DEVELOPER: Studio Aesthesia
PUBLISHER: The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, Steam
Price: $4.99
Sometimes, you need to reinvent the formula or try something different. It's bold and difficult, and there is a chance that it might backfire. However, change is necessary for growth. The Quantum Astrophysics Guild and Studio Aesthesia are trying something new, with their newest game, Breakpoint, which takes the twin-stick formula of Geometry Wars and Asteroids, and decides to replace lasers with melee attacks. Breakpoint is a sharp arcade action game for thrill seekers looking to claim the top of the leaderboards.
Breakpoint is all about skill. With only three lives, the goal is to down as many enemies as possible. The trick is the flip of the gameplay script. instead of lasers and bombs, players are armed with melee weapons. These weapons include swords, axes, knives, and so on. This change of the script significantly changes the gameplay orientation that one could come to expect regarding twin-stick shooters.
Instead of keeping distance, players fight up close and personal to the various enemy shapes and objects. This makes Breakpoint an incredibly white knuckle experience, where the only way to successfully eliminate the enemy is to get fatally close to them. Each weapon feels distinct and provides both a primary and secondary form of attack. The primary attack involves a typical melee attack, but the secondary is far more powerful. The ace, in particular, can swing the axes in a full 360-degree pattern, obliterating all that get caught in its path. Each weapon is unique and can provide both an advantage and setback to the player, depending on their path to the high score.
Breakpoint illuminates the screen through bright neon colors and a thumping soundtrack, harking back to the arcade cabinets that populated gaming in the Before Times. Simple shapes become deadly weapons and strike with swiftness and ferocity. Skill and speed are essential for success and each encounter with an enemy shape becomes a grace with defeat. Breakpoint is a refreshingly bedazzling arcade experience where shapes meets knife. It's competitive and distinct in an environment where there are many similar games of its type.
Of course, Breakpoint is strictly about arcade action and the leaderboards. There are no single-player campaigns, multiplayer options, or other game modes. In Breakpoint , you come to smash shapes and nothing more. However, its simplicity is rewarding with tight controls and gameplay. Breakpoint can serve as an excellent entry point for casual video game players, as well as those seeking new ideas in regards to arcade video games.
Breakpoint is as simple as it can get, but its gameplay is incredibly strong, and at its core, that's what arcade video games should focus o. It's a joy to fight for the top of the leaderboards and bash enemy shapes with giant melee weapons! If good, old-fashioned arcade action is what you crave, don't miss out on Breakpoint.
Breakpoint was reviewed on an ASUS TUF Gaming 1660Ti thanks to a key generously supplied to Stack Up by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild