Yars Rising review

WayForward’s Yars Rising isn’t the game you might be expecting. Sure, Howard Scott Warshaw’s classic Atari 2600 title plays a key role, with variations of the celebrated Yars-Qotile showdown reworked into a hacking mini-game. But for the majority of the title’s eight-hour length, expect a story-driven metroidvania that seems tailored for younger players.

You play as Emi “Yar” Kimura, an employee of the QoTech Corporation. She’s been recruited by a hacktivist group to infiltrate the company server and look for any evidence of misconduct. But her after-hours breach is quickly noticed, resulting in a trek through the labyrinthine halls of their futuristic headquarters. Recognizing an intrusion, an army of defensive machinery and a couple of power-hungry villains attempt to stop Emi.

A Cast of Archetypes

Although the individual conversations between Emi and her handler team of hacker pals aren’t lengthy, they are frequent. It’s evident that Yars Rising’s writers wanted to inject personality into proceedings, as your associates direct you through the next waypoint.

But the tropey sidekicks delivering a never-ending exchange of quips that will probably get tiring for anyone old enough to remember the taciturnity of the original Yars’ Revenge. But I’d suspect younger players might be a bit more forgiving. And they might also appreciate assistance like an invincibility mode for the mini-games. As for me, I welcomed a soundtrack that was unexpected dazzling and voice acting that pronounced “Kimura” correctly.

Literal Corporate Drones

Given some of Yars Rising’s design decisions, the game undoubtedly seems geared toward people who might not have much experience with the sub-genre. Opposition comes in the form of automated enemies who show little awareness and intelligence. Worse, they’re slow on the draw, making it far too easy to blast your way through the game’s corporate corridors.

Some foes are resistant, requiring Emi to rely on stealth conventions like hiding in shadowy areas or hanging out of sight on a ledge. Expectedly, there’s a fair amount of gatekeeping, with new abilities granting access to unmapped areas. And while Rising has all the basic ingredients, its metroidvania recipe is bland. There’s just enough sustenance to push you forward, but save for some boss battles, Rising’s main game is unremarkable. Occasionally, it flirts with cleverness, imagining sentient file cabinets as antagonists. But just as often, enemies are basic, boring robots.

Yar’s Redemption?

Strewn across the game’s environments are color-coded computer terminals that offer to unlock sealed doors or provide Emi with new perks. But these machines need to be hacked first, plunging players into Yars’ source material. Here, you’ll encounter the same 42-year-old take on shield shooting and nibbling and as you confront one of gaming’s original bosses. But smartly, WayForward mixes up the timed mini-games, with deviations that pay homage to classics like Space Invaders, Centipede, and Missile Command.

These divergences are good enough to make you wish that the developers stuck with Yars’ original concept. After all, there’s probably enough mediocre metroidvanias out there already. But if you up for another, Yars Rising’ mini-games nearly make it all worthwhile.

Yars Rising was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.