Berzerk: Recharged released November 9, 2023
Atari has been releasing updates on their IPs over the last couple years under the Recharged group. In this article, we’ll rank the 10 Atari Recharged games from most to least enjoyable. Any ranking is subjective, so your list certainly could/might differ, but will offer explanation to the reason behind each ranking position. If you haven’t played any of the Atari: Recharged games, or only a few, this might help pick out which one(s) to check out next.
Here is a list of the 10 Atari Recharged games sorted by Steam release date, along with store links for each:
Centipede: Recharged – Sept 29, 2021 – Steam
Black Widow: Recharged – Oct 27, 2021 – Steam
Asteroids: Recharged – Dec 13, 2021 – Steam
Breakout: Recharged – Feb 10, 2022 – Steam
Gravitar: Recharged – June 2, 2022 – Steam
Yars: Recharged – Aug 23, 2022 – Steam
*Missile Command: Recharged – Nov 1, 2022 – Steam
Cavern of Mars: Recharged – Mar 9, 2023 – Steam
Quantum: Recharged – Aug 17, 2023 – Steam
Berzerk: Recharged – Nov 9, 2023 – Steam
*Note – there are actually two different Missile Command Recharged games. An earlier version, since deprecated by the updated one, was originally released May 27, 2020. That version is not considered part of the ranking or inclusion in this article.
TIP: for those that own multiple or all of these Recharged games, in order to easier locate and play these in your Steam library, create a “Recharged” collection in Steam by right clicking and adding all to a group.
The above tip is even more handy for Steam Deck users so they can pull up the collection. Do you use Steam custom collections? Let us know in the comments.
Onto ranking the 10 Recharged games to date. The first one is easy, it’s the one that I’ve played by far the most: Asteroids: Recharged. While it’s not called Iron Man mode, the die once and you’re done version has a ton of replay value.
1. Asteroids: Recharged – Steam/PC REVIEW – my review might be on the (very) short side, but this is the one of the ten Rechraged titles I find returning to replay time and again. If you like Asteroids, this one does what I wish every Recharged title would do: update the original, keep the spirit of it, and have a ton of replay.
2. Yars: Recharged – the original 2600 game is one I played a ton back in the day and this is a wonderful update: addictive, modern, just what to hope for from other Recharged titles (alas, that has not been the case with all of them)
3. Centipede: Recharged – while the original game had a trackball, the Raw Thrills modern version in arcades uses a joystick, this one shares some similarities to that, and it’s got a lot of replay to it. Also, great as multiplayer like Asteroids: Recharged. Well done.
4. Gravitar: Recharged – this is probably the most ambitious of all of the Recharged games, and has more than a bit of charm to it.
5. Black Widow: Recharged – the original game is a lot of fun, this one has some of the magic, but a bit plain
6. Cavern of Mars: Recharged – this one is unusual, but looks and plays pretty good. The multiplayer version is not much fun, though, because it’s more of a co-op with two players trying to contron one ship. This becomes more about anticipating which way the other player is moving. Not good.
7. Breakout: Recharged – doesn’t control very well, but gets a little better on repeated plays. Just play Arkanoid instead, it’s much better
8. Berzerk: Recharged – Steam/PC REVIEW– probably my most disappointed Recharged title of the 10, because I really love the arcade game, but this update is all kinds of terrible
9. Missile Command: Recharged – just doesn’t play well with a controller, but a significant improvement over the first Missile Command Recharged. Still, one of my least favorite Recharged titles to date.
10. Quantum: Recharged – this game is just miserable to play, I couldn’t find anything to like about the original version, which is sort of a bad version of Qix where you draw lines around enemies to enclose them and this update isn’t much fun either. It does add a dynamic where enemies can move into the enclosed space and be killed, but that isn’t enough to save this. Kinda glad I missed in the arcade and can’t find any enjoyment playing the Recharged version.
Am pondering full Steam reviews for each Recharged titles, but might take me awhile. In the meantime, this provides ranking above with one opinion anyway. As for playing on the Steam Deck? All of these Recharged games are playable on the Steam Deck.
Your turn, friendly readers. Which Atari Recharged games do you like best? How would you rank them? The comments area below awaits.