Review: Breakout Beyond for Nintendo Switch

Okay, so imagine this: Breakout Beyond takes the whole brick-breaking thing and kinda flips it on its head, right? You get these longer playfields, so it’s like—more bricks, more smashing. Sounds fun? Well, sort of. You can’t just jump into everything because lots of stuff is locked at first. Some folks might bail ’cause of that, but others—I guess me included—would stick around. Especially if you can drag a buddy into it.

Here’s the thing, though. Forget about the different angles and stuff—the real deal here is the two-player co-op. Alone, I got bored pretty fast—shocker. But then my wife joined in, taking the other paddle, and suddenly it was game on. Sure, maybe most players are going solo judging by leaderboards. Hold that thought, though, ’cause we need to talk about “voyage” mode first.

Voyage—sounds fancy, huh? Basically, you unlock bombs, pimp your paddle, slow things down if you wanna—though you lose points for that! It gets kinda tough after a few levels, even tougher if you’re playing alone. But it’s got this pull—you know, that “just one more try” vibe. Definitely mess with your paddle’s sensitivity, too. Too high or low can ruin your flow. Isn’t it funny how there’s 72 levels? My inner completionist was screaming to beat them all. But hey, not mandatory. It’s still pretty linear—you go level by level, no skipping the line here.

How does it look and sound, you ask? Well, they stick to the classic vibes but throw in some jazzy updates. “Procedural audio and visual effects”—fancy way to say the cooler you play, the more intense it looks and sounds. Adjusting the music and sounds separately? Love that for my eardrums.

But hey, circling back—yeah, gotta discuss the locked stuff again. Like infinite mode or the original arcade version being behind bars at the start. Makes zero sense, right? Feels like a missed opportunity. Would be great to have them out there from the get-go—for practice or just a little variety. At least the leaderboards—global, friends, modes—are sorted out. My wife and I own the co-op boards, not to brag. Maybe everyone else is just into solo. Shrug.

You know, it’s tough to mess Breakout up—it’s this timeless classic; but Choice Provisions kinda flirted with disaster by locking content. Still, it’s fun, and that speaks volumes about their skills and the game’s ageless appeal.