Atari is one of those names that’s synonymous with video games, but at the same time, it’s a company that’s changed hands so many times it’s almost lost all of its meaning in the modern day. For the past couple of years the company has been reimagining some of their biggest classics like Asteroids, Missile Command, and Centipede with their pretty excellent Recharged series. That’s nice to see and all, but re-releasing or remaking their classics is something Atari has been doing basically forever. What I’d love is to see them release something new and unique. Enter Kombinera, a joint effort between Graphite Lab and Atari that’s a brand new title but also something that almost feels like it has that classic Atari aura to it. Kombinera is a puzzle platformer type of deal where you control multiple colored balls with the goal of smashing them all together and combining them into one. The problem is that all of the balls move in unison, so you’ll need to find ways to break those patterns and get the balls to combine while also negotiating all manner of traps and hazards.

This certainly isn’t the first time a game has used the “control everyone at once" mechanic, but I can’t say I’ve seen it done quite like it is in Kombinera. It almost has a whiff of Threes! to it with the way everything moves at the same time but you’re also trying to combine those things. Of course each colored ball has its own unique ability which will need to be utilized if you want to complete the game’s whopping 300 levels. Kombinera also promises an “In-depth, complex, and heart-tugging emotional storyline" which certainly isn’t something you normally expect from a puzzler. I have to say that I’ve had my fair share of groans over what Atari’s done over the years, but I’m really digging them lately and I think Kombinera is looking like yet another good move from them. It’ll be coming to iOS, Android, PC and consoles including the Atari VCS sometime next month.