Review: Breakout Beyond for Nintendo Switch

Alright, so I stumbled onto this game, Breakout Beyond, and it kind of threw me for a loop—literally. You know that old-school brick-breaking thing? Yep, but now it’s like someone stretched the screen out sideways. Super trippy, right? It’s like your hands want to keep playing, even when your brain starts yelling, “Enough!” Anyway, you gotta unlock a bunch of stuff to really dig into it. And sure, some folks might bail before getting there, but others? They’ll keep picking up those paddles, maybe dragging a buddy into it.

Honestly, playing with someone else—now that’s where it hits different. I mean, sure, I almost dozed off playing alone at first, but add my wife to the mix? Suddenly it’s a whole new ball game. Like, we’re leaderboards nerds now (wait, is that even a thing?). Oh, but hang on, before you get to any scores, you gotta tackle this “voyage” mode.

So, you get through this mode, right? You’re unlocking bombs, juicing up your paddle, even slowing the game down—though, heads up, they dock your points for that. It’s pretty tough after the beginner levels, might wreck you solo. But oh, the satisfaction of nailing it? Big “just one more game” vibes, you know? Oh, and mess with the paddle sensitivity—super important. I was near obsessed with beating all 72 levels, but hey, no rush. You gotta unlock each set orderly, like opening chapters in a book or something.

Visually, it kinda sticks to its roots, but with a fresh coat of paint. It’s got this “procedural audio and visual thing”—my guess is the better you play, the more your senses are treated. You can tweak the sound and music too, which is, honestly, a lifesaver.

But hold up, the baffling part? The locked content. Why, just why, would they stow away infinite mode and even the original arcade game? Total mystery. It should all be there from the get-go. It’s a missed opportunity, for sure—more stuff to practice on or just keep things spicy. At least they split the leaderboards, so it’s like global, friends, and modes. Fun fact—my wife and I are currently topping the co-op charts, but that probably says more about everyone else flying solo.

Anyway, Breakout’s classic fun—timeless, really. Choice Provisions played it risky with that bizarre content lock, though. The fact it still stands strong? Props to them, but wow, they almost blew it.