Fatal Run 2089 revives the Atari 7800 classic, also vehicular combat

Atari has revealed Fatal Run 2089, a very late sequel to the very late 1990 game Fatal Run. More importantly, I don’t remember the last time I played a decent, new vehicular combat game. Maybe Gas Guzzlers Extreme or Carmageddon: Max Damage. Quite a drought in games about stapling miniguns to station wagons.

Fatal Run was a very latterday game for the Atari 2600 and 7800. As such, it was pretty much unknown to anyone outside the core fanbase of those consoles until its inclusion in the Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. That’s when I played it, and while the 2600 version just feels significant for the way it translated the game to well-fermented hardware, the 7800 version was fun. Of course, as a fan of raster racing games and car combat, I was set.

Fatal Run 2089 looks pretty fun. It’s running on Unreal Engine 5, but I wouldn’t have guessed that. It has the grungy metal look and simple terrain of an Unreal Engine 3 title. However, it does have it where it counts, by which I mean when you land a jump, the camera shakes to make it seem like your car is very heavy. Like in Burnout 3 or Split/Second.

There are corkscrews, 20 tracks, and I spy boss vehicles. The press release promises “branching paths, hidden shortcuts, and explosive set pieces that keep every run intense and unpredictable.” There are seven vehicles, four bosses, and you can upgrade your vehicle by picking up (in-game) currency.

Fatal Run 2089 is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch (?) and PC sometime in 2025.