2020 Vita release sets course for some story-driven brick breakin’.
Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure
Developer: Lillymo
Publisher: Eastasiasoft
Price: $9.99
Consoles: PS Vita (Reviewed), PS4 Cross-buy
MonsterVine was provided with a PS4/PS Vita code for review purposes
It’s crazy to think that we’re getting a PlayStation Vita release in 2020 — and a physical card release at that, if you pre-ordered — but here we are. A video game written by long-time PlayStation media personality Colin Moriarty — along with collaborator Chris “Ray Gun” Maldonado — and developed by Lillymo, Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure proves to be a standard, bite-sized brick breaker throwback featuring an elaborate story penned by Moriarty.
While it’d be safe to assume Twin Breaker to be complete fan service for the Sacred Symbols podcast, it’s anything but. Unlike media personalities-turned-video game developers of yesteryear like 2008’s Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, TB keeps it light on self-referential material — only the “Greetings” and “Salutations” as namesakes for your ship paddles make the cut — and instead delivers a thought-provoking story of first contact in a post-World War III universe. It plays on themes of how the human race compares to other civilizations and how utilization of our resources reflects on others that may be “watching.”
It’s quite a treat to see in what amounts to be just another brick breaker game and makes me look forward to Moriarty’s writing in future titles — TB’s ending suggests there’s more to come from the series — including the ambitious codex entries that serve as “rewards” for reaching high score thresholds on every level.
Not to completely dismiss the gameplay, of course. Lillymo does a good job of pacing the 40 levels provided with introductions to new gameplay mechanics and interspersing boss battles every ten levels. It makes for a campaign that should last you about 3-4 hours…depending on skill and a little bit of luck, as is the norm with the genre.
The game itself features a dual paddle setup controlled by the left and right analog sticks on your system of choice ($9.99 gets you a copy of TB on both PS4/Vita with cross-buy), dubbed “Greetings” and “Salutations.” Most of the levels are pretty standard fare with the occasional “rush” that comes from knocking back balls in quick succession.
I spent most of my time with the game on Vita and it just reminded of how great Sony’s last hurrah in portable gaming really was. The dual-stick set up works great for the “twin breaker” paddles. The only con to going portable is that some of the levels exhibit a little slowdown from time to time, but nothing that renders them unplayable. If you know the occasional hitches during gameplay will bother you, stick to playing the game on PS4 where the pixel art will look nice and crisp on a big screen TV.
Twin Breaker is a good time-waster that won’t place too many demands on your time or attention. And I will give Lillymo credit for taking some gameplay chances with certain quad-paddle mechanics introduced, but those levels prove to be more frustrating than fun challenges to overcome in the end.
Power-ups featured are those you’d expect from an 80s-inspired brick breaker: multi-ball, heavy ball, fireball and others that could be considered both upgrades and downgrades like shrinking/growing your paddles and speeding up or slowing down the ball(s).
Besides the codex (mentioned above) adding replay value, TB features extra modes to keep you busy. My favorite, “Pong Mode,” where you try to get the ball past bosses, had me wishing it was implemented during the main campaign. And the procedurally-generated levels in “Random Mode” make it for an entertaining bonus, too — even for someone like myself that avoids computer-generated games like the plague.
Rounding out the value of the $10 package is the fact that you can take advantage of two separate trophy lists for PS4 and Vita in what amounts to an enjoyable race to the platinum — with most trophies unlocking through natural progression — on both platforms for trophy aficionados like yours truly.
The Final Word
While Twin Breaker: A Sacred Symbols Adventure would never be mistaken as the next Shatter, it’s still an entertaining brick breaker throwback with an ambitious first contact narrative and plenty of replay value including extra modes and well-written unlockable missives. At $10, it’s a great deal too including PS4/Vita cross-buy featuring separate trophy lists with accessible platinums — if that’s your cup of tea.
MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
