In the modern age of video games where hyper realistic graphics, ambitious storytelling, and the focus on live services, the desire to return to a simpler age is a tempting one. Looking back, the age of the 8-bit and 16-bit style games feels nostalgic and tempting to go back to, and that is where Atari’s Caverns of Mars: Recharged comes into the picture. Caverns of Mars: Recharged is a remake of the original 1981 game that adds updated graphics and music alongside extra weapons and features to the vertically scrolling classic.
The game’s art style is simple, and that works. Both the player ship and enemy ships have stand-out and simplistic designs that stand out at a glance, which serves the breakneck pacing of the gameplay well in how players will recognize different enemy types quickly and react accordingly. Environments also follow this simplistic yet distinct art style, with each of the game’s three areas having a unique look and color scheme. Unfortunately, the game’s music lacks variety, with the same level theme playing through each of the game’s three areas in the arcade mode and every mission having very similar sounding songs. This isn’t to say that the music is bad (it is a catchy soundtrack), but this is an indicator of the game’s largest problem: a lack of variety.
Moving on to the gameplay, the core gameplay loop of Caverns of Mars: Recharged is an incredibly fun ride. The player takes control of a spaceship flying through the surface of mars with a constantly dwindling fuel supply that depletes every time the player fires a shot, forcing the player to pick up the fuel cells scattered throughout levels. This means that the player must juggle their health and fuel while navigating tight corners and blasting away both enemy ships and the fully destructible environments in order to reach the core of the planet and blow it to bits. There are several weapons to wield, ranging from shotgun-like blasts, rapid fire shots, and a long-reaching super laser. Each of these weapons has their own strengths and weaknesses, and picking up new weapons also replenishes health. This turns every run through the game into a frantic race to the core where players may be forced to switch between several different weapons in order to stay alive on their race to the core. This gameplay loop compels players to hone and master their skills in order to get higher scores to show off on an online leaderboard. In addition to the core arcade mode, there are also thirty specialized levels called “missions”, and each one is designed to test the player with a specialized challenge that can be quite difficult.
Unfortunately, the lack of variety mentioned earlier also permeates the gameplay. At the end of each level in the game, players are given the option to choose an upgrade to their ship that affects how they play at a cost. One upgrade lets players gain fuel on enemy kills at the cost of lowering their overall fuel supply, while another upgrade might increase their fuel supply at the cost of making fuel cells replenish less fuel. The problem with this upgrade system is that there isn’t a big enough pool of upgrades to keep repeated playthroughs feeling fresh. Players will constantly be forced to pick the same selection of upgrades with almost no room to vary their runs. The level design won’t make up for this lack of variety either, as each area only has a handful of obstacles that it will throw at you, making repeated runs of the game easy to master, yes, but also prone to quickly becoming stale after repeated attempts.
In the end, your opinion of this game will come down to how you approach it. If you are the type of player that loves to race for spots on a leaderboard and the chance to improve your skills, Caverns of Mars: Recharged will be an addictive ride that will have you hooked for hours on end. If not, then the game is fun for a few hours, but you will find yourself quickly moving onto the next game that catches your attention. No matter what though, Caverns of Mars: Recharged is still a fun, nostalgic ride through the depths of Mars and an easy 8/10.
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Related: Reviews by Josh Freeman
I love games and love talking about games. Some of my favorites include action games (both 2D and 3D), metroidvanias, roguelikes, shooters, and Indies.
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