Tri Breaker: Innovating on an Enjoyable Formula

The venerable brick-breaker has existed in some form on nearly every home console and PC since the 1970s. The genre's roots, of course, lie with the first "game" ever made, Pong, but the idea of bouncing a ball off a paddle to break things truly began with Breakout and took off from there. After the 8-bit console era, the genre stagnated quite a bit, with Arkanoid still being the gold standard more than 35 years later.

I hadn't picked up a brick breaker in years when, in 2020, Lilymo Games released Twin Breaker, a twist on the genre that combined twin-stick shooter sensibilities with the traditional gameplay of breaking everything in a level. It was fun and gave fans a modern-yet-retro experience that didn't overstay its welcome.

Now 4 years later, the studio is back with Tri Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Odyssey, taking what worked from the first game and adding another enjoyable adaptation to the familiar gameplay formula. You still have to control two paddles at once (in most levels), but they've added a third component, with the "ball" now a steerable ship-type projectile. This adds another level of strategy (and required dexterity) that makes the experience more engaging and fun.

You no longer have to rely only on precise paddle placement and geometry to make your way through the 40 levels on offer. Once the ball leaves the paddle, you are in control, with the shoulder buttons letting you steer the ball around the screen. To avoid eliminating the need for the paddles completely, there is a "fuel" gauge for the ball that will run out if you're too heavy-handed on the steering. During that short cooldown cycle, your ability to guide the ball is much less pronounced although not completely gone.

Each stage has you breaking blocks for sure, but there are power-ups constantly falling that change the game. Some will grow or shrink your paddles, create a barrier at each end of the screen so the ball can't be lost, give more lives or fuel for the ball, and more. Some blocks will move, some are unbreakable, and some require multiple hits to destroy. It's all standard stuff for the genre but it never gets boring.

Every few levels, something happens in the story to upend the usual gameplay loop. You might lose control of one or both of the paddles, or you might go up against a mimic of your paddle. My favorite set of levels had you playing just as the ball, across multiple stages that paid tribute to classic games such as Snake, Pac-Man, and Frogger. Your skill at steering will be put to the test, and it's all done quite well, making these levels more basic but also a great break from the hectic multi-paddle setup you usually have to contend with.

The game includes a few boss fights too, and they are a fun diversion from the usual stages. Multiple steps with large enemies ranging from T-Rex I always enjoyed finding the "heavy ball" power-up that allowed me to take a chunk out of the big bad, or clear an entire row of bricks to pave my way out of the stage.

Speaking of the story, it's nothing special but it drives the changes in gameplay that keep the experience fresh across the 3-4 hours it takes to complete. It can also be switched off for those who just wish to break things. The central conceit follows on from the events of Twin Breaker where humans made first contact with aliens. This story holds that the government developed time-travel technology from that meeting and our heroes must deal with the consequences to go back and stop the humans from mucking things up, as they are wont to do. The timey-wimey stuff creates paradoxes that cause the aforementioned gameplay changes and when each stage takes place. Some happen in the Jurassic period, some are in prehistoric times, and while none really stand out, they offer more interesting backdrops than just the blackness of space.

As the title suggests, the game stars the three hosts of the Sacred Symbols podcast: Colin Moriarty, Chris Ray Gun, and Dustin Furman. Dialogue is really tough to write, and while it isn't great here, fans of the podcast will find some fun callbacks and familiar banter between the characters.

It all adds up to a fun few hours for fans of the genre, a good weekend game with additional difficulty levels and separate trophy lists for PS4 and PS5 to keep the completionists and hunters happy. At the budget price of $9.99, I'd definitely recommend it if brick breakers are your thing.