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Yars Rising Review

Casey ScheldSeptember 10, 2024

Targeting MetroidVania fans, anime aficionados, and those with a penchant for wood paneling, WayForward and Atari’s Yars Rising has grand plans to target many verticals. Should players join this hacker savant as she sets out to hack the planet (or just QoTech)?

Yars Rising Review

Emi “Yar” Kimura is a hacker for hire, with her latest gig hitting the nefarious QoTech corporation. She’s not alone in her journey; with the help of Malorie “Mal” Foster, Kyan “Refresh” Winters, and Anthony “Kitbash” Ochoa, this cast and crew – and their different quirks – come alive through excellent voice acting, random non-sequiturs, and internal monologues that have that signature WayForward style.

However, this is far from a straightforward deal. Breaking free after getting caught early on, her hacking prowess finds herself blessed with new augmented powers. This is far from a simple party trick; these augments rewrite her very DNA and grant her cool perks like the springy Grasshopper Legs, the Dragonfly Dash, and other perks that’ll make her positively bug out.

Yars Rising even has a number of biohack perks that players can equip for when the mood strikes just right. Set up in a Tetris block style setup, players will have to be mindful with their loadouts.

Sounds familiar, right? Yars Rising is a MetroidVania at its (cannon) core – players will navigate a number of different areas as Yar gets more and more augmented, blasting away doors and having power course through her (best not to think about it).

It hits all the right beats for the genre, with players learning a new map and taking on countless robotic and otherworldly threats (of the cute and not-so-cute variety) as they progress.

For dyed-in-the-wool MetroidVania fans, Yars Rising is more Metroid Fusion instead of Super Metroid for those that know their way around a map. Players will always know where to go with (optional) markers, and there’s an elevator players will use to get to major areas after netting new augments. Again, this is not bad; just a matter of preference.

Yars Rising does let Yar utilize a number of different terminals ripe for hacking. Designed to be like the old-school Yars title (remember when?), players will nibble and fire in an attempt to clear out Qotile threats, gear up their cannon, and successfully hack each system.

As old-school – and we mean old-school – gaming fans, we loved Yars Rising’s hacking segments. Failure causes some lost health, but players can toggle an invincibility mode if they’re having trouble with a specific segment – don’t ask us how we know that.

There are even a number of stealth segments in Yars Rising players contend with. Yar isn’t even close to the level of Metal Gear Solid’s Solid Snake, but these segments are rudimentary that she doesn’t have to be. Ducking into a door or climbing a vent does add some tension, but Yars Rising’s stealth takes a backseat to its exploration and hacking.

Rounding out Yars Rising is a truly fantastic soundtrack. We ended up listening with headphones, quickly getting absorbed in its varied track set, packed with both English and Japanese vocals. Featuring Megan McDuffee (River City Girls), Tommy Pedrini, and other legends, Yars Rising’s soundtrack has that human connection that hacks into your brain.

It got to the point where we spent time near a stylish Save Terminal throwback and had the music on in the background while tending to things – Yars Rising’s soundtrack is that good.

Taking elements from the best MetroidVanias, retro shooters, and anime series, Yars Rising delivers a truly immersive experience with mass appeal.

Yars Rising Review

Reviewed On: PC (A digital code was provided)
Release Date: September 10, 2024
MSRP: $29.99
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Developer: WayForward
Publisher: Atari

Alternative Reviews: God is a Geek, Nintendo Life, GamesRadar+

Aggregate Scores: Metacritic, OpenCritic

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