Monster Breakout Review – Not Quite a Breakout

Monster Breakout does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a twist on the classic arcade game Breakout, but instead of smashing blocks, here you’re smashing monsters. It’s entertaining enough, but it isn’t without its problems.

After a brief slice of story, you’re walked through the basic mechanics of the experience. You’ve got a ball and a shield. You throw the ball in the direction of the critters, bushes and barrels that you need to clear, and use the shield to deflect it back into play when it gets close to the bottom of the screen. 

At the start of each level you get to pick from a set of cards that can give you a boost – things like adding flame to your shots, or a destructive beam that blasts out when you first throw the ball.

Instead of having a limited number of balls to work with, here you have HP. When a ball goes past you or an enemy attack hits you, you lose some of it. Lose it all and it’s game over. But you can spend the XP you’ve earned on upping your skills, equip any new equipment you’ve found and jump back in. 

Those little RPG-style flourishes keep things interesting, but in the end you’re just bouncing a ball around the screen, and the physics occasionally feel a little bit off there. It’s not super annoying, but it does start to grate. 

There’s an energy system here as well, and while it doesn’t bite down hard, it can be frustrating when you can’t have another go. There are nice ideas to Monster Breakout, but it feels like they’re often held back from really stepping to the fore. 

This is a decent, distracting game. But you can’t help but shake the sensation that it could have been a lot more than it is. As it stands, you’ll play, lose interest and eventually move on to something with a bit more heft. 

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