LifeisXbox’s Breakout: Recharged review | Breakout was born out of the idea to make a single-player Pong and was imitated a million times. One notable example is Arkanoid, which was included within SEGA Megadrive Classics on Xbox One and Arkanoid Live! on Xbox 360. For your information, Breakout itself is inspired (or imitated) by Clean Sweep. Anyway, enough with the boring history lessons. Developers Adamvision and Sneakybox have modernised the brick-breaking experience with Breakout: Recharged! It doesn’t only bring back old memories but it manages to be a wonderful game for leaderboard score hunting and generally having a good time. It has something magical the Recharged series, replaying some nostalgic favorites or discovering a once-popular game. Breakout is the fourth release now with previously Asteroids, Black Widow and Centipede. While Breakout is my favorite it is worth your time checking them all out!
Most Memorable Moment
When a LifeisXbox writer starts with our review template this part has a never post spoilers warning message. I thought that was a bit funny for Breakout: Recharged as the only thing you can spoil is that you’ll be breaking a lot of bricks. That said, the most memorable thing about this game is how fun something so conceptually easy can be. the player does the same thing over and over again but it remains fun for hours!
ℹ️ Reviewed on Xbox Series X | Review code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion from the writer.
What we Liked!
- Easy gameplay concept, maximum fun | You move a bounceable line left and right to aim a ball to destroy bricks. In this modern version of Breakout you finish challenges by destroying bricks, each of them has a twist as most use the new power-ups. More on that soon as the power-ups are a bit hit-and-miss. The ancient old way of playing Breakout is in the game too, named classics mode. That too has a few twists, you have the OG version with three lives and a Recharged classic mode with the power-ups from the challenges. Perfect content for gamers who love beating friends on leaderboards or who knows… to be the player that tops the overall ranking!
- Fantastic use of co-op play with a friend | Half of the playing field is split in half and each side is controlled by a player. Each player starts with a ball so things are a bit more hectic but so much fun! Power-ups are shared and you don’t have to keep both balls active. It can happen that a player has to wait a while before a ball comes on their half but watching the other player remains fun, especially when a screw up happens! Investing €10 is a no brainer if you will play it with a friend or family member.
Mixed Feelings
- Power-ups don’t feel right | There is a mix of reasons why I think power-ups don’t feel right. Some are way overpowered and result in an unnecessarily long waiting time, as bricks get destroyed new sets of bricks appear but with a delay. Nobody likes sitting in front of a screen waiting for something to show up. Another reason is the visual distraction. When something on your screen explodes into a million flashy fragments it is hard to keep track of your ball. I may sound negative now but not everything is bad, it brings more variation and the challenge structure for the arcade mode is neatly done.
- Basic appearance and sound | Aesthetics-wise the game doesn’t really do any wonders, it gets the job done. That’s it. Backgrounds fail to be impressive and look a bit boring. I understand that the developers prioritized a clean look but I’m sure that a better visually pleasing game would benefit the lifespan for many players. I’m afraid that I have to write the same thing about sound and music. Kinda like it misses a soul? Good enough but very basic.
What we Disliked
- A nice and simple arcade game! | I have nothing bad to say about Breakout: Recharged. I personally love the simple gameplay, that might be a deal-breaker for a few gamers.
How long to beat the story | Around 5 hours.
How long to achieve 1000G | Depends on skill but around 7 hours.
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