Arkanoid: Eternal Warfare, the proven return of a historic series

The first Arkanoid dates back to 1986, when it was introduced as a coin by Taito. The inspiration was clear to everyone at first glance: Atari Breakout. The goal was always to break brick walls by making us bounce on a ball, but there were many variations on the theme that would make the game fresh and original in its own way, including bonuses that expand the paddle or provide lasers, monsters. Filling levels with bricks used to draw different figures, allowing the ball to enter trajectories that are often difficult to predict and design stages. There was also a final boss, Doh, who closed the game for such a title with an unexpected crash.

The success was such a success that a sequel was made, Arkanoid: Doh’s Revenge, as well as several major ports, some of which were very high quality and successful. From there a real series was born, but it never managed to fly. Arkanoid Returns from 1997 didn’t resonate as well as the beautiful Arkanoid DS did. Even the landing on mobile in more recent years hasn’t produced who knows what a fuss, despite the quality of the offering (think Arkanoid and Space Invaders). For this we have Tried Arkanoid: Eternal Warfare with a certain curiosity, he asks the question: will he be able to bring shine to the series?

Eternal War mode

There Arkanoid: Eternal War demoReleased on Steam on the occasion of Steam Next Fest, it focuses on the Eternal Warfare mode, basically the Battle Royale mode. However, it’s fair to point out that the final version of the game, due to be released on October 27, 2022, will offer four general modes: two singleplayer (Neo and Retro) and two multiplayer (Versus and indeed Eternal Warfare). To answer one of the questions you’re sure to ask yourself, especially if you’ve been a long-time Arkanoid fan, we decided to point it out right away. In the review phase, we will talk about the game as a whole. Now let’s focus on Eternal Warfare, the mode we had the opportunity to touch.

As stated, it’s a style challenge battle royale, where twenty-five players compete level-by-level to see who gets the most points. The next person in line leaves the game, gradually until there is only one winner left. Fighting takes place in normal Arkanoid levels, where everyone plays by themselves. On the screen, you can always see what position you are in the ranking, so you can realize the risks you missed.

The basics of the mod are similar to other battle royale mods taken from classic video games like Tetris 99. Gameplay is based on a modern vision of competition. Yes, because we are dealing with a real Arkanoid with all the details of the case. As in the original, the goal is to break down brick walls of different shapes, you have to manage the enemies that fill the levels, and you can collect upgrades to make your life easier. For example, you can enlarge the racket or stick the ball into it so you can better aim the next shot. There are also lasers, ball multipliers and various bonuses, which are particularly useful as the comparison is based on points. Their bricks are the classic ones: there are foundations that collapse with a single jump, there are the most durable ones that need to be hit several times, and there are indestructible ones that serve to improve the structure of the stage. complicated.

Note that it is not always necessary to clear all scrolled images depending on the performance of the players, consider the uniformity of the fight and the possibility of earning points, and perhaps not getting stuck with the last one. brick unreachable due to a series of unfortunate circumstances. Of course, it is important that the ball, which does not lose life and deducts points when it comes off the screen by itself, remains in the game. Starts when four players remain final collision especially ethereal and aggressive against a revived Doh. In this case, the goal is not to destroy it, but to hit it to get more points than others. At the end of the game, you get experience points that allow you to level up based on performance.