Haven’t I broken this brick before?
I’m not a huge retro gaming fan, growing up I had an Atari 2600, NES, Mega System and later on a Genesis etc. I lived thru all that and it was fun… back then. So, it’s rare that any sort of retro type game even holds my attention and when I was given Tri Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Odyssey (WHY IS THIS TITLE SO LONG?!) for review I gave it the side eye. I knew nothing about the game, mind you, but looking at screenshots made it quickly apparent that it wasn’t my usual type of game. But y’all know me, I am down for anything at least once.
MSRP: $9.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $9.99
Tri Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Odyssey; in addition to starting the year off with the longest title, it is also a retro style game much like Arkanoid but with some modern flourishes. For starters, would you believe me if I told you that this is the third game in this series AND it has a narrative? In Tri Breaker (I refuse to type that long name again) about 10 years have passed since the events of the prior game. Heroes Colin and Clark are being called back into duty after the data they recovered in the prior game has been studied. And now with their government liaison, Dustin they have to break some blocks throughout space and…. time. I said it had a story; I didn’t say it was going to be a good or coherent one.
Tri Breaker is chock full of retro goodness for those that appreciate that sort of thing. You like to read all the story content with no voice overs? Well, are you in luck, because that’s what’s going to happen here. Not going to lie, this may be a blessing because the story beats are a lot, like to the point where the comic book style scenes are kind of annoying. I feel like the developer, Lillymo Games knew this because there is an option to turn the cutscenes off and even an achievement for finishing the game that way.
This is a brick breaking game at the end of the day, players will launch their ball and have to keep it in play while breaking blocks above. Controls take some serious time to get used to, at least on console. There are two panels that players will control, one with the left stick and the other with the right. So, players will move these around the bottom of the screen trying to angle their bounce just enough to clear the level of blocks. Your government spy Dustin is in the ball and players can steer it slightly using the shoulder buttons. I found this was best used when trying to finish the last few blocks on a level.
Tri Breaker isn’t a bad game at all, in fact I found myself having some fun with it; despite me not being a fan of the vibe. There are some nice things along the way like various power-ups, and even boss fights which take away from the mundanity of block-breaking. Levels are all pretty varied which is nice, but that story is… well I mean its there. If you are a fan of the franchise, then I am sure you are invested and this will no doubt be a high point for you; but for me, the guy who just came in… this ain’t it story-wise. But if you are looking for a retro style block breaking game, this one might tickle your fancy, as it is pretty fun to play.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.