PONG Quest Is The Atari Pong RPG No One Ever Asked For Nor Wanted

As the first computer game to grace human history, Pong has a special place in the minds and hearts of gamers and game developers alike. As a game itself, however, some might find the crude digital version of table tennis to be dreadfully boring. We live in an age of nostalgic comebacks, remasters, and mashups so it's not exactly shocking that Atari is giving the granddaddy of computer games a refresh. It is, however, puzzling that it decided to turn the paddle and ball game into an RPG instead.

Make no mistake, this is no Final Fantasy or even Pokemon, not by a long shot. It's not even just a table tennis game with RPG elements. This is an RPG game through and through, just that you take on the literal shape of a PONG paddle. With enemies and supporting characters in the form of paddle's too, just with different clothes and hair.

The brief description on Steam doesn't give much in the way of story or plot, you know, the hallmarks of RPG games. It just mentions that you, a brave paddle, take on a quest at the service of king (not kong) and country, going through themed dungeons. That practically means PONG tables with elements taken from different Atari properties like Asteroids and Centipede.

You don't have to stick to playing story mode, if you could call it that. There's multiplayer support for up to four players (table tennis doubles) and unlockable powerups in the form of Pong balls. It probably wouldn't be a surprise if there are some IAP elements, too.

This is undoubtedly the most bizarre incarnation of the iconic game there is and a pretty obvious nostalgia cash grab. One that will cost you $14.99 when PONG Quest launches in Spring for PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.