We’ve known for a while that Atari and WayForward would soon be pushing Yars Rising to the world. But finally we have a fully confirmed release date and it comes with a gameplay trailer accompanying it.
Yars Rising is the newest instalment in the Yars universe; a new 2D metroidvania that whisks us off to a futuristic, cyberpunky world. And it’ll be launching on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC come September 10th 2024. If you wish to play on PlayStation and Switch, you’ll find a couple of physical editions too, in Standard and Deluxe form.
A return to Yars
Dive in to Yars Rising and you’ll find yourself taking charge of Emi Kimura. Emi is a young hacker, hired by a mysterious force as they look to infiltrate the Qotech corporation. And as with most games, that will mean you are left to run, jump, sneak and hack your way to success.
Challenges will be front and centre, retro-inspired mini-games will bring intrigue and Emi’s adventure as she looks to uncover the mystery of Qotech – plus a whole ton more – will be revealed.
As Yars Rising is a metroidvania, the powers that Emi utilises will grow as progress is made. It’s with these in which you’ll find access to previously inaccessible and secret areas, with her hacking skills becoming critical to solving whatever is put in front of you. With mini-games harking back to Yars Revenge from years back – Yars: Recharged will be your best bet there – this is suer to appeal to a range of players.
Key features
- Otherworldly Abilities: Emi must jump, blast, and sneak her way past waves of robotic and alien enemies. Her latent powers are revealed as she progresses, granting her wild augments and biohacks to reach inaccessible areas.
- Stealth Traversal: Emi can’t always shoot or jump her way out of a jam — tense sections of stealth gameplay force her to skillfully duck into the shadows to hide from relentless security bots.
- Sci-fi Intrigue: A seemingly bottomless mystery takes Emi from drab office buildings into underground labs, and even to the farthest reaches of space as she uncovers the dark truth behind the Qotech corporation. A sprawling, interconnected map allows for hours upon hours of gameplay.
- Genre Bender: A Metroidvania at its core, Yars Rising progresses the story with a series of hacking minigames paying homage to the original Yars’ Revenge, along with other levels and boss battles that take Emi far and beyond her “normal” adventure, like fight scenes and turn-based battles.
Grab the gameplay
With a September launch now confirmed, Atari and WayForward have also dropped a new gameplay trailer.
This shows off the vivid world of Yars Rising, punctuated by anime-inspired cyberpunk character designs, an energetic soundtrack, and a look at the game’s stealth mechanics and enemy encounters. What starts off as a simple ‘get in, get out’ mission quickly turns into more than what the young hacker Emi bargains for – from blasting robots to dodging lasers, to hacking complex systems and acquiring bio-hacks that grant unexpected abilities.
Coming soon
Yars Rising will release on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S come September 10th 2024. It’ll also land on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC on the same day.
For now, hit up the trailer.