MLGG: Pop Culture News, Reviews & Interviews

Atari’s classic arcade games are still iconic and instantly recognisable today, especially for old gamers like me.

Though Atari haven’t done a huge amount of exciting things with their back catalogue in the last few decades, the Recharged series seeks to take things back to basics, albeit with a modern audiovisual sheen and minimal additions to bring them a bit more up to date.

Titles such as Geometry Wars took a lot of inspiration from high score chase games such as Asteroids, so you’d be forgiven for thinking that Asteroids: Recharged homages that title, rather than it having been the other way around.

There’s a real minimalist sensibility to Asteroids: Recharged that’s undeniably appealing – its standard mode gives you just one life with which to try and get the highest score possible, so it can be quite a challenge to get anywhere.

It’s fitting, of course – it feels like an authentically old school learning curve and yet one which is incredibly addictive. The core gameplay of having a small ship – which can thrust pretty fast around the wraparound, single screen playfield – that you’ll pilot and use to shoot down increasingly dense waves of asteroids with, remains brilliant and compelling in equal measure.

Reducing large asteroids to smaller, easier-to-dodge but harder-to-shoot floating rocks is edge of the seat stuff – though made a little easier by the addition of power ups that come from certain UFOs. Other UFO types will shoot back – and it’ll often be these deadly accurate aliens, rather than the easier to handle, titular asteroids, that’ll take you down.

The addition of a challenge mode – with rounds that each have pre-determined goals – is a nice touch. These really do provide a solid challenge right from the very first one – though these aren’t quite as compelling as chasing the high score in the main mode that’s on offer, it’s a good bonus in its own right and does provide shorter bursts of goal-oriented gameplay.

It’s a success then; just similar enough to the old experience that it should appeal to fans of the 1979 arcade original (or one of its many home ports), but also with a few neat additions – including minimalist visuals that recall the original and an excellent electronic soundtrack – that make Asteroids: Recharged more than just a retro-futurist burst of nostalgia.

Asteroids: Recharged is available on PC, PS4/5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Enjoyed what you’ve read? Want to support my blog? There’s no pressure of course, but every penny helps to keep this site running, as I earn no income from my writing here (though I may earn small fees from affiliate links posted on my pages).

However, I’d be truly grateful for any support that you could offer – and it’s easy to do so at either of these links: Ko-Fi.com/geekmid or PayPal.

Any donations are truly appreciated – and I also appreciate you taking the time to read my articles. Thank you so much!

Help support me here!

All donations are gratefully received and will help me keep the lights on here – as well as help to keep my writing dream alive! Please be aware though: there’s no pressure. I just hope you’ve enjoyed reading my article!

£1.00