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Breakout: Recharged is a revamped version of the classic Breakout game by Atari. In our Breakout: Recharged review, we take a look at the improvements introduced in this version of Breakout and what they add to the classic experience.
What is Breakout Recharged?
Atari Recharged is a series of new releases coming from different developers but all published by Atari. These releases are revamped versions of Atari classics, most of them finding their roots from arcade cabinets and classic Atari consoles. The latest of such remakes is Breakout: Recharged – which, as the name suggests, is a remake of the old classic Breakout – the brick-breaking game that is almost as ubiquitous as Pong and Tetris.
Our Breakout: Recharged review is based on the Switch version of the game.
Gameplay
So, what does the Recharged version change to make Breakout an even more engaging game than its classic version? While the basic premise remains the same (you control a paddle that has to catch an ever-moving ball to make the ball hit bricks to break them until you clear the screen), the Recharged version introduced different mechanics that make the game faster-paced and more electrifying. Wherein Classic Breakout runs you through different levels, the movement from one level to another in Recharged is more seamless. Once you clear the screen of blocks, a new set appears, and you just continue playing as usual. The game only ends when your final ball gets past you, but otherwise, the game will go on forever for as long as you can.
Breakout also implements the use of power-ups – items that drop down from special blocks you destroy that can help you break more bricks faster. The power-ups are varied but not entirely new – you've seen these power-ups from different iterations of Breakout throughout the years, from both official Breakout titles to copycats and me-too's.
The game has three different game modes to choose from: Recharged, Classic, and Classic Recharged. Recharged is the game mode you play if you want a single-life, endless game that is both fast-paced and unforgiving. You clear bricks screen to screen, picking up power-ups that help you stay alive for as long as you can. Classic gives you three lives, continuously spawning bricks, but without the power-ups. Finally, Classic Recharged presents a hybrid of the two, with three lives, continuously spawning bricks, with power-ups. The difference between the three are distinct enough to give a different experience, but the gameplay essentially stays the same.
Graphics
While the graphics have gone a long way since the original 1978, Atari 2600 version, this iteration of Breakout isn't going to wow anyone. It's bright, colorful, and explosive, but it's not the kind of graphics that will win awards. Still, for its purpose, Recharged's graphics give the game a modern look and make it much more interesting to watch. The game's special effects also add a lot of life to the game, and they're not too flashy as to interfere with your game.
On handheld mode, though, some elements may be too small to understand completely what they're for. The first time we encountered the dangerous red bullets that drop down from broken red blocks, we didn't know we had to avoid them. But it's easy to learn these intricacies so you don't have to suffer again on your next run. Just better visual signals would still have been better, but they aren't that big of a deal to ruin the entire experience.
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Music and Sound Design
The game's music and sound effects do the trick for what it's trying to do. It's electric, energetic, and loud. The game's music could even become an earworm if you play the game long enough. Nothing bad in this department, but not too groundbreaking, either.
Accessibility
The game doesn't go too far when it comes to accessibility. There are no remappable buttons, no colorblind mode, or even any convenience sliders that could make the game easier to play for unconventional players. However, for a classic arcade game such as this, it may not even be something that Atari would have thought about. While these things are becoming more common these days, it's still not implemented across the board in the video games industry. The developers may have thought that an old game like this wouldn't need special considerations that usually apply only to modern games, but a couple of settings could still have made the game friendlier to some other players.
Verdict – Is Breakout: Recharged worth your time and money?
So, did Breakout: Recharged's new features and mechanics do a lot to change up the classic Breakout formula? It didn't do much, but truth be told, it doesn't really have to. Breakout in itself is so simple that adding any features will ruin the experience. Recharged gave the game a lot of more exciting features, a compelling co-op game mode, and additional game modes that make the game a little more variable than what its main unlimited game mode is. Recharged doesn't make any fancy changes, and the game is essentially just Breakout with bells and whistles. The game is, after all, only appealing to an older kind of gamer who were able to experience the game in its original form.
But that being said, the nature of the game already limits the market that such a game could have. I don't think most of the younger generations would choose to play a fast-paced Breakout over Fortnite or Call of Duty. And even for older audiences, the $10 price tag might be too high for a game that they've technically played for decades now. While it's fun whenever you do boot up the game and play it and is always worth your time to play, Breakout: Recharged isn't a game you'd choose to play over other games out there. Perhaps as part of a larger bundle or for a lower price, Breakout: Recharged would be worth your money.
Score: 6/10
Disclaimer: ClutchPoints Gaming received a review copy of the game from the publisher.
