Atari has finally revealed the two new games it will showcase at this week’s BIG Festival in São Paulo, Brazil–and it’s once again looking to the past to deliver a new spin on fan favorites.
Atari, which is one of the headline partners of BIG Festival–the largest gaming event in South America–last month teased it would showcase three playable games at the gathering: Mr. Run and Jump, plus two unannounced titles.
From June 28, attendees will be able to try Haunted House–a modern reboot of the 1982 Atari 2600 survival-horror classic, reimagined by Brazilian developer Orbit Studios–and Quantum: Recharged, the ninth installment in the company’s line-up of arcade modernizations, which has already brought us marvelous new takes on Yars’ Revenge and Breakout.
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Both Haunted House and Quantum: Recharged will arrive in late 2023, and will be available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the Atari VCS.
“Brazil has become one of the most influential video game markets in the world, and Brazilian developers are pushing the entire industry forward,” says Wade Rosen, chairman and CEO of Atari. “Our goal is to seek out the most talented studios to work with, and that has led us to partner with studios in Brazil and across Latin and South America.
“The success of the Brazilian video game market is exciting. We are happy to be part of this year’s BIG Festival and eager to see what comes next.”
Haunted House
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After reimagining the franchise as Haunted Houses in the superb Atari 50 anniversary collection last year, Haunted House is back–and will fittingly get its first public demo in its home country.
Coming to PC and consoles later in 2023, Haunted House is a 3D isometric third-person caper that “pays homage to the original survival-horror adventure by seamlessly adopting dynamic roguelite elements,” while incorporating stealth-based gameplay and boss battles.
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Players take control of Lyn Graves, the “precocious niece” of treasure hunter Zachary Graves, as she visits her uncle’s mansion with her friends to discover a house overrun with ghouls and monsters who capture her compatriots. To free her uncle and comrades, players must find the shattered pieces of a magical urn and put them back together.
Haunted House uses procedural generation for room layouts, walls, and enemy placements, meaning no two runs can be the same. Each urn shard is guarded by a boss; if Lyn gets knocked out by a specter, she’s returned to the Haunted House’s entrance and must face a whole new floor layout with differing enemy placements.
Haunted House has been designed especially with all ages in mind, with additional incentives including unlockable characters with different stats, as well as a bounty of Atari-themed Easter eggs for fans of the 1982 original.
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When it’s finally unveiled to the public at the BIG Festival, Orbit Studio–Haunted House’s creator–will take to the stage as part of the show’s programming.
“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the team at Orbit Studio on this modern take on Atari’s classic game Haunted House,” says Ethan Stearns, vice president of games at Atari. “We’re excited to share a preview of the incredible work by the talented team at Orbit Studio at this year’s BIG Festival in São Paulo.
“In the hands of Orbit Studio’s artists, the Haunted House mansion has an amazing sense of scale and visual depth,” added Stearns. “Combined with the roguelite elements, you really can get lost in the adventure–both figuratively and literally.”
Quantum: Recharged
Four decades since the original Quantum debuted in arcades, Quantum: Recharged tasks players to defeat waves of enemies without guns, lasers, or missiles; instead, gamers must circle them with their ship to “create punishing dead zones” that destroy them.
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Quantum: Recharged focuses on damage avoidance, ship maneuverability, and “quick-thinking problem-solving,” with developer Sneakybox promising “a visual cosmic wonder complemented by an energetic original soundtrack” from award-winning composer Megan McDuffee, who worked on the excellent score for Caverns of Mars: Recharged.
Like its stablemates, Quantum: Recharged offers a Challenge Mode and Arcade Mode, meaning players can take on 25 unique levels, or enjoy it like the original Quantum by surviving as long as possible against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. Power-ups also allow for unlimited dodges, enemy freezing abilities, and extra life nodes; naturally, co-op play and global leaderboards aim to keep things competitive.
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You can check out the other games in the Recharged series here.
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