Atari, an 8-bit gaming console, is a much praise-worthy achievement of the gaming industry. Their games are easy to play with extremely SIMPLE CONTROLS. However, there are still some of the best Atari retro games that are worth playing today.
So we have prepared the list of the top 6 Atari games, which includes:
Let’s look into the details of these Atari retro games here:
6 Best Atari Retro Games
Atari games are truly fun and entertaining. Why? It’s because of their simplicity in graphics and controls. Let’s look into the collection of our best 6 Atari games to play now:
1. Pole Position
Pole Position has remarkable graphics released on the Atari console. This game has the honor of being successful. And also, becoming the highest-grossing arcade game in the early 1980s. Plus, it is one of the games that feature pseudo-3D graphics and a third-person camera.
It’s a driving simulation of a racing car. To qualify for the racing tournaments, you have to race on the track and finish the laps before the time runs out. The challenging part? You have to avoid colliding with sideways, boards, and other racers on the track. The less you collide, the higher the reward, and you will be able to participate in more racing tournaments.
The game has a nicely designed racing track with few clouds up in the blue and bright sky. Making this is the perfect game to play for people looking for the best Atari retro games in the racing genre.
Best Known For: Pseudo-3D Graphics, Third-Person Camera, Classic Racing, Tournaments.
2. Pitfall!
Pitfall! is one of the groundbreaking games, as side-scrolling navigation was very new at that time. It is one of the highest-selling action-adventure games of Activision’s in the early 1980s.
In this game, you’ll be controlling a person, Pitfall Harry. You’ll have to side-scroll either left or right to collect all the treasures along the pathway. Sounds easy? Well, it has to be done within a certain time limit. Otherwise, you’ll lose all the items collected! As the game progresses, the game becomes more challenging – lots of hurdles to avoid.
The level design is of a jungle where you’ll have to avoid all the obstacles. Alligators, pit holes, scorpions, rolling logs, and others. So, you can run, climb, and swing on vines to make your way through the jungle without falling into the pitfall.
You have three lives and thirty-two treasures to collect. Besides its blocky visuals, the game is quite entertaining and amusing to play – especially for younger kids.
Best Known For: Action-Adventure, Treasure Collection, Jungle, Side-Scrolling.
3. Space Invaders
The Space Invaders is a popular combat arcade-style game released for Atari in the late 1970s. This is quite popular for its game mechanics and shooting style.
The game begins with you controlling a tank with a laser cannon. Jumping into the mission of shooting the enemies. But make sure to destroy them before they reach you. Special tactics? Use the walls and barriers as a defense to avoid enemy shootings.
You have three lives during each level while the difficulty increases based on the levels you are on. The movements of the aliens and music rhythm also increase to create a fast tempo. You can get a bonus by shooting at the alien spaceship that appears behind the enemies from time to time.
In short, you have to shoot to put an end to the alien invaders in the entire game. Definitely the best choice for people looking for a simple yet challenging classic shooting game.
Best Known For: Combat Arcade-Style, Classic Laser Shooting, Tank, Alien Spaceship.
4. Asteroids
Asteroids, the iconic hit and addictive game on the Atari console. It was developed by Atari and released in 1979. The game is based on laser shootings in space.
Your mission in the game is to destroy the asteroids. How? You’ll get the spaceship with a laser gun. Again and again, shoot the asteroids and break them into smaller pieces till they become dust. Depending on the difficulty level, your spaceship will go diagonal, faster, and can break asteroids into more pieces. And may encounter some UFOs!
The game takes place in the space – pitch black dark background. You’ll see a triangle-shaped spaceship on which you are riding. Asteroids are pixelated and colorful, moving around from one place to another.
At the beginning of the game, you’ll have three to five lives. Plus, you can earn more lives as the game progresses. Thus, best for the people looking to pilot a spaceship and are continuous shooting fans.
Best Known For: Spaceship, Asteroids, Sheer Shootings.
5. Secret Quest
Secret Quest is like the legend of Zelda for the Atari console. However, this one is based on space missions. It was released in 1989 and published by Atari.
The game starts with a hero, a humanoid character. He is traveling across different space stations to stop the alien invasion. Any weapons to use? You’ll have to kill them with your light-saber. The real challenge is to maintain your character’s oxygen level and light-sabers strength.
At the end of every level, you’ll have to make it out of the station fast. After killing aliens, you put a bomb with a timer. The only way to save yourself is to get out of the station before the time runs out. Use a teleporter that you’ll see after finishing off the enemy.
The gameplay has a number of puzzling black backgrounds and green-lined walls. It’s an action-adventure game with simple controls. The best Atari game for the people looking for the classic action plus adventure games.
Best Known For: Space Mission, Aliens, Action-Adventure, Puzzle-Solving.
6. Jungle Hunt
Jungle Hunt is an action-adventure game released on the Atari console in 1982. It was published by Atari and Taito. It is popular due to its series of levels in the game.
The storyline begins with the girl getting kidnapped by cannibals. On the way to the rescue mission, right? Yeah, you have to go through the four levels to rescue her. The four levels are divided into sections: swings, swimming, running, and finally, dodging the two cannibals.
Each of the levels has its own obstacles to dodge and survive. Such as spikes in the ground, crocodiles in the rivers, and boulders rolling towards you. You can side-scroll, jump and move in every direction.
This is one of the games that have more freedom of directional movements for your character. While the backgrounds are far more colorful than the previous games on Atari. It is based on the Jungle scene. It is a nice game for a light-hearted adventure.
Best Known For: Action-Adventure, Rescue, Colorful Graphics, Side-Scrolling, Free Directional Movements.
FAQs About Best Atari Retro Games
Got some questions? Let me help you out with frequently asked questions:
The number of games for Atari is slim due to its short-lived gaming console. But there are all-time fun games available on Atari. Like Warlords, Sprintmaster, Yars’ Revenge, Centipede, and many more.
You can get the Classic Pac-Man for your Atari from our store. But if you are looking for more similar games, you can also look into Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man.
In 2021, the company announced its way back to the gaming industry. Currently, they have plans to launch games for PC and their own consoles. However, more news has yet to be disclosed in the coming months.
Among all famous gaming consoles, Atari was the one with a short lifespan. It survived for fifteen years in the gaming industry. But, it couldn’t keep up with the rapid competitors coming into the market of video games.
To Sum Up
The Atari may have been unfortunate to have a shorter lifespan compared to other gaming consoles. But surprisingly, developers managed to produce such great and fun Atari games, even using just 8-bits to 16-bits graphics. Plus, some games are worth playing just for enjoyment and entertainment!
Read more about the best retro games here.
