The games! The magic! The total experience!

I’m old enough to remember the Intellivision vs. Atari wars of the early ’80s. I fought on the losing side of that war (“once you compare, you’ll know”), but that doesn’t mean I can’t honor the victor. This is especially true when they announce a game like Atari Mania, coming to Nintendo Switch this summer.

Atari Mania is a new microgame title that’ll feature a robust storyline told through 150 microgames that pull from Atari classics of the 1970s and ‘80s.

In Atari Mania, you’ll step into the shoes of “Caretaker of the Atari Vault,” tasked with watching over the storehouse of retro-tastic Atari games. One night, a dead pixel appears, and then soon enough, all heck breaks loose! As you journey through the Vault, you find that familiar and beloved games have begun to warp, mutate, and meld into a series of increasingly wild challenges.

With over 150 lightning-fast microgames to master, you will have to beat killer combinations of well-known Atari properties, solve puzzles, complete challenges, and beat the clock, all with fun Atari easter eggs to uncover along the way. As you advance, you will complete runs of increasingly difficult microgames in randomly generated order, before facing a series of epic boss battles.

So, WarioWare, but with Atari 2600 characters? Just point me to the registration booth.

Atari Mania will feature:

  • Over 150 microgames inspired by the breadth of Atari’s decades-spanning catalog, from Asteroids to Yars’ Revenge. Fight back Centipedes with a Pong paddle while the iconic Adventuredragon hunts you down! It’s crossover madness in the best way possible!
  • Tricky puzzles to solve as you progress through the Vault and discover classically-inspired Atari Easter Eggs.
  • A charming neo-retro art update to the classic Atari 2600 style completed by a soundtrack of retro-inspired jams.
  • Familiar characters like you’ve never seen them before.
  • Plentiful collectibles, including vintage Atari art, posters, manuals, and fun facts.

And for the purists out there, fully playable remastered versions of some Atari classics can be unlocked by completing cheeky challenges.

Atari Mania will be available for purchase on Nintendo Switch for $19.99 this summer. For more information, visit atari.com.