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REVIEW #95
Berzerk: Recharged
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As I write this, Steam user reviews for Berzerk: Recharged are closely split between positive and negative. Being a fan of both the arcade and Atari console versions of the original Berzerk game, the feedback from other players almost deterred me from trying this title out until I took time to read what was being said. It seems like many are turned off based on nostalgia-fueled expectations and how this game failed to meet them versus the actual quality of what's presented here.
In light of this, let me start with this disclaimer: if you're expecting an almost-exact replica of Berzerk with maybe just a shiny coat of paint on top, you will not find what you're looking for here. However, if an action game that takes the themes and gameplay elements of the arcade classic and works with them just enough to be similar to the source material but also manage to feel like a unique experience AND still be a heck of a lot of fun to play sounds interesting to you, then I encourage you to give Berzerk: Recharged a try.
With that out of the way, let's get a bit more into the nitty gritty of what's offered here.
Berzerk: Recharged is a top-down(ish) twin-stick shooter with 2 variations: arcade mode and challenge mode. In both variations, players must navigate a maze full of robotic adversaries and environmental hazards with the goal being obtaining the highest score that they can. Challenge mode has 20 preset maze configurations, whereas arcade mode randomly generates a maze layout every time and continues endlessly until the player runs out of health. The players and some of the robot enemies can shoot projectiles, and the game can often feel like a bullet-hell title, which makes gameplay feel tense and fast-paced. There's also a time-based score multiplier which gives the player incentive to keep moving if they want to quickly rack up points. Power-ups and a dash ability are included, but disabling these features (as well as the player's health bar) will result in hefty scoring bonuses being added to a game's final total.
Presentation-wise, Berzerk: Recharged is okay. There's nothing offensive or subpar as far as sound design or graphics are concerned. In fact, the bright color scheme works well with the game's sense of style, and everything animates well. However, there are some odd design choices here. For example, the robotic voice samples are very low in the overall sound mix, which makes it often hard to tell what's being said. Also, the protagonist looks like Ronald McDonald going out on Halloween as a space cowboy, an impression that's especially due to the character's red/yellow/white/black color palette. That isn't a deal-breaker by any means, but it's a bit distracting and certainly looks out of place from the rest of the game. Also, while I don't exactly count this as a major negative, the general presentation of the game did sometimes feel weirdly like I was playing an Original Xbox Live Arcade title, which not all players might vibe with.
Technically, while bugs have been reported by other Steam users, Berzerk: Recharged has been running almost rock-solid for me (except for one minor glitch that causes Evil Otto's face to vertically invert sometimes). Controlling the main character also feels smooth and responsive, especially with an Xbox One controller.
In the end, what really works for Berzerk: Recharged is how it plays, and it feels to me like an addictive arcade-style shooter that I definitely would've been pumping plenty of quarters into if I found it in an arcade in the '80s. It took me all of 10 minutes to decide that I really like this addition to Atari's Recharged series, and if the trailer and screenshots on the store page interest you, then I suggest picking this one up.
NOTE: local co-op is available but was not evaluated for this review.