Review: Breakout Beyond for Nintendo Switch

So, here’s the thing about Breakout Beyond. Picture the classic game, you know, with that satisfyingly simple objective of smashing bricks? Now, tilt it a little sideways — literally and figuratively. Suddenly, you’ve got longer fields to work with, and, sure, the basic goal remains, but things feel fresher somehow. It’s like that old comfort food you keep coming back to, even if it gets a bit repetitive before you’ve unlocked everything worth playing for. Kind of like life, eh?

Alright, let’s talk the real kicker — playing with someone else. You know how things just seem more fun when you’ve got company? At first, I soloed through and yeah, got a tad bored. But then — plot twist — I drag my wife into it. She grabs a paddle, and bam, I’m back in action. We’re taking turns like it’s no one’s business. The leaderboards seem to think most folks fancy going it alone. But wait, hang on — I’m getting ahead of myself. To even peek at those scores, you’ve gotta tackle “voyage.”

Voyage mode’s wild. You get bombs, power up the paddle, all sorts of nifty stuff. You can slow things down, though you’ll lose some points — brutal, right? Beyond a few levels, and trust me, it ain’t a walk in the park, especially if you’re flying solo. But there’s this “just one more try” bug it gives you. Oh, and play around with paddle sensitivity — too twitchy or too sluggish? Game over, my friend. I’ve got this itch to crush all 72 levels, but it’s okay if you leave some hanging. You gotta slog through to unlock more, like an ’80s video game.

Presentation? Bang on. It keeps the old-school vibe but with a modern twist. Now, Choice Provisions is behind this, so if you’re familiar with their work, you can kind of imagine it. The more you crush those bricks, the more the game rewards your senses. And yes, you can tweak music and sound settings till they’re just right.

Now, bear with me, back to this unlocking business. Why, oh why are cool features like leaderboards and arcade mode not available from the get-go? A serious facepalm moment there. You’d think they’d open up these goodies right away for extra practice or variety, right? At least they’ve got different leaderboard segments — global, friends, modes. Number one on the co-op boards, that’s us (humble brag, sorry). Maybe folks just like going solo more?

Here’s the weird thing, Breakout’s been fun forever, yeah? Somehow, the game edges close to slipping up by locking so much away. But you know what? It still pulls through. That old charm and the devs’ knack for not entirely screwing it up, surprisingly work. Funny how that happens.