Play Plutos Online

Summary

Plutos is a long‑lost Atari 7800 prototype that resurfaced when a collector’s unstable cartridge finally yielded its source code in 2008. Enthusiasts managed to compile the code and run it on stock 7800 hardware, turning a crash‑prone demo into a playable title.

The game plays as a vertically scrolling space shooter reminiscent of Raiden, offering six stages—three with distinct graphics and three that simply swap colour palettes—each ending in its own boss. Players can choose single‑player or simultaneous two‑player action via the left difficulty switch, and a unique power‑up system lets you upgrade three weapon types (dual machine guns, spread gun, energy gun) up to four levels, plus an occasional invincibility boost.

A partially compiled build was first uncovered by Curt Vendel, and thanks to the dedicated work of Robert DeCrescenzo, Mitchell Orman and Eckhard Stolberg, Plutos finally runs smoothly on the console. It’s a real shame the game never saw an official release, as it would have been a solid addition to the 7800’s library.