[h3]Breakout clone with stuff; maybe too much, maybe not enough stuff[/h3]
Tribute Games pulls through when it comes to making retro styles with a convincing level of authenticity but modern concessions for fun. It might be a little [i]too[/i] old-school in some ways described below; I recommend with caveats.
Challenge level: Evaluations of the difficulty level are all over the place. There are at least two reasons for this: One is that the settings seem tuned to be arcade difficulty on digital controls (such as an arcade stick, D-pad, or arrow keys). This is not retuned in any way with mouse controls that let you whip the paddle around as quickly and precisely as you need to handle anything the game throws at you. The other is that your first run, where you are probably under the impression that the stakes are just completion, you will have an experience that [i]is[/i] slow-paced and boring. I suggest Hard difficulty (all it really seems to do is speed up the ball), mouse controls on paddle speed 3 (so any miss is all on you—you may need to unplug your controller), and coming in with a score-attack mindset. Still, the first time around, you will lack the Amulet that lets you “bomb” STG-style once per level, which is clearly an important tool for perfection / speedrunning.
Pacing issues: I estimate basic completion is about 4-6 hours, but it really depends on how good you are and what you want to accomplish here. On the plus side, this is built into the RPG conceit, where you have 3 different endings that are in keeping with your conduct. Back to the cautions, though, each map is pretty darn long, maybe 20-30 minutes; this is not ideal for an arcade game with save points (where you lose your score if you peace out in the middle); at 5 maps, 4 secret routes, it's multiple times the length of a typical arcade game clear even if you only go through once, going way past what the core gameplay would have sustained in its original environment. There are lots of unbreakable bricks that you have only limited tools to get around, even with magic (which I wish were more empowering here).
Musical issues: Soundtrack might be okay in a much shorter game, but here it grates because it’s too repetitive; you hear the same short track over and over throughout a map. Many of the tracks lacks timbral/textural variety (very important with chiptunes, as pure waves—which are not mandatory even on chips—are harsher to the ear and less interesting, causing listening fatigue faster; old games were often played on analog speakers that softened it up a bit); many are a little weak in one of the basic building blocks (melody, harmony, counterpoint, etc.). I don’t want to call it incompetent, so much as less than fit for purpose.
All in all, it’s a longer haul than you expect.
