Yars Rising review

Combine the old with the new: that’s what Yars Rising aims to do. Developed by WayForward, it’s an all-new metroidvania adventure set in the universe of the classic 1982 Atari VCS title, Yars’ Revenge. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t played (or even heard of) Yars’ Revenge: by the time you’re done with Yars Rising, you’ll be very familiar with it — and, if you’re anything like me, absolutely despise it. The rest of the game, though? There’s an awful lot to like.

Yars Rising tells the story of Emi. She works for the suspicious QoTech corporation and, after she gets caught sneaking into the server room after her shift, finds herself trapped in a deadly facility with no way out. The company’s robots give way to aliens and a whole lot more, and it turns out that QoTech is dealing with much shadier stuff than simply computer security.

But the story isn’t really that important. It’s nicely delivered, with Emi and her friends — contactable via telecommunications — all being fully voiced (and rather over-the-top). It does give Yars Rising plenty of personality, though: coupled with the colourful character models, this is a metroidvania filled with life, and it’s all the better for it.

Making your way through QoTech is an enjoyable affair. You’ll need to sneak through air vents, hide from robots, shoot enemies and dodge lasers, amongst other things. Of course, being a Metroidvania, you’ll gain new skills as you go, too: upgraded attacks, the ability to blast through barriers, wall-jumping and more. The biggest hurdle standing in your way, though, are terminals controlling locked doors — and it’s here where you’ll be introduced to the original Yars’ Revenge.

Every hacking terminal is a little retro game for you to complete. If you have played Yars’ Revenge, they’ll be very familiar. If you haven’t, you’ll likely find your mileage with them to vary. Essentially, you’ll be tasked with destroying a node in order to continue, but in order to do so you might first have to destroy a barrier, ‘nibble’ it to gain energy, and dodge other obstacles out to get you. Shooting the node is straightforward in early levels, but soon it begins moving around, meaning you need to be a master of timing to nail it.

If you struggle, Yars Rising does throw you a bone by offering you invincibility after five fails. That’s all well and good, but if it’s the timing you’re struggling with, being impervious to damage can only go so far. There’s no help on offer there: you’ve simply got to keep trying until you succeed. It’s a shame these sections are so frustrating, being the essence of the Yars franchise, but I do wish there was a way to skip them.

Back in control of Emi, though, exploring the weird and twisty backrooms of QoTech is a lot of fun. You’ll need to use a variety of skills in order to get past barriers and navigate vertical passageways, and there are plenty of enemies to defeat in order to keep you on your toes.

I’ve even had a great time taking down the bosses in Yars Rising — and if you know me, you know that I have strong negative feelings about video game bosses in general. Here they can be tricky, but their patterns are easy to learn. Again, you’ll need to utilise a number of your skills to take them down, and defeating them feels like a true cause for celebration.

Is Yars Rising the best metroidvania you’ll ever play? No, but it’s a solid adventure. Exploring as Emi is fun thanks to her ever-expanding range of abilities — and even if the strange, futuristic corridors of QoTech do eventually get repetitive, you’ll likely find yourself keen to push on, wondering what’s around the next corner. It’s just a shame that the retro-inspired hacking levels are a pain in the butt.

This review of Yars Rising is based on the PS5 version of the game, with a code provided by the publisher. It’s available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Switch.