For this review, I have to switch seats from an office chair to a rocking chair, because we are diving deep into the history of video games, back to the year 1976, where Steve Wozniak created Breakout. Breakout is one of the big iconic video games, that everyone knows and everyone played at least once in the lifetime. There are more breakout games, copycats, and adaptations than stars in the universe and Bounce Balls by David “Baecun” Silva is one of them – with a big twist.

Why? Because there are more breakout games, copycats, and adaptations than stars in the universe and Bounce Balls by David “Baecun” Silva is one of them – with a big twist.

If things are getting too bouncy, we recommend a sports bra.

Up, down, left, right

In every Breakout game, a ball travels from bottom to top, bouncing off the upper, left and right side of the screen. When a brick is hit, the ball bounces away and the brick is destroyed. This is what Bounce Balls has in common with its ancestor, but fortunately, Baecun adds much more to it: Instead of a paddle, you have some kind of invisible cannon shooting more and more balls in every round. This kind of breaks the whole idea of Breakout: Instead of trying to keep your ball in the game, you push the throttle all the way forward; balls to the wall. This only makes sense, however, if the bricks don’t burst at first contact.

How David Silva transformed Breakout into Bounce Balls.

As seen in most Bubble Shooters, the bricks are coming closer each and every round, whilst also the hit points are getting pumped up. That adds a lot of tension to the game making it more exciting and thrilling than every match of Breakout that I’ve played before. Chapeau!

40 years of development

Still, the game is neither fish nor fowl. It comes across like Breakout, works like a Bubble Shooter, looks quite up to date, but sounds like a 16-bit Super Nintendo Game. It’s like a wild ride through 40 years of development without the slightest touch of nostalgia. But why? If you’re like me, you want to feel something while playing the game, no matter if it’s apocalyptic fear or a futuristic trance. This game had the chance to evoke my retro feelings by creating a pixel paradise or surprise me with a whole new galaxy, but it did neiher of the above.

Possibly record-breaking… but only if I play for myself.

Let’s bounce!

I guess I’ve found the separation line between a good and a great game. Bounce Balls is a good game, because it makes fun and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. To become a great game, however, it has to put some feelings in the balance. And with a consistent style, either full retro or full future, I guess David “Baecun” Silva will have the power to captivate me. Until then, download the game and try it out for yourself!

All pictures are ingame screenshots, whereas the meme has been taken from Imgur.