Earlier this year, Atari announced that it acquired Berzerk, its sequel Frenzy, and 10 more classic arcade properties. Now, as part of Atari’s Recharged lineup, it has revealed Berzerk: Recharged, and its coming to consoles and PC later this year.
The original Berzerk is an arcade game released in 1980. In it, players controlled a top-down avatar while shooting through hordes of armed robots in an electrified maze. The big bad was Evil Otto, who bounced around the maze as a giant smiley face, hunting players down. Atari says Otto is back in Berzerk: Recharged, “bringing with him updated graphics, deft twin-stick controls, and a new soundtrack by the acclaimed Megan McDuffee.”
Check out Berzerk: Recharged for yourself in the announcement trailer below:
“Though he sports an ominous grin, Otto is a deadly, invincible, ever-present threat presenting only one real survival solution: run,” a press release reads. “Paired with Megan McDuffee’s original soundtrack of sci-fi synths, Berzerk: Recharged captures the ambiance of a harrowing space station shootout – and a very groovy 80s arcade.”
Atari says Berzerk: Recharged’s mazes are made of random rooms, and intensity and difficulty is reflected by enemy robots’ changing color schemes the further you go. There are over 20 mazes to play through, each with different gameplay challenges. To survive, you’ll need to utilize different weapon modifiers, like a spread-shot, big shot, or railgun, and other modifiers like speed boosts, shields, mines, and more.
Like previous Atari Recharged iterations, Berzer: Recharged features co-op play and a public leaderboard as well.
Atari has also revealed Berzerk: Enhanced Edition, a 2600 cartridge version of the classic Berzerk game. It has been updated with diagonal firing, robot voice sampling, and more, and it launches on November 17 alongside the new Atari 2600+, which is a recreation of the original Atari 2600.
Berzerk: Recharged hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC later this year.
Have you ever played Berzerk? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below!
