Demon Attack is a fixed shooter released by Imagic in 1982 for the Atari 2600. Rob Fulop designed and programmed the game after leaving Atari, where he had ported Missile Command. Players control a laser cannon stationed on the icy planet Krybor, defending it from waves of strange flying demons that drop down from the sky. The creatures swoop, split, and fire back with relentless aggression, forcing players to dodge and shoot at the same time. Each wave brings new enemy types with sharper patterns and tougher behaviors. The game earned strong praise for its fluid animation, colorful sprites, and tight controls, which pushed the hardware far beyond what most shooters of the era achieved. Critics often ranked it among the finest titles available for the console at the time. Atari even sued Imagic over its similarity to Phoenix, a court case that ended in Imagic's favor. Demon Attack became a commercial hit and helped establish Imagic as a serious third party publisher on the Atari 2600 platform during the early home console boom.
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
Screenshots
0.01 MB · Atari 2600 ROMs
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Specifications
| Platform | Atari 2600 ROMs |
|---|---|
| Genre | Multiplayer |
| File Size | 0.01 MB |
| Release Year | 1982 |
| Developer | Imagic |
| Updated | Jun 22, 2026 |
Overview
Demon Attack is a fixed shooter released by Imagic in 1982 for the Atari 2600. Rob Fulop designed and programmed the game after leaving Atari, where he had ported Missile Command. Players control a laser cannon stationed on the icy planet Krybor, defending it from waves of strange flying demons that drop down from the sky. The creatures swoop, split, and fire back with relentless aggression, forcing players to dodge and shoot at the same time. Each wave brings new enemy types with sharper patterns and tougher behaviors. The game earned strong praise for its fluid animation, colorful sprites, and tight controls, which pushed the hardware far beyond what most shooters of the era achieved. Critics often ranked it among the finest titles available for the console at the time. Atari even sued Imagic over its similarity to Phoenix, a court case that ended in Imagic's favor. Demon Attack became a commercial hit and helped establish Imagic as a serious third party publisher on the Atari 2600 platform during the early home console boom.
The game offers a single player mode and a two player alternating mode, letting friends compete for the highest score across endless waves. There are no power ups or branching paths; progression comes purely from skill and reflexes as the demons grow faster and more vicious. Later waves introduce splitting birds that break into two smaller targets when hit, doubling the threat on screen. Players earn bonus points by surviving each wave and clearing enemies quickly before they reach the ground. The scoring system rewards precision, since careless shots leave the cannon exposed during long enemy dive bombs. The Atari 2600 version stands as the definitive release, though ports later reached the Intellivision, Atari 8 bit computers, the Odyssey 2, and even the Apple II with expanded features. Decades after launch, Demon Attack still holds up as a tense and addictive arcade style shooter. It remains a defining classic of the early eighties home gaming scene and a benchmark for what a focused, well crafted shooter can deliver.