Arkanoid: Eternal Battle

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Ever since seeing the original Arkanoid in the arcades when I was a kid, I’ve been a fan of Taito’s classic and its simple but addictive gameplay of bouncing a ball of energy off your spaceship to break block-like structures in space. After so many different releases and sequels, we now have Arkanoid: Eternal Battle that gives old schoolers like myself and newcomers the classic experience of the original along with a new online multiplayer mode that will have you bouncing off the walls with fun.

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As stated earlier, the goal of this game is simple, launch a ball of energy from your paddle-like spaceship and use it to break blocks in space while also making sure it doesn’t fall off the bottom of the screen. It’s one of those “easy to learn, hard to master” titles, but it’s also pretty addictive as you’ll find yourself saying “just one more try” after losing. There’s also power-ups you can acquire, from shooting lasers from your ship to aid your energy ball, to having multiple balls blast through the blocks, and more.

There’s Retro mode that lets you play the original 1986 classic, a Neo mode that has more challenging structures to break through and a boss named Doh you have to face off against, a Versus mode where you can play with up to four of your friends against each other, and lastly there’s the titular online Eternal Battle mode.

In this mode, 25 players compete until there’s only four of the best left to square off against the mighty boss Doh where only one player can win and be crowned the champion. You can also make things more difficult for the other players by using power-ups to hinder their gameplay.

Players will be happy to know this title supports crossplay with anyone playing on any platform which is always nice and makes sure there’s always someone to play with, but there’s also AI opponents that can fill in to play should people be unavailable (as was the case in my advance review copy).

I love how the visuals are simple but clean while also giving you that classic retro feel thanks to having the screen appear to protrude and feature curves around the edges like a classic CRT arcade monitor. I was definitely digging the synthwave-like soundtrack as well that always kept me in the groove. There’s also online leaderboards for retro mode and Eternal Battle to see how you stack against others.

Developer Pastagames has done a great job with Arkanoid: Eternal Battle as it’s the best release of this old school classic yet thanks to simple but addictive gameplay, an awesome online mode, and loads of retro charm. With its delightful 80s aesthetic and endless replay value there’s more than enough here to to have you and your friends block bouncing the night away.