Pong is back, and now it's an RPG

(Image credit: Atari)

Atari has announced a new Pong game, and it's not just Pong for smartphone with flashy backgrounds. No, it's an RPG starring "humanized paddles", complete with dungeons, cosmetics, loot and probably lore.

It's called Pong Quest, and it looks like a serviceable nostalgic distraction, especially if you played a bunch of Atari 2600 games back in the day. There are dungeons and modes based on popular classics like Centipede, Breakout... and is that Adventure I see in the trailer below? Fingers crossed it is. 

There will be 50 types of ball resulting in 50 different abilities, so there's quite a bit of leeway for the usual Pong formula to be tweaked. There's also online and local multiplayer, where you'll load out with various balls of varying power, in your exquisitely decked out paddle character. The game is due in Spring, or Winter in Australia.

Check out the trailer below:

Shaun Prescott

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.