Arkanoid - Eternal Battle PlayStation 5 Review

You have played Arkanoid - Eternal Battle before. Maybe you spent pockets full of coins on the 1986 arcade game, or perhaps you bought one of its numerous direct/indirect sequels, alternatively, you have probably downloaded at least one of the literal hundreds of block-breaking apps available.

Arkanoid - Eternal Battle has been reviewed on PlayStation 5 and is also available on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Xbox Series X|S. Developed by Pastagames and published by Microids, Arkanoid - Eternal Battle maintains the classic formula popularised by Atari's Breakout in 1976 but adds a fresh coat of electronic paint and a battle royale. In Arkanoid - Eternal Battle the player controls a ReVaus, a paddle-like craft that is used to deflect energy balls at formations of colored blocks called Space Walls. The ReVaus is controlled with either the left analog stick or the left and right arrow buttons, it can dash with L2 and R2, and occasionally power-ups can be used by pressing X.

 

Deceptively simple, Arkanoid - Eternal Battle is, for all intents and purposes a 'good' game. It works as intended and is designed for a specific audience. Still, it is hard to picture Arkanoid building enough of an audience on PlayStation 5 to sustain its main battle royale game mode, even with crossplay available. The presentation is good, with a catchy electronic soundtrack by composer Xavier Thiry. The controls are responsive and there wasn't any lag during online games or any framerate issues during explosions of particles. 

The titular Eternal Battle is Arkanoid's main game mode and is an interesting spin on the classic arcade game. It is a fast-paced, 25-player battle royale that culminates in a 4-vs-1 eye-melting boss fight against a giant floating head. As opponents gain and lose points their screens will scroll back and forth in a constantly shifting leaderboard. Opponents can be sabotaged using power-ups (for example, glitching the enemy's screen or speeding up their Energy Balls) but the mode is so frantic that it is hard to see what effect you have had on the players around you, while also keeping your own points up.

The game will fill the lobby with AI opponents if it cannot find enough human players and these AI opponents are well-balanced. They are good enough to put up a fight, but not so powerful that human players cannot compete. The concluding boss fight against returning series antagonist DOH suddenly turns the Eternal Battle mode from a free-for-all into a PvE experience. The change is jarring, and the new rules are not explained to the player as they try to dodge DOH's attacks, gain enough points to survive, and avoid losing their Energy Ball all at once. Furthermore, unlike in most battle royales, being the last player standing doesn't mean victory, there is still a tough, hard-to-decipher boss to defeat.

 

There are three more modes in Arkanoid - Eternal Battle. Firstly, Versus mode is a barebones, local multiplayer version of Eternal Battle in which up to four players race to be the first to complete five puzzles. Secondly, Retro strips the game back to its roots, setting the mode in an arcade cabinet with fun ambient sound in which items can only be used one at a time and the game has simplified visuals.

Thirdly there is Neo, in this mode players don't get a Game Over in the traditional sense. Rather they continue their game after losing all their lives with their points halved. This continues with each Game Over until the player has no more points. Neo is a good mode for players looking to sit and grind the game, but the constant Game Overs followed by regaining just enough points to replay the same level again and again can get repetitive quickly.

All modes have item capsules that provide a good sense of risk vs reward. Do you rush over to grab a falling item, or focus on keeping your Energy Ball safe? The magnet and gun items, however, are the most useful ones by a long shot. The magnet catches the ball when it gets near, making close calls much less common. Meanwhile, with the gun item, the ReVause will shoot at and obliterate all the blocks in the players' way. As long as you keep an eye on the ball, the puzzles can be cleared in seconds and both items make collecting any of the other ones needlessly pointless risks.

 

These four modes might sound varied, but they definitely aren't. Aside from the Eternal Battle boss fight, they all play exactly the same, and switching from one mode to another feels more like a palate swap that anything else. The most egregious thing about Arkanoid - Eternal Battle however is its price tag. At $27 the game costs more than practically every other battle royale on the market while offering much less replayability or variety. This isn't to say that Arkanoid should be free-to-play, but for $27 one would expect more than four near-identical modes that are ever so slight variations on a central game concept available at a more reasonable price elsewhere.

To its credit, Arkanoid - Eternal Battle is designed for a specific audience, however, it is one that might struggle to find a home on consoles. It looks fine, sounds good, and plays well enough what it is, but there is very little reason to keep playing beyond a passing fancy. Unfortunately, Arkanoid - Eternal Battle cannot rightfully be recommended at its current price point. There simply is not enough worthwhile content or individuality to call Arkanoid - Eternal Battle a worthwhile purchase at this time. Maybe pick this one up if it goes on sale or is added to PlayStation Plus.

 

Alex David Johnson, (@AlexJohnWriting)
News Editor, NoobFeed.