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ATARI has been one of the few companies that have really surprised me. Over the last two years, I have noticed the catalog of games they have been releasing and how they are working to revive their old IPs in new and interesting ways, and it has been a blast to see. At Gamescom, I had the pleasure of checking out their next reimagining of an old IP, Fatal Run 2089 (which was just announced), and while it was in a very early alpha form, the core of it was there, and I left wanting more.
The entire time I was playing, it felt like I had gone back to relive the fond memories of some of my favorite racing games. For context, I am not a fan of traditional racing games, but I am a sucker for games like Burnout and FlatOut. I loved the focus away from the actual race and instead encouraged me to destroy cars and run them off the road. The over-the-top explosions and action-packed driving were exactly what I wanted from racing games, so Fatal Run 2089, taking that and adding a new spin to it, was extremely exciting.
The story itself goes for a more optimistic approach, as you are racing against time to save a power plant from going down and taking power out for what's left of civilization. Because the power plant could run out soon, you need to go as fast as possible and destroy all the vehicles in your way. It's a nice change of pace from the usual nitty-gritty apocalyptic stories, and it made sense in the end.
The gameplay feels much more arcade-like and is reminiscent of games like Burnout. You aren't racing against other cars; instead, you are just trying to get from Point A to Point B and destroy all obstacles in your way. These obstacles are usually other cars, and while you can ram into them and run them off the road, you also have mounted weapons like machine guns and missile launchers to target and destroy. You can also boost, and you will have to recharge all of these by driving into different colored smoke coming up off the ground. And yes, it is just as intense as other games it is inspired by, and I love it.
To make things even more interesting, Fatal Run 2089 has some roguelike features to it. You will play through four different biomes, each with different levels, and with each one you complete, you will get new modules to upgrade and enhance your car. There are different cars to choose, as well as different weapons to get, so there may be a lot of different combinations to change up how you play. And just like other roguelikes, if you die, you have to start over.
I only got a little taste of the game, but there is a lot more to come, and I can't wait to see it! Fatal Run 2089 is slated for a 2025 release, and I know I will be watching out for news on it attentively. And yes, there is a lot of optimism about this game running on the Steam Deck, which is wonderful!
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