REVIEW : Breakpoint (PC)
Indie publisher The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild is releasing a lot of games at a nearly unreasonable rate as of late, clearly prioritizing quantity over quality. Plays like Roundguard, #Funtime, and The Ambassador: Fractured Timelines made me despair that the organisation once recognised for its unique puzzlers was doomed to shift a slightly upscaled story of Sometimes You. Then they chose to release Breakpoint. Its premise, visuals, and general title made me recall that it would just be yet another bargain bin title announced for PC and consoles.
Just by glancing at its storefront pictures, you may think that Breakpoint is yet another twin-stick shooter inspired by Geometry Wars, just like #Funtime. You’re not entirely incorrect, as the play looks even more alike to Bizarre Creations’ indie darling than the former indie shooter we’ve tackled. Although with the benefit of having a much more stable camera and less visual pollution onscreen. It took me just a few moments to notice that gameplay-wise, Breakpoint was a completely different beast. Not exactly innovative, not precisely deep, but it works nevertheless.
Breakpoint might resemble and feel like a twin-stick shooter, but you can’t fire at anything onscreen. You only have a way to melee weapons, such as swords, axes, spears, and the like. That makes the gameplay appear less like a shooter and more of an uncomplicated and mindless hack ‘n slasher. That ended up working to its favour though. For the unusual reason, the sole act of reaping down these simple geometric shapes feels quite fun and cathartic. Every single enemy you kill erupts in a blast of lighting effects that makes your attacks feel even more powerful.
The only additional feature in Breakpoint is the addition of a “break meter”. Thankfully enough, this doesn’t imply that your weapons have a power meter like in Breath of the Wild. Rather, this meter goes down the more you use your weapon. When it reaches zero, it generates a massive discharge of energy on your surroundings, killing everything in view. It adds a minute, but still embracing a degree of strategy to what’s otherwise the simplest and stupidest of gameplay loops, without ever making it overly complex.
In many ways, you may think that Breakpoint is probably the most generic title in gaming history. It doesn’t seem very attractive and its gameplay is simple. Yet somehow, it works. It’s so oversimplified and carefree to the point of becoming free. There’s just something about slashing tons of colourful opponents onscreen that makes me feel relaxed.
