PRGE News: Ducks Away, A New Light Gun Game for Atari 7800 Is Releasing Next Year

This year at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, we had a chance to try out several new light gun-related projects and speak with their creators and publishers for more info, and the first one we came across was a new light gun game being made for retro hardware and published by Atari/Atari Age, called Ducks Away.

The game is being developed by a solo developer from the UK, Blake Smith, for the Atari 7800 console, using the old-school Atari XG-1 light guns, and we got hands-on with the current build at the show.

The gameplay was vaguely similar to something like Duck Hunt in its basic concept, but with more complex enemies and objectives, and involved many more enemies on screen at a time. Aside from just shooting the ducks, there’s also more of a strategy element, where you need to prioritize which order to shoot the ducks in to stop them from stealing the veggies at the bottom of the screen.

There’s even boss stages, which were a ton of fun, and the game was constantly pushing the visual capabilities of the hardware in ways that most old games for the 7800 never did, which was impressive to see in action.

The gameplay was an absolute blast; one of the most fun retro light gun games I’ve played in a long time, and the gun was surprisingly accurate when playing on the 1-player mode, but got a little more complex when playing with more than one gun, since only one person can shoot at a time. Speaking of which, the game allows for up to 4 players at a time, with either 4 light guns, or up to 3 guns with one player using the controller to play as a dog, which can jump and catch ducks manually.

The game is currently nearing the last stages of development and they’re hoping to launch early next year, and Atari Age will be doing a full physical release for the game, with cartridge, box, and manual, but also looking into doing a digital release for those who don’t still have a 7800 console laying around. Unfortunately, the game won’t work correctly with light guns on the official Atari 7800+ console, since the guns require a CRT display to work, but it’ll also be playable through FPGA or emulation via the digital release.

We’ll have more coverage of the game as we get closer to release, and a full review of the game after it’s out, and it’s great to see modern developers continuing to innovate for old hardware like the 7800, keeping the spirit of light gun games alive with projects like these. Stay tuned for more as we approach the upcoming release and follow Atari Age for more details.