Qomp2 is a puzzle game that takes place across 30 levels. Players control a ball, constantly moving at an angle, by directing its upward or downward movement using a single button. A boost can accelerate the speed of the ball. Throughout the game, players navigate puzzles that require bypassing obstacles using the movement of the ball.[1]
Development
Qomp2 was developed by St. Louis-based studio Graphite Lab, who previously developed Mr. Run and Jump and Kombinera for Atari.[2] It is a sequel to the 2021 title Qomp, developed by Stuffed Wombat, a studio unaffiliated with the sequel although supportive of the game.[3][4] Publisher Atari announced the game in August 2023,[5] and marketed the game as a "creative sequel" to the title Pong.[3] Lead designer Brad Austrin and executive producer Matt Raithel stated the vision of the game began on "expanding the narrative" of Qomp, developing an initial pitch and game design document after researching the original title to create a faithful successor. From this, the creators conceived of a "standalone story" with a loose connection to the ending of the original game, imagining "a ball trapped in a timeless cycle of Pong eventually [manifesting] into a circular mutation".[6] The game's announced relationship to Pong was met with a skeptical reception from critics: GamesRadar stated the connection "seems tangential at best",[3] and Rock Paper Shotgun considered the game more of a "thinly rebranded Qomp sequel", critiquing the "cynical handling" of the Atari license and back catalogue.[4]
Qomp2 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregatorMetacritic.[7][13] Fellow review aggregator OpenCritic assessed that the game received fair approval, being recommended by 57% of critics.[8]
![[icon]](?wiki_title=File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}