Nov 21

Nov 21 Review | Arkanoid Eternal Battle - I'd Buy That For A Dollar

The debate on how much a game is worth is raging harder than ever. With big-budget games coming in at £69.99, before special editions, season passes, and DLCs are tacked onto that, people’s wallets are certainly feeling the sting. Enjoyment is something that needs to be measured against those prices, and even a short but excellent experience can make up for a hefty price tag. With Arkanoid – Eternal Battle, priced at £24.99 on release, the game's developers have apparently decided to not bother trying to balance the scales at all, delivering a shallow package at a ridiculous price point.

Arkanoid – Eternal Battle comes with the original 1986 arcade release, a revamped “Neo” version that includes new levels, and a versus mode in which you can battle against a friend or AI. I wish there was more I could say beyond “it’s Arkanoid.” Little has changed between the original and Neo mode, save for the new visuals, and an arbitrary increase in ball speed that leads to frequent game overs way too soon. Honestly though, you must wonder why, since it isn’t like you're putting quarters into a machine. Why even burden the player with a game over screen if they can just hit continue? The versus mode is also so straightforward that it lacks any soul. Clear the board before your opponent and you win.

The big draw though to this package is Eternal Battle, a battle royale mode in which 25 players compete to be the last one standing. You're essentially playing by yourself though, and in more ways than one. First, while you can sort of see how other players are performing, you have no actual interaction with them aside from the ability to throw debuffs. They are simply bouncing their ball, just as you are, before an invisible timer kicks the lowest-scoring player out. Second, you're literally playing by yourself, as there is no one else playing this game. In all the times I have tried to play Eternal Battle online I have only twice gotten another player, and in one of those instances, they immediately quit. Once you get to the top four you are then transported to a final boss fight. At this point, all interaction with the other players is eliminated as you can no longer even throw debuffs their way. An invisible timer ticks away again and kicks the lowest scorer out. It all feels so lifeless, even before I remembered that most instances I was the only living player there.

You must commend the hubris on display here. To charge so much for Arkanoid – Eternal Battle with its complete lack of content, when other retro battle royale games like Pac-Man 99 or Tetris 99 are giving it away for free is stunning. Compared to more expensive comparable games, Like Atari 50’s Anniversary Collection, Arkanoid Eternal Battle is embarrassingly barebones. That game not only collects countless arcades and console games, including Breakout, but several thougtful reimaginations of those classics. Thanks to the high asking price, publisher Microids ensured that the battle royale mode would be dead on arrival. Were they to reduce the price, everything included is mostly serviceable and I do think that concepts behind the Eternal Battle game mode might then have some legs. But as things stand, there is no reason not to buy one of the better Arkanoid clones out there at a fraction of the price.