It’s crazy to think one of the original creators of Breakout was Apple’s own Steve Wozniak way back in the mid 70s. To think nearly 50 years on, Breakout is still a mainstay series with every generation able to remember their first time playing it. Whether it’s the original arcade version, or the first Atari 2600 home release. It may be on PC much like mine was, or it could be on the Xbox Series X, where Breakout Beyond has been released. Breakout, with the exception of the name and the general objective, has changed a lot over the years and you would be forgiven for not being able to grasp Breakout Beyond immediately.

This is pretty much how the whole game looks.

Breakout Beyond changes up the formula from the original name a bit, with the actual goal being to break out instead of break all the bricks. It’s also interesting that instead of your paddle used to bounce the ball being at the bottom of the screen, it’s now on the left as you progress the ball to the right. For some reason this change in perspective actually makes the game a lot more difficult than I can ever remember it being.

You also still only have the three lives to finish the level, but the levels are massive compared to what they used to be. Now instead of all the bricks being on screen, the screen scrolls with each brick you break. If you haven’t cleared a line, the bricks can actually get in the way of the paddle, being a reason you miss the ball on its return. Another big change on this part are the abilities you have for your paddle. You’re able to “sprint” which simply just makes your paddle move faster up and down, and slow down time, making it easier to hit the ball.

Graphically, Breakout Beyond just isn’t anything special by comparison to where Breakout has begun as a series. The game uses the CRT effect, which is neat and gives that old school kind of look, but it can throw off your perspective a bit when it comes to hitting the ball back, making the slow down time almost a necessity in a lot of situations. On the other hand, the music is really slacking. There’s just a lot of what feels like empty noise, to the extent of what can be described as muzak, you could almost expect to hear this soundtrack walking through a generic grocery store, or in a lift.

This is how the whole game looks.. with power-ups!

I suppose the real question to ask is, did Breakout need this much of an overhaul from the original concept? The honest answer is no. First off, Pong-style paddle-on-the-side gameplay makes the perspective of the game really difficult mixed with the CRT view. Second, the scrolling screen is an interesting concept, but feels like a faulty premise overall.

In a game where you have minimal control over what bricks you break, the chance of something getting in the way and being the reason you have to restart after 5+ minutes can be really frustrating for no real reason. Who is Breakout Beyond for? I’m not sure, I’m sure there are people that will enjoy a massive overhaul to how the game is played, but I personally didn’t find this enhanced my experience, if anything, they made me dread wanting to go back to it.

Breakout Beyond is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X.

A copy of Breakout Beyond was provided by the publisher.