Ever since Atari first released Breakout in arcades, a new genre of games was born. Brick-breaking puzzle games such as Arkanoid became popular and many developers got in on the craze, but there seemed to be only so much that could be done with the genre. So what happens when a game comes along that radically changes the formula?
Shatter is unique, as it is not just a brick-breaking paddle game, but also a hybrid of shoot ’em up as well. The classic elements are all here, of course, you break bricks and try to stop the ball from falling through your grasp, but there is so much more. Shatter positions the paddle in multiple different positions for one, and actually gives you control over more than just moving the paddle.
You can generate a rush of air to push the ball further toward the bricks, or create a vacuum to pull it closer towards you. However, both have their drawbacks, as blowing the ball away will also blow away the shards of the bricks that you need for your score while pulling it in will also pull many bricks towards you that can knock the paddle out of the way, leaving the ball in danger. Or balls, since if you choose to launch more than one at a time, doing so will give you a multiplier bonus on your score.
The way to avoid the blocks hitting your paddle is to have enough of a meter built up to use your shield. Using the shield will act as if the ball hit the bricks and will even give you powerups should said brick contain one. Of course, you can also build up your meter fully and just blast away the bricks with laser attacks.
Shatter requires a lot of thought and timing, and is unlike any other brick breaker. There are also unique boss fights present that bring to mind many classic shmups, and multiple modes to unlock. These include time attack, endless mode, co-op modes, the bonus section as its own mode and more, giving the game a great deal of replayability.
This remaster touches up the visuals and has improved many minor aspects of the gameplay by fixing bugs in the original release, and adding in more polish to fine-tune the experience. It is not the same on all systems though since, for example, the Nintendo Switch does not see the full benefit that the PC would, though what can be felt is extremely welcome. What we have is the evolution of the brick breaker genre that feels like the destination we all wanted it to go to.
But after singing its praises, what are the drawbacks? Well, some sections can be extremely frustrating due to perspective issue throwing you off and not making it clear right away where the boundaries are. The boss battles can be an endurance test at times, and losing all your balls will often make you want to restart a whole world rather than just continue and lose part of your score. But the biggest flaw of all though is that the game feels like it is over way too soon. This is because you will want to keep playing it and eventually find it all done.
This is where the additional modes like endless mode, time attack and the co-op modes come in, as they will keep you wanting to play and better yourself over and over again. Playing this game with friends is a great experience, and even though it can sometimes be frustrating, there is something so rewarding about Shatter Remastered Deluxe that makes you ignore the frustration factor. It has that X factor that makes you say that this is a game for you and crosses multiple genres to do it.
With amazing music that gets you pumped, especially in the boss battles, Shatter keeps the adrenaline going in the best way possible. The visuals are also top-notch, with excellent effects that never seem too intense for you to experience and the improvements over the original release do help make for a sharper image and less dilution in colour. In other words, we have a feast for our eyes and our ears and Shatter Remastered Deluxe ensures we are enjoying that treat.
There is a reason there was so much demand to see this game return on modern systems and it has been worth the wait. Even those who do not typically like brick-breaking games can find some true enjoyment thanks to everything that is done differently here, Shattered Remastered Deluxe is fully recommended for any and all gamers!
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
Available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4 & 5 and Xbox platforms
Reviewed on Nintendo Switch