Thank you Atari for sending us this game to review!

I really appreciate Atari’s Recharged series, as they try to bring back games that might be beloved classics, but perhaps not well known to modern audiences.  Or, they might even be well known, but they have ideas on how to make it even more fun, or simply refresh the gameplay for modern platforms.  While I have heard of many of the games that the Recharged remakes are based on, Caverns of Mars is new to me.  It turns out that it was a very popular game for the Atari 800 series of home computers, and was one of the best sellers at the time.  It was also made by a high school student!  I was able to experience the original for the first time in the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration we reviewed last year.

Cavers of Mars: Recharged takes the basics of that classic Atari 800 game and applies modern sensibilities to it, while also changing it just enough to be its own thing.  For example, this game has weapon upgrades, destructible environments, and a randomly generated level structure.  There are also missions available, and an interesting co-op mode.  Despite all of this, it’s easy to learn, but not so easy to master.

For those not familiar, you find yourself in a ship that shoots downwards.  You are trying to reach the core of Mars and destroy the reactor.  In this Recharged title, you just keep going deeper and deeper, until you get there.  On your way, you will see enemies that you can shoot if you choose, and fuel tanks for you to pick up, as you will never make it to the core of Mars without them.  There are also weapon pickups; if you grab those, it can make blasting away the terrain and bad guys easier.  Once you reach the bottom of the level that you are on, you start again at the top of the next.

Like most Recharged games, there are two main modes: Missions and Arcade.  Unlike some in this series, I feel like this one really splits the two modes well, and you may enjoy each for different reasons.

Arcade is the main mode, and probably the one that I like the most.  This actually surprises me, since in most Recharged games, I typically prefer Missions mode.  I normally am not a big fan of Roguelikes, but this one is done well.  The way it works is you start off with a specific amount of health and fuel, and you keep moving downwards and blasting your way through the caverns.  These caverns are randomly generated, making your exact path different each time, though you do start to notice patterns after a while.  You avoid the walls as best as you can, while grabbing new weapons if it’s one you want – or if you want health; weapon pickups also heal you from one point of damage.  Whenever you shoot, your ship also slows its descent, allowing you to move horizontally more freely.  

As hinted at before, shooting hits anything below you; this includes enemies of course, but it also means that you can destroy the environment.  Thankfully, pickups are immune to damage.  Many levels have parts that rely on you avoiding damage from hitting the walls or blasting away enemies that fly at or shoot at you.  In others, you need to blast those walls out of your way, or most likely some combination of all methods to increase your chances of survival.  Clearing walls works especially well with the laser, which blasts an entire vertical column that's visible on screen.  Other weapons can also be effective.  For example, some give you a spread shot that hits multiple blocks (or enemies) at once, and others offer rapid fire, which can also assist in clearing things out.  One challenge I ran into often is that guns with a skinnier beam don't clear a space quite large enough for your ship, so you have to weave back and forth to make it wide enough for you in those cases.

At the end of each level in Arcade mode, you get to choose an upgrade, of sorts.  Well, actually, you have to choose one.  Each one I've seen is a devil's bargain of sorts; you trade something positive for something negative.  But if you are careful, it usually ends up worthwhile, though there are times when you wish you could pick nothing at all, and that is not an option available to you.  For example, do you want more health at the cost of less fuel, or perhaps the opposite?  What about a larger fuel tank, but each fuel pickup gives you less?  I find that if you properly balance larger vs. smaller tanks, you can often come out ahead.  But don't keep shrinking that fuel tank over and over, as eventually you may pay the price.  Even still, it's an interesting mechanic, and the upgrades often pile up as you do better and better in Arcade mode.  This, along with the weapons and randomly generated levels, makes for quite a fun game mode.  You also can aim for a new high score.

In pursuit of the high score, you can also choose to play that run with any combination of bonuses you like.  These bonuses include Iron Man (only one life), Training Wheels (fall speed reduced, combos removed) and finally No Upgrades (items only give HP).  The first and third give you more points when selected, and the second gives you less, but makes the game easier.  Getting farther can also lead to more points, after all.

Missions mode has thirty levels, and these are more contained.  They are not randomly generated; rather, you have to conquer the specific level in question, and it's the same each time.  That may sound easy, but no, it's not.  They really pack the Missions with some serious challenge, as everything is organized in a way to carefully plan your enemies, environment, and pickups to make careful movement and resource conservation important.  I've died countless times on some of these levels.  I will say that since section types are often reused, the methods you learn to get past them in Missions mode does sometimes carry forward to Arcade, so even if you prefer Arcade, there is value in practicing on Missions.  There are no after level upgrades, and not all levels have weapons available outside if your default shot.

There is also a two-player mode for both Arcade and Missions.  The main difference is that player one flies the ship that can die, and when he fires, the ship slows down with a downward propellant.  The second player controls a drone, that's small, invincible, and shoots things.  This handy second player can also grab pickups, allowing the primary to focus on staying alive.  This mode can still be challenging, but I found it easier than playing solo most of the time.  It's fun.

Caverns of Mars: Recharged runs great on any computer I tested it on, including Steam Deck.  I did have to set the resolution on Deck, and Steam Cloud was funky until I got everything straightened out (though that could be because Cloud wasn't enabled on the game at release).  The graphics and music are nice, as in previous recharged titles.

Overall, Caverns of Mars: Recharged is a solid game that is easy to start and can be a challenge to get through.  At first I thought the game was a bit too simple, but I warmed up to it after a while.  It is simple, yes, but still fun to play.  And unless shooting aliens on Mars is a problem, I doubt most people will have any moral issues with this game.  While I wouldn't say it's my favorite Recharged title (that's probably still Yars), it's a solid addition to the series and a fun diversion if you're looking for something a little different.  Recommended!