Play Laser Volley Online

Two stick figures whack a pixel back and forth—it starts slow, but soon you're sweating as the ball zips faster, fingers glued to the button trying not to flub the timing. That panic when you miss and it goes flying? Pure Atari magic.

Released: 1983

File size: 3.39 KB

Game Overview

Laser Volley is one of those weird little Atari 2600 gems that somehow makes volleyball with lasers feel completely natural. You and a friend (or the surprisingly decent AI) bat this glowing pixel back and forth across a net, and it's way more intense than it has any right to be. Miss the timing by a fraction of a second and that ball goes flying—half the time I was just mashing the button in panic.

The whole thing looks like someone sketched it on an Etch-a-Sketch, but that's part of the charm. Two stick figures, a net, and this zippy little light that gets faster the longer you keep the rally going. My cousin and I used to play for hours, trash-talking each other between rounds. It's simple, sure, but there's something weirdly satisfying about nailing that perfect return shot.

Not many people remember Laser Volley these days, which is a shame—it's got this oddball energy that most sports games from that era didn't bother with. If you stumble across a copy, grab a friend and give it a shot. Just don't blame me when you start arguing over whether that last point was in or out.