Missile Command Delta Review 

The Atari name has been up, down, and all around throughout the history of video gaming. For a certain generation, it’s synonymous with the medium. The problem comes with the generations that came after that, when Atari was doing the game industry equivalent of comically stepping on rake after rake. For a while, it seemed like Atari was doomed to be a relic of the past, but in recent years, its new leadership has been pushing to make it relevant again. No easy task, but one worth pursuing. 

A lot of that work has been in getting Atari’s classic games out there again, this time with some much-needed context for those who weren’t around back then or might have forgotten. But reminding people of the good old days only goes so far. It’s important to make new games if Atari is to have a future. Thus far, the current incarnation of Atari has put out a variety of new games. Some are completely original, some rely on newly-acquired IP, but many of them are attempts to riff off the names and games people remember from the days when Atari ruled the roost. 

This isn’t even Missile Command’s first time in the chair. It was Atari’s first game to get the Recharged treatment, and it was an idea so nice that Atari did it twice. Missile Command Delta reimagines things in a much more dramatic way, however. Blistering, edge-of-your-seat twitch action is out. Strategic moves and environmental puzzles are in. It’s a bold take, but one that doesn’t feel outrageously far afield for the brand. 

The game starts with a brief tutorial that gets you used to both types of gameplay you’ll be engaging with. Firstly, you’ll be doing some first-person exploration in a missile bunker. The tutorial doesn’t have too much to worry about in this regard, but you’ll eventually be solving puzzles of the sort you would see in an adventure game. You’ll also have the chance to talk to a number of characters, and you can guide those conversations by making choices from a small selection. 

When it’s time for missile commanding… commandeering? When it’s time to knock some missiles out of the sky with missiles of your own, you’ll encounter the other type of gameplay. Surprise! It’s turn-based strategy. You’re given an assortment of cards that represent your stockpile, and you’ll need to strategically deploy them to take out a set number of waves of attacks. Let any incoming attacks pass through, and it’s THE END. You know, like in the original game. Each card and attack type has its own properties, and you’ll need to think carefully about how all the interactions will work when each turn plays out. 

The story follows Skye, a young woman, and her friends. They decide to camp out in a long decommissioned missile bunker for giggles, as the youth often do. As soon as you figure out how to get the power on, all kinds of things come to life. You soon find yourself running what appear to be wargame simulations via terminals scattered around the bunker. They are simulations, right? Naturally, you can’t just walk around everywhere you want at first. Accessing new areas often requires locating items and solving puzzles. If you get stuck, feel free to ask a friend. Hey, you might even find more cards lying around that you can use in the simulations. 

I actually enjoyed all of the components of Missile Command Delta. I’m not sure that they integrate terribly smoothly, but I’ve seen worse combinations. The mystery of the bunker and what’s going on isn’t a very hard one to predict, but it’s engaging enough. The bunker itself is an interesting place to explore, and the puzzles are, for the most part, satisfying without being frustrating. The missile strategy element is a really cool spin on the original game. Totally different, but not unfaithful. Things get really complicated as the game goes on, and you’ll have to think hard to solve some of the most difficult ones. 

Unfortunately, the performance on the Nintendo Switch drags things down a lot. The missile minigame is fine, of course. It’s not taxing anything, no matter how many pieces are in play. It’s the first-person sections that the hardware struggles with, and even the Switch 2 can’t resolve that. It’s kind of baffling how bad the performance gets at times, given that the areas aren’t all that visually complex. I’m not normally too fussy about framerates, but it managed to bother even me in places. Since you spend a fair bit of the game in the first-person mode, it really does drag the experience down a lot.

Missile Command Delta is a cool spin on an all-time classic, and its turn-based take on total annihilation is both fitting and enjoyable. It’s a game I would lightly recommend to puzzle fans and those who fondly remember Missile Command, but perhaps not on the Nintendo Switch. The technical issues are rather severe when they occur, to the point that it might make some players nauseous. It would be nice to see this get a patch to improve performance, particularly on the Nintendo Switch 2.  

Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 
Review copy provided by Atari