While Atari only recently announced its Fatal Run revival, titled Fatal Run 1989, the title was on hand to check out during PAX East 2024. And while the game is in an alpha state, it’s clear to see that the bones of the game are in place, and from what I’ve played, it has potential.
The gist of Fatal Run 2089 is that you, the player, will join up with a team of scientists and will be transporting devices that will be used to clean up the post-apocalyptic world which is now bathed in radiation. In doing so, you’ll race through multiple regions, taking on enemies and eventually taking on a boss to complete that region or stage. While the Fatal Run 2089 demo at PAX West was nowhere near complete, and I was unable to choose my vehicle, the game did have plenty to showcase.
As you race to your goal, you’ll be hammered from each side by enemy vehicles who will try their best to stop you. Thankfully, you aren’t without options on dealing with them as can run over different colored pillars of smoke… or maybe they were flames, that provided you with guns, missiles, and the ability to activate a NOS-like feature that gave you a boost of speed. That’s not all as there are plenty of ramps, sharp turns… some crazy sharp turns, as well as being able to fall off the track or jumping from one section of the track onto another. While the game is based on Fatal Run, I could see some San Francisco Rush 2049 DNA in it.
While I understand why Atari put the game on display at PAX West 2089, I feel that may have done more harm than good. Most people who attempted to play the game ended up walking away only after a few moments. Others addressed their frustration due to the lack of instructions on how to play the game. Alpha? Yep, it is, but even still I like what I played.
I’ve grown up on vehicular combat games and there’s been a drought of those types of games, so I’m glad to see that Atari is reaching back into their catalog and attempting to re-release a game that was revolutionary for its time.
There’s no ETA on when Fatal Run 2089, but it will be released in late 2024 for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam, Epic Games Store).
