The Atari name still carries significant weight in the gaming community, with their history of video game and console releases largely defining that era of early game development. Atari’s last major console release was in 1993, and since the mid-90s hasn’t released or published any notable gaming releases, but following new leadership under Wade Rosen in 2021, it is now going back to retro gaming and the franchises that helped put it on the map. This August we’ve seen the announcements of two major projects, one being the new RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks and the Atari x Activision Collection. I had the opportunity earlier this August to meet with representatives of Atari in LA and receive a preview of the upcoming RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderworks, Atari x Activision Collection, and other projects they’ve been working on.
The first thing I was shown while meeting with Atari representatives was that of the gma
recently-revealed RollerCoaster Tycoon Wonderwork, of which I had the honor of being the first game journalist to have this shown to. According to Atari, they aim to capture the nostalgia of the original games, aspects I could see in the preview they showed me with a retro-styled HUD and interface, although visually it also pursues a “toy box” look aesthetically; I personally enjoy this style, as it gives to the idea of a park gone awry in the same way a child will make a mess of their room with toys scattered everywhere, or of a wonderland sprung into chaos. It certainly takes on a new look in terms of its in-game assets, but the HUD I was shown looked like something from the earlier releases, which may satiate those who are not taken in by the new visual look. According to the Atari reps I spoke with, Wonderworks will also have a tech tree, and players will be able to customize certain visual aspects of the rides such as color, and throughout the game you will have different parks you are rivaled against, as well as the ability to create other parks to help expand your roller coaster empire.
Following this I got a preview of the Atari x Activision Collection, which felt like a strong attempt to refocus the Atari brand on some of the games that helped bring it success. These classic games, such as Pitfall! or River Raid, are coming back with new packaging and art that harkens back to old school design, and come with colored manuals and cartridges. Although these games can be purchased separately from each other, Atari showed me the four different bundles that one can purchase, which you can see on their website right now. These collections, named the “Treasure Collection”, the “Speed Collection”, the “Secrets Collection”, as well as the “Victory Collection”, focus on different types of games, hence their names such as the Speed Collection focusing on speed, racing, and sports for example. These collections they told me will also focus on less famous B-games, and that a higher-tier bundle around $800 containing all four collections and a jacket you can attach collectable pins to will be available too, although it does not appear to be on their website as of now.
Following these two previews, I got to look at something rather exciting for me on a personal level, that being Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered. Although I have only played its sequel, Godzilla: Save the Earth, many years ago when I was around six years old, I found this alongside the last two previews to be one of the major highlights for me. The remaster intends to keep the same style and controls of the original, with enhanced cutscenes and graphics, online multiplayer, and an improved unlock system. I would get to play a bit of the remaster while I was there, and I have to say it brought back the same childhood joy of playing its sequel back in 2004; the absurd silliness of destroying an entire city as you fight against another gargantuan-sized kaiju is something that can’t be beat.
The other two that truly stood out to me as well was that of Barbie: Rewind and Toy Story: Retro Roundup!, the latter of which also comes with Toy Story 3: Complete Edition included either separately or with the double pack featuring both games. Barbie: Rewind was more exciting to me than you may realize- when I was a child, I actually would play the Barbie: The Princess and the Pauper for Game Boy Advance, and it was actually a favorite to be frank. Seeing a collection of sixteen classic Barbie games from across different platforms, and even comes with an exclusive Atari-themed Barbie doll (although its website makes it clear these will be limited in quantity). For Toy Story: Retro Roundup!, you will be able to play across five Toy Story games and the A Bug’s Life game, all of which are featured in their console and handheld forms and feature numerous quality-of-life improvements, behind-the-scenes content, and new features including the ability to have a CRT-like overlay and border which you will be able to customize to your liking, or Rewind mode which shows the player how to complete certain parts of a mission and gives them the opportunity to take control at any point and try it yourself. As mentioned, Atari is also releasing a Toy Story 3 Complete Edition which will be released in a “double pack” including both it and Toy Story: Retro Roundup!. I was lucky enough to have some time to play small snippets of Toy Story: Retro Roundup! and Barbie Rewind, with me trying a bit of the 1995 Toy Story game and Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (I mistook this for The Princess and the Pauper game for the Game Boy Advance. They played well and had a fun, retro-vibe about them, with both being easy to navigate and not complicating the ability to select the game of your choosing from either collection.
Atari certainly feels like it’s on the right track and catering to the right audience this time around. These upcoming releases show they’re truly investing in people’s love for old games, as well as the desire for physical media in a time where so many mainstream gaming publishers are moving away from it. And I’m certainly looking forward to getting my hand on Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Remastered; we haven’t had any good kaiju-fighting games in some time.
