So, I’m guessing this is Atari’s new strategy: dig up an old IP they still have and give it a modern spin, while at the same time keeping true to what made it stand out when it first came out, way back at the birth of video games. They attempted this last time with Yars Rising, an update on the game from the 80s that got a mixed reception at best. Some praised its bold reimagining of a nearly incomprehensible Atari 2600 title, while others criticized it as lacking identity, a product that tried to be both retro and modern but never committed fully to either. Now, Atari is trying again, this time with one of their more well-known titles: Adventure. For many in today’s gaming culture, Adventure isn’t remembered for its own merits so much as for being immortalized in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One and Steven Spielberg’s film adaptation, where its hidden Easter egg served as the climax of the story. It’s a strange afterlife for such a primitive game, but one that cemented its importance in gaming history.
That aspect is what makes Adventure of Samsara fascinating; unlike Yars Rising, this new title doesn’t feel like an awkward stretch. Instead of forcing something into the MetroidVania mold, this project actually feels like it was always meant for it. That might sound odd, considering the original Adventure released in 1980, a good decade before the word “MetroidVania” was even coined, but the DNA is there. The whole point of that blocky, abstract Atari 2600 game was discovery. You wandered across screens, collected keys, fought off dragons, and slowly pieced together the logic of its world. That sense of gradual revelation, of exploration rewarding the curious, is exactly what defines a modern MetroidVania. So, in a way, Adventure of Samsara doesn’t feel like a reinvention—it feels like a natural evolution that finally catches up to what the original hinted at.
As for its structure, Samsara is not trying to mimic the hyper-responsive, precision-platforming feel of a Hollow Knight or Dead Cells. Instead, its controls are heavier, more deliberate, almost theatrical in how they demand you commit to an action before executing it. Jumping has weight; combat has wind-up and recovery; parrying requires patience rather than button-mashing. It’s a choice that may alienate some players used to the rapid fluidity of modern indies, but it makes sense when framed as an extension of Atari’s roots. The original Adventure wasn’t about fast reflexes—it was about navigating strange rules and dangers with caution. Samsara translates that into a slower, more deliberate rhythm, one where every strike feels risky and every encounter forces you to respect the mechanics. The structure of the game leans heavily into classic MetroidVania design. You start in a central hub area and soon discover locked doors, unreachable ledges, and strange artifacts that clearly belong elsewhere. Bit by bit, as you defeat enemies and unlock new abilities, paths fold back into each other, creating that satisfying “aha” moment when you realize a shortcut connects back to somewhere familiar. Atari has confirmed ten different biomes, and from what’s been shown—icy ruins, industrial corridors, eerie temples—they all carry distinct themes both visually and mechanically. Each biome introduces not just new enemies but new environmental puzzles that demand you think differently about traversal.
As for the visuals, Adventure of Samsara is one of the boldest projects Atari has put out in years. The pixel art doesn’t go for the lush detail of something like Ori and the Blind Forest or the painterly vibe of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Instead, it deliberately evokes the blocky abstraction of Atari 2600 graphics but reinterpreted with modern tools. Characters are chunky, castles loom with geometric precision, and creatures resemble the simplistic dragons of the old game—only animated and terrifying. Instead of going for a normal pixel art style common today, that being the NES style 8-bit, they decided to do something that is more akin to the first Prince of Persia, with its stiff animation and isometric horizontal perspective.
In the end, Adventure of Samsara feels like the most natural revival Atari has attempted in its recent slate of legacy projects. It doesn’t just slap a new coat of paint on a relic. It interrogates what made Adventure important in the first place and then expands on that foundation with modern design principles. It won’t be for everyone. Its deliberate pacing, cryptic storytelling, and heavy difficulty curve are likely to divide audiences. But for those willing to engage with it on its own terms, it delivers something that feels both reverent and genuinely new. In other words, Atari might finally be onto something. By embracing the exploratory spirit of one of their oldest creations, they’ve stumbled upon a formula that honors the past while making sense in the present. If Yars Rising was a shaky experiment, Adventure of Samsara is a confident step forward. It’s proof that the Atari name can still mean more than nostalgia—it can mean discovery, challenge, and the thrill of stepping into the unknown once again.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5