Review: Breakout Beyond for Nintendo Switch

Okay, so here’s the thing. Breakout Beyond takes this whole classic gaming vibe and sort of flips it on its head—like, imagine turning the playing field sideways just so you can smash more bricks. It’s fun, yeah, but there’s a catch! You gotta unlock a ton of stuff. By the time you reach that point, some folks might be like, “Eh, I’m over it.” But others—like, maybe the really hardcore ones—will pick up that paddle again and again. Especially with a buddy. Trust me.

Honestly, the two-player action is where it’s at. No joke. I started out solo and, I gotta admit, got kinda bored. But then my wife joined in with her own paddle, and it was like this whole new game. You might not see that reflected on the leaderboards, I’ll get back to that. But first, lemme tell you about this “voyage” thing.

So, here’s the deal: you unlock all these cool power-ups—like bombs and stuff—for your paddle and balls. Plus, you can sorta slow things down, though it’ll cost you points, which is kinda crucial since the game gets real tough after a few levels. Tougher if you’re flying solo. But it’s got that “just one more time” vibe that makes you wanna keep trying. Also, don’t be shy about messing with the paddle sensitivity. Too high or too low ruins a good run. Oh, and there are 72 levels in all. My inner completionist was all about conquering them, but do you really have to? Nah. It’s linear—beat some levels to unlock more.

The look of Breakout Beyond sticks to the roots but with some shiny new tricks. It’s got this whole “procedural audio and visual” thing going on—it ramps up with your combos. Sounds weird, right? But with Choice Provisions at the helm, you know things are gonna look and sound slick. They let you tweak the music and sounds, which is cool.

Okay, backtracking a bit. Gotta talk about the whole unlocking fiasco again. How come leaderboards, infinite mode, and the original arcade version are locked from the start? It’s just weird. Gives the game a strange vibe, like why keep such fun stuff hidden? The game would be better with those things right from the get-go, right? At least the leaderboards are divided into global, friends, and modes. As of now, me and the wife? Yeah, we’re topping the co-op leaderboards. Guess that shows how everyone else is more into playing solo, huh?

Honestly, you’d think it’d be hard to mess up a Breakout game since it’s been fun forever. But Choice Provisions tiptoed close with their decision to lock up stuff like online leaderboards. Still, the game’s pretty solid thanks to their skills and a love for the good ol’ Breakout magic.