I’ve always had a soft spot for the Breakout and Arkanoid games. Smashing bricks with a paddle-shaped spaceship is very satisfying, and watching decimating combos unfold with multiball attacks on said bricks can be invigorating. So Atari announcing — or rather re-announcing — a new Breakout game that will let me take out my aggressions on various structures in an abstract space is something I could really use right now.
Breakout Beyond, Atari’s latest revival of a classic gaming brand, is coming out this March. It will “challenge players not just to break every brick, but to creatively breach the wall with score-building combos,” the publisher said in a news release. Beyond will turn Breakout on its side with a new horizontal orientation, tasking arcade-action enthusiasts to smash through walls left to right. Atari promises 72 levels and two-player co-op.
“We’re thrilled to be able to bring this gem to our players,” said Ethan Stearns, senior director of games publishing at Atari, in a statement. “The team thought it was a brilliant concept, preserving the heart of Breakout’s gameplay while also giving the formula a completely new spin. Breakout Beyond is a worthy new entry into the Breakout pantheon, and we can’t wait to see the insane combos brick-breakers will make.”
Breakout Beyond is coming to the Atari VCS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
