Physics Games and Physics-Based Game Downloads

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If you were trapped on an island and had to pick one Breakout game to keep you company, BreakQuest by Nurium Games would be it. It is, far and away, the best Breakout clone to ever hit the market. Sounds like hyperbole? Maybe, but give the game a few minutes of your time before you come to your own conclusions.

BreakQuest is a Breakout game that makes heavy use of physics. The core Breakout concept remains. You control horizontal movement of a paddle at the bottom of the screen. Any game player is familiar with the concept, but where BreakQuest extends the game is gratuitous and inventive use of physics. Instead of stationary blocks, many of the levels have physics gizmos and doodads to hit around. Everything can bounce off everything else which makes for some chaotic gameplay.

BreakQuest features 100 levels, and each one really is unique. While most Breakout games simply utilize different arrangements of the same objects, Nurium really went the extra mile by customizing each level with its own visuals, aural themes, and style. Some levels do have similar styles of play, but for the most part each level truly is completely original from all the others. It’s an amazing amount of content in a Breakout title.

It’s worth mentioning that the game’s audio is very well done. The music is by the well-known Maniacs of Noise, but what really stands out is the interactive audio. Most of the objects in the game have different tones when they are struck, which results in a very synesthetic style of play. The video above is a great example of this.

The physics in BreakQuest utilize the DynaMo library. While this library doesn’t provide collision detection, it does do an excellent job of managing things like forces, torques, and constraints. The physics just feel right. Absolutely everything in BreakQuest interacts with everything else which adds tremendously to the game’s replay value.

BreakQuest introduces a mechanism to solve the “last block” problem in Breakout games. Right-clicking will apply a gravitational force to all balls in play that will arc their trajectory downwards. With a little practice, you can use this to steer your balls with some degree of precision. It makes hitting that last nagging little block much easier. This little feature really adds to the sense of mastery in learning the game.

(BreakQuest Game Screenshots)

BreakQuest sits at the standard $19.99 downloadable game price point. Really, I think it could be priced higher given the sheer volume of content it brings to the play experience. Even more impressive is that everything except the audio was done by one man: Fèlix Casablancas. He’s working on a puzzle game aimed at the casual market now, which I’m very much looking forward to.

If you’ve burnt out on brick-breaking clones and need something to freshen the genre for you check BreakQuest out today. Its use of physics completely revitalizes the entire concept of Breakout games.

Download BreakQuest game here (20MB).