stay tuned for more news on this one.
I would say, this looks more like NES remix than Warioware
I really like the premise, but it looks bad. It's neither Atari styled pixels, or just good pixel art. Overall it looks cheap and like nobody cared about making it.
@Bret Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, so true!
@Bubsy Yes it is????
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitfall!
"Pitfall! is a platform video game designed by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and released by Activision in 1982."
@Bret "Released by Activision"
Not made or published by Atari.
@Bubsy Oh, that's what you mean. I'm not gonna pretend to be familiar enough with the Atari catalog to watch that video and find other third-party properties, but I'm willing to bet this game has plenty of other nods to iconic games on the platform that weren't made by Atari. It does have 150 microgames!
I loved NES Remix and hope this hits the same sweet spot.
@jhess826 well being Microsoft bought Activision I am hopeful for an Activision 2600 Anthology like they had on PlayStation 2! That was awesome! Still can’t play Kaboom properly without Atari paddles though!
@kingbk would love to see that! Too bad Warner Bros owns all that IP along with the Midway classics and doing nothing with it! Biggest and most important gap of classic arcade games missing on the Switch!
Looks fun, hopefully it is!
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