Arkanoid: Eternal Battle

That niggle aside though, we’re pleasantly surprised with Arkanoid: Eternal Battle. There have been many versions of Arkanoid (and other Breakout clones) over the years, but this might be one of our favourites. The Battle Royale format really does work, and the end-game boss mode is an unexpected but welcome twist. We’ll certainly be jumping back in again and again to chase those high scores.

Very respectful of the hit of yesteryear, Arkanoid Eternal Battle is adorned with a successful electro look and new mechanics that will delight fans of the genre. Uninhibited brick breaker, the Pastagames title has the good idea of integrating an ingenious Battle Royale mode, but also a single or multiplayer mode for long winter evenings. If the content could be more generous – if only in terms of rewards – the room for improvement is such that we come back to it regularly to improve our reflexes. A good little game that is just waiting for a large community to give full meaning to the Battle Royale.

It is now a constant, with Arkanoid Eternal Battle, Pastagames offers a very nice reinvention of a great video game classic. Those who in their younger years broke bricks so that the little ship Vaus could carry out its mission will find their 1986 game as if they were in a game center, in addition to a Neo mode that brings enough novelties and good ideas to boost interest. Finally, the Battle Royale, a great novelty here, fits perfectly to Taito's cult title, especially when the whole is supported by visuals and electro-futuristic music of the best effect.

Arkanoid is a legend that never dies, but its take on the battle royale formula is plagued by some inconsistencies that make the game not as compelling as it could have been.

Arkanoid: Eternal Battle saves itself in the corner thanks to a series of ancillary methods which, between classicism and modernity, know how to pay homage in an at least dignified way to a work that has made the history of the medium. As for its battle royale heart, unfortunately, it must be noted that it has a certain difficulty in pulsating, too inconsistent and frequented by the community to justify, on its own, a ticket price that is not so low.

Outside of the online – which adopts a seasonal format and sees you unlocking new cosmetics as you work through the ranks – there’s a modernised version of single player Arkanoid which includes new power-ups and a combo system, as well as the 1986 original, both with online leaderboards. There’s also a rounds-based versus mode for four-person local multiplayer play. As a whole, the package is well executed, but with an asking price of £24.99/$29.99, it feels a little too light overall to overcome the sticker shock.

What feels like the foundation for something ideally more substantial lying in wait, Arkanoid – Eternal Battle can only muster up a competent, but unimaginative, spin on the Taito classic in Battle Royale form. That’s not to say that its core mode doesn’t at least find a way to tempt you back for another round umpteen times over, but eventually the more you repeat its disappointingly shallow progression — and worst of all, its egregiously-difficult and frustrating final face-off — the more you feel your time is spent not cunningly plotting a course to victory, but instead merely wasted on a concept that should be better fleshed out. Eternal Battle is not without good ideas in spots, and while the effort on bringing another retro classic into the BR fold is appreciated, it’s far from the most emergent or compelling of takes in the sub-genre.

The new single player levels have some decent levels, but there's also a ton of horrible levels that are grossly unfair. I can't believe unbreakable gold block are still in so frequent in Arkanoid. It's a horrendous idea which is the worst version of "Tension". To make matters worse, the speed of the ball becomes uncontrollable after 20-30 seconds into each level which is unbelievably cheap garbage. And when you add in floating enemies that hang around you at the bottom to redirect the ball so you can't react, it’s infuriating. This game is full of horrendously cheap BS just to extend the play time. The New Eternal Battle which is just vs other people, & when I played it, there was only 2 actual humans out of 25, with the rest made up of Al. That’s how badly this game has flopped. When you change position on the leaderboard in eternal battle, the semi transparent levels you’re opponents are playing, flashes across your screen in a pathetic attempt to create a distraction, which is an even more cheap **** way to do tension. Embarrassing. I waited for this game to drop from $45 to $4.50 and I still want my money back. I want a good new Arkanoid, but nobody wants this unfair trash. Shameful

Woah woah woah. Metacritic. What the heck. I gave this a zero because of the stupid flashing "retro effects" that you can't turn off, and made it as fun to look at as a strobe light. But then you retroactively changed it to a 9/10, and deleted all my text? Not cool, MetaCritic.