Yars Rising was provided by ATARI for review. Thank you!
At almost every event I have been to this year, I have seen or played something regarding Yars Rising, and each time, I left with a smile on my face. Developer WayForward is a veteran of the Metroidvania scene thanks to their incredible Shantae series, and knowing they were bringing their expertise to the new Metroidvania is fantastic. After playing it, you could tell how solid the game was, and it's worth experiencing, even with some smaller issues here and there.
Yars Rising is a Metroidvania at its core, and it very much follows the regular gameplay mechanics we see in the genre. It's a 2.5D side-scroller where you will run across the map and explore different sections of a bigger world. You will follow along with the story and find different powers, which you can use to destroy robots, kill enemies, and traverse the levels. Some areas of the level are inaccessible, so once you get new powers, you can retrace your steps and come back to further the story or unlock new upgrades.
If you have played any Metroidvania before, all of this will sound very familiar, and Yars Rising tends to stick to the genre closely. It doesn't really do anything extreme to break the mold, but all of the mechanics are refined and great combat/exploration. It all feels great to control, and you are going to have to utilize all of your abilities to some degree to defeat different enemies and bosses. The abilities can range from new weapons, like controllable drones, to enhancements to get around the world, like boots to walk on water.
However, the game has a unique way to upgrade your character. While you do get new powers, you will also get modules to upgrade the different abilities you have. Each module gets you a specific Tetris-like piece that you must fit in certain spots on your upgrade board. These upgrades can range from giving you more health to jumping higher, making enemies drop more health, or even playing music! There is no currency here; enemies will only drop health and ammo to reload weapons like rockets or drones. I do usually like more progression like an experience system or equipment, but I didn't feel like it was missing here.
The one thing I did not enjoy about the gameplay was how to get the upgrades and new abilities. To do so, you have to play a mini-game that has you control a little fly on the screen and try to destroy the big machine on the other side or destroy all the little blocks around; feeling like gameplay from Yars' Revenge. This started off a bit easy but quickly became aggravating once they started shooting missiles or had a rocket following me at all times. I died on some of these way too often, and while it could just be me sucking, it did get on my nerves.
As far as the world goes, it is beautifully crafted. I love the visual style WayForward went with for Yars Rising, and I felt it shined through in each of the cyberpunk-esque environments, especially on the OLED screen. It definitely feels like a 3D anime style at times, especially in character design, but it never felt too in my face about it. The soundtrack is also fantastic, so mixing these two together creates a wonderful atmosphere to run through.
There are also a lot of references to the original and older ATARI games sprinkled throughout, and while I definitely missed some of them, I thought it was really cool seeing how WayForward interpreted and integrated the ideas into this one.
In this reinterpretation of the 1982 original, you play as Yar, a hacker who is tasked with saving the world from an alien invasion and a nefarious corporation. You will work with your group of friends to fight back and uncover exactly what is going on. It's a solid story, nothing too extreme or amazing, but I did really like the voice acting. It can be a little too much at times, but for the most part, it fits perfectly.
And I am happy to say playing this on the Steam Deck is fantastic.
Yars Rising is an incredible game to play on the Steam Deck, and there's almost nothing you need to do on your end to enjoy it! It hits 90 FPS on the OLED Steam Deck with ease, managing an average 10W - 11W battery drain. There are some spots that can push battery drain to 17W or 18W, but these are far, few, and I never dropped away from 90 regardless. Because of this, I consider the game a Best on Deck one, and it needs absolutely 0 changes whatsoever.
If you do want more battery life, you can set the framerate to 60 and you should get a bit more with an average drain of 9W - 11W. It doesn't add a ton of battery life, but it does reduce those minor spikes when playing at 90. It's a good option, but with how rare those drain spikes are, I think it's safe to just keep it at the default. And since there are no graphical options, there's nothing to change!
In Yars Rising, you can change language, vibration, keybindings, and audio sliders, but that's about it. There are no other specific accessibility settings, but all text and UI is a good size on the smaller screen.
The game doesn't support 16:10 resolutions, but there are cloud saves and controller support. There are no HDR settings.
Yars Rising is a fantastic Metroidvania that plays it a bit safe in a lot of ways. The gameplay mechanics are refined and very enjoyable, with a great aesthetic and solid story, but none of it tries to break the mold at all. This isn't a bad thing, though, and while I didn't like the mini-games, it is still a fantastic entry in the genre that is worth your time. It is even more worth your time if you are playing on the Steam Deck because it runs wonderfully without needing to change a thing. Don't miss out on this one if you are a fan of metroidvanias and want more solid experiences on the go.
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out the rest of the content on SteamDeckHQ! We have a wide variety of game reviews and news that are sure to help your gaming experience. Whether you're looking for news, tips and tutorials, game settings and reviews, or just want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends, we've got your back.
Yars Rising is a great metroidvania that plays it very safe, but still worth investing your time into. And it is perfect on the Steam Deck!
