Akka Arrh review

The Yak is back with another dose of arcade-influenced psychedelia

Originally named Target Outpost, Dave Ralston and Mike Hally’s Akka Arrh (purportedly a contorted acronym for “Also Known as Another Ralston Hally”) was market tested in 1982. But feedback wasn’t positive and many players found the coin-op too complex, causing Atari to abandon their efforts after only three cabinets were created.

For years, this trio of prototypes remained in the hands of collectors, with only a brief showing at the 2012 California Extreme Expo. With public curiosity smoldering, a ROM dump eventually leaked, followed by an appearance in the Atari 50: Anniversary Celebration anthology this year.

Praise the Digital Hallucinogenics 

Now, the long-lapsed title has been given the Jeff Minter treatment. Much like recent works such as Space Giraffe, Polybius, and Tempest 4000, that means faux-vector graphics visuals, a plethora of particle effects, and more strobe flashes than a mid-90s rave. And yes, it’s also every bit as complicated as the original arcade game.

Fortunately, there’s an extended tutorial that does a commendable job of explaining the fundamentals. At the center of the screen is a tower with a bullhead-shaped cannon, which constantly follows a freely moving cursor. You’re tasked with protecting the turret by dropping bombs and shooting foes. The former often produces a chain effect like Every Extend, where eradicated enemies trigger additional explosions. The result can be a succession of blasts than might last throughout an entire stage. But every time you launch a new explosive, the scoring combo resets, discouraging overuse.

Of Bombs, Bullets, and Chains

Every adversary that you eliminate provides the player with an additional bullet. Not only does this help keep your scoring combo going, but they are the only method for killing certain types of enemies. Given all this, it will take a few attempts before you appreciate the balance of Akka Arrh’s economy. But once you do, witnessing the contagion-like modeling of bombs or picking off an imminent projectile with a single bullet delivers sublime satisfaction. There are moments when explosions resemble looking through a kaleidoscope, making for one of the most intoxicating visual experiences around.

Unlike most of yesteryear’s arcade games, failure isn’t always triggered by reflexes that can’t keep up. Minter’s works habitually challenge your perceptual awareness, goading you into paying attention to each klaxon, geometric shape, and text rendered in sine-wave curvature. You’ll intermittently receive a split-second warning that the bottom of your tower is being attacked, prompting you to shift the perspective to the bottom of the tower. Here, opponents are attempting to steal your precious pods. If they all get nicked, your game ends. Likewise, if your turret suffers too much damage, you’ll be escorted to one of gaming’s most verbose ‘Game Over’ screens. Such is the way of the Yak.

Pro-tip: Select Two Button Control from the Pause Menu

The twin-level mechanic is part of the original game, but it’s also the one constituent that can make the modern Akka Arrh rather confounding once you pass the game’s initial stages. Undoubtedly, Minter wanted his update to remain faithful to the original, and there’s a fancy new transitional visual as your switch floors. However, shifting between the two playfields tends to disrupt Akka Arrh’s otherwise immersive sense of flow.  Another minor sticking point is the game’s fondness for nomenclature, tossing out terms like blessed, sacred boys, octaves, albatrosses, and birdies. There’s enough metaphor mixing to make the game feel like the interactive equivalent of okayama barazushi.

Fortunately, Akka Arrh offers a few perks that help even out the odds across the fifty-stage fight. Power-ups will occasionally float by and contact with the cursor will absorb the advantage. Identifying the properties of these bonuses isn’t always easy, but the extra abilities are appreciated. However, there are also a couple of impediments to success. One of the largest is a game camera that constantly shadows your cursor. Occasionally, attempting to capture a power-up means you’ll be pelted by an off-screen projectile, which can be aggravating. At present, Steam Deck owners should proceed with caution. A glitch removes translucence from the playfield, making it impossible to read the game’s instructions. If Llamasoft can fix these issues, give Akka Arrh a five-point scoring bonus.

Akka Arrh was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.