Evil Otto Is Back: A Berzerk: Recharged Review

By Manuel

Players: 1-2
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Atari VCS, PC

Berzerk: Recharged is the latest title in Atari's Recharged series, a line of games that remakes classic titles in their back catalog with a few modern bells and whistles. This time around we get the twin stick shooter arcade classic that features the infamous "Evil Otto", a villain who I'm sure still haunts the dreams of gamers of a certain age. Evil Otto and all, Berzerk: Recharged is bouncing its way onto consoles and PC, and we're here to take a look at it and see if this is a game that will scratch the retro itch, while also providing an experience that will draw in new players unfamiliar with the original game it's remaking.

Berzerk is an arcade game from the 1980s that sees you go through a series of maze-like rooms fighting off endless waves of robots as quickly as you can to avoid the ever-approaching Evil Otto. It plays quite similar to Robotron: 2084, but it preceded it by two years. (Something I was only made aware of when researching for this review.) That's not the only game that is sure to draw comparisons though, as Berzerk: Recharged also comes out in a post-Smash T.V. world. Obviously this game predates that Arcade/SNES classic, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that both the other games I mentioned came to mind the entire time I played Berzerk: Recharged. Being compared to two other great games isn't necessarily a bad thing, but that needed to be addressed before we went on about the game itself. Anyhow, getting back to the story of the game, I'm not sure if there even is one beyond what I've already mentioned. If there is a reason our human protagonist(s) wandered into the deadly maze, I'm not aware of it. Does that matter though? This is a classic game and the real focus of the game here is the high score, and there is a lot to talk about when it comes to making those numbers go up.

I usually play with Powerless & Gravity on.

Just a bunch of robots...

Now I've played many twin stick shooters, but none of them are quite like Berzerk: Recharged. Controls are simple, the left stick moves your character, the right stick aims your firing arm, the right back trigger shoots, the left top trigger dashes, and the left back trigger uses power-ups that require setting up. That's it. Thankfully all your weapons have autofire by default, but your bullets (not really bullets, but I'm going to go with that term for simplicity) shoot in a very slow way. This slow attack gives the feel of a constant reload, and makes it so that you can never really relax as some enemies can close in on you before you're able to attack again. I've also played a lot of twin stick shooters where the right aiming stick also fired for you, so the idea of an extra button press for attacking felt a bit off at times. These two things combined do slow down the gameplay a bit, but it also helps the general anxiety of the game's setup. If things do get a bit dicey you can dash, but I quickly found out that this doesn't provide temporary invincibility, it simply moves you from one place to another quickly. This means that if you're not careful you can find your dash cut short by an enemy bullet, or even an enemy themselves. I've only ever used mines with the power-up button, and usually die with whatever power-ups I had unused because I always forgot that there is another button in use in the game. That's pretty much all you need to know in terms of controls, but there's a lot more depth than the simple controls would imply.

Glass doors are a rather simple obstacle.

Watch those bullets.

Berzerk: Recharged is a game that features a (possibly) endless series of rooms laid out in a labyrinthine fashion. Each room you're placed in has several enemies, at least one exit, and possibly some power-ups. Enemies come in several varieties, and are color-coded depending on how strong they are going to be. Some fire back at you, some simply charge at you, and some do both. You have five health bars that you can quickly lose in a series of bad encounters, but you can find healing items scattered around if you're lucky. Each enemy has its own point value, and you get a multiplayer if you kill many of them quickly. If you take too long a countdown starts in one of the doorways with Evil Otto showing up when it hits zero. Once Evil Otto is on-screen it's best to clear out the room as he moves rather fast, can't be hurt or defeated, and causes instant death if he touches you. This loop starts anew once you enter a new room, and the rooms themselves start to get more difficult with breakable barricades, automatic doors, and stage hazards that hurt you just like the enemies. Also, if you're in Arcade Mode then the door you came from closes behind you and you don't know which one Evil Otto will come from next. You only have one life, so it's an instant game over once you lose all five health bars. You're then given your score and are instantly taken back to the starting room to do it all again.

I hate having to come into enclosures.

Purple means harder.

The power-ups in the game are a mixed bag. Big Mode makes your bullets bigger and more powerful, the Rail Gun makes you fire a single bullet that goes through enemies and walls alike, and the Shotgun is a spread weapon. It's my understanding that the Rail Gun is a series favorite, but I found it the most useless weapon ever and avoided picking it up wherever I could. The single bullet that comes from the Rail Gun can only be fired again once the first bullet leaves the screen, so this means you're basically defenseless in-between shots. Only pick up the Rail Gun if you know what you're in for as missing even one shot can lead you straight to a Game Over. All weapon powers are timed affairs too, so it can be a bit annoying when the final enemy in a room drops them and half your time with it is wasted finding more enemies to kill. The other power-ups include the aforementioned mines and healing items, as well as ones that increase your speed. Some power-ups are simply lying in the room when you enter, but many are only dropped from defeated enemies. This means it can sometimes be beneficial to kill everything in a room if you have the time in the hopes that you get something good. Oh and speaking of killing everything in a room, be careful whenever fleeing a room that still has active enemies in it. You can still be attacked and take damage from within the transitional doorways, so it's always best to clear a path before attempting a last minute escape.

The main game mode is the Arcade Mode where you can add up to three challenge options that increase your overall final score. All these runs are unique as the rooms are always randomized each time you play. I'm not sure if the actual makeup of the rooms themselves are random, but their placement is at least. This also means that you can get a very tough first room, or one that you can just simply run past. You can also play this mode in multiplayer, which actually makes the game quite a bit easier but also sees you compete for the highest score and best power-ups. Besides that main mode you have twenty Missions where you have to clear a pre-set series of rooms and enemies. These are scored both individually and in an "All Missions" category that adds up the top scores from each one. I found these Missions to be the most enjoyable, and they made me wish that the main game mode was broken up similarly. More than 20 would also be nice, but they do get so difficult that I'm not sure if I could handle anymore. Missions can also be played in multiplayer, but I found that I preferred to take these solo for a variety of reasons. Game modes aside, there are also leaderboards for both single and multiplayer, and I'm proud to note that I am currently the highest scoring player in this pre-release period. Never mind that there appear to be less than ten players online right now, I'll take the congrats while I can!

The Rail Gun in action. AKA Missing.

That odd room transition.

I had a lot of fun with the game, but I have to admit that it's a pretty simple affair. What really kept me engaged were the graphics and the music; let’s talk about the graphics first. Everything has a colorful neon vibe that has just the right tinge of 80s aesthetics without looking overly cliché. The color-coded enemies were a nice touch too, and I found myself getting anxious whenever I entered a room with enemies sporting a new color palette. Evil Otto was a particular favorite too, and that shimmering neon ball is as cool-looking as he is deadly. Even the title screen and achievement icons stand out, bringing the overall presentation to near perfect levels. I do have two quick complaints about the graphics though, and the first one has to do with the actual mazes themselves. There is very little variance in the rooms beyond the enemies and their hazards. I'm not sure if this is due to the nature of the randomly assorted levels, but I found it weird that the rooms didn't change color with the enemies, or change much at all. It seems like such a simple thing that could've added a lot of variety to the game. My second issue is probably one that only some players will experience, but the Nintendo Switch version seems to have an odd performance quirk. Now there was never a hint of slowdown or game crashes during my time with the game, but I found that the game froze several times after coming back from sleep, or if quitting to the main menu during gameplay. The game usually came out of this freezing period after ten seconds or so, but it always had me fearing it was about to crash to the home menu. I hope that this can be fixed in a patch, and I'm willing to consider it being only a Switch thing, but it's definitely worth mentioning.

Get out of here Evil Otto!

The Missions are the best.

Megan McDuffee provides the music for Berzerk: Recharged, and this alone makes the music the best aspect of the game by far. For those that don't know Megan McDuffee has previously worked on the music for the River City Girls series, and apparently has worked on other games in Atari's Recharged series as well. The music here is just perfect. It's synthwave, it's dark, and it evokes the old-school arcade feel even though the original Berzerk came from a time when music in games was extremely limited. I honestly can't rave about the soundtrack enough, it fits the game like a glove, but would also not be out of place at a club during an 80s night. You do a lot of replaying in Berzerk: Recharged, and the music always eased the sting of repetition. There isn't a bad track here, and the only slight complaint I have is that there isn't a sound test mode so I could just check out the music on its own. That's not even really a complaint though, and mainly me feeling I have to even out my glowing praise a bit. This is a game soundtrack that I want to check out on its own, and the music makes me want to check out all the other titles in the Recharged series in the hopes that the music is just as great as it is here.

Before we wrap up this interview I have to address the only true problem with the game. Simply put, Berzerk: Recharged doesn't have a lot of content. I actually kept expecting more game modes or options to show up or unlock, but they never did. It only took me a few hours of playing to clear half the missions, and get more than half of the achievements. I don't even think I'm particularly good at the game either, it's just that it flows so quickly and then you find that you're halfway done with everything it has to offer. I don't want to make it sound like it's a boring game though, I definitely found myself still playing even after dying for the 50th time, and I didn't even care that I was mostly replaying the same rooms over and over again. The problem lies when you go back to the title screen and see that there isn't a whole lot to do outside of getting onto those leaderboards. You can complete the missions, play the arcade game, and hunt for achievements and high scores, but that's pretty much it. For many that is more than enough content, but I find myself wondering when (or if) I'll be picking it up again now that I'm done with this review. I'll probably only pick it up again when the mood for multiplayer strikes me, but then again the low price point of $9.99 (at the time of this writing) does take that sting away more than a little.

I got a bunch of the achievements too.

Proof I'm currently the best player!

While I really enjoyed Berzerk: Recharged, I have a few reservations when it comes to fully recommending it. Even though it's very challenging, and some runs can end very quickly and suddenly, I felt that it could've been a little more intense at times. Playing multiplayer did alleviate this a bit, but not by much. Then again a common complaint I often have with retro inspired/styled games is that they're often far too hard, so I guess one could think of this as a middle ground of sorts. With that said I do think that this is a really great game, and it makes me curious as to what the other games in the Recharged series are like. I want to say that you'll probably enjoy this as long as you're not looking for an extreme challenge, but then I remember that I never reached very high levels of rooms, nor faced the hardest enemies. I guess pick it up if you're into retro games, the 80s neon aesthetic, or great synthwave soundtracks. However you get it though, be sure to stay out of Evil Otto's way!

For More Information on Berzerk: Recharged​:
https://atari.com/products/berzerk-recharged

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​Gameplay: B+
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A+
Value: B+

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A challenging arcade game that isn't as difficult as many other retro-inspired games often are.
+ The soundtrack is amazing and quite possibly the best aspect of the game.
+ Neon-infused graphics make this a very incredible looking game.
+ Multiplayer is very fun and adds a new layer to the gameplay.
+ In-game achievements and online leaderboards give one a lot to work towards.

+/- While the point of the game is mainly to get a high score, there are a lot of challenge options that help you in that goal.

Cons:
- A general lack of game modes and content make this a rather shallow experience.
- The randomness of the game can make it so that the difficulty is very uneven.
- While the graphics are quite colorful and impressive there isn't a lot of variance to them.
- There seem to be some game-breaking issues in the Switch release at the time of this writing.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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