When the all-conquering PlayStation launched in 1994, it arrived with some of the most impressive games around. By the time it was superseded by its successor and entering its twilight years, circa 2003, the release roster couldn’t have been more different. Amongst the tired annual sports updates, Platinum reissues, and the moderately big name releases were humble budget games – brand new titles from all over the globe, mostly launching at an attractive £9.99 price point. CyberBlocker Complete Edition would have felt right at home alongside the fondly remembered likes of Prism Land, Sorcerer’s Maze, and Sanvein.
It would have been considered a trend setter too, offering something innovative. What we have here is a brick breaker similar to Arkanoid fused with an arcade-shooter in the vein of Galaga. It works how you’d expect: there’s the need to keep the ball in play by bouncing it around the screen as it breaks blocks, all the while shooting enemies that whizz around in various swooping formations. Bricks can be shot too, but only certain types. Carrying the themes further, it has the usual assortment of power-ups found in both genres, varying from paddle extensions and multiball to a temporary spread shot and a searing laser. It’s even possible to carry an unused power-up over from one stage to the next, giving an advantage.
If that wasn’t enough, CyberBlocker has another innovation to share – the spacecraft paddle can be split into two. This reduces the paddle’s size greatly but allows for greater mobility, able to bat the ball in harder-to-reach places such as behind indestructible blocks. Boss battles feature too, leaning heavily into the shooter aspect by pitting you against robotic adversaries with health bars to whittle while keeping a steady eye on the ball.
All of this is accompanied by an energetic dance music soundtrack, which at one point edges into dubstep territory. In fact, it’s surprisingly polished when it comes to presentation as a whole, even though there is a slight information overload; within the borders are an animated joystick that moves in real time, a ball speed gauge, the current framerate (a constant 60fps on Xbox Series, if you’re curious), a power-up indicator, and all the usual score/time tallies. As for options, paddle sensitivity can be adjusted, and there’s a choice of ball colours.
The main mode is spread across 25 stages with a choice of two power-up sets. Bearing in mind the infinite continues, you’re looking at a playtime of under an hour, with plenty of potential to return and beat past scores to top the leaderboards. Some stages get quite creative with their design, to the point of requiring a degree of brainpower to overcome. For additional variety, there’s a quick burst ten stage challenge mode, in which you’re tasked with destroying blocks from a swiftly descending cascade and bouncing the ball as many times as possible. As this is an eastasiasoft published title, the achievements are predictably effortless to gain.
But while CyberBlocker looks and sounds the part, additionally boasting an innovative concept, there is something to address. The difficulty is unwaveringly easy. When in the default dual paddle mode, said paddle covers almost third of the playing area. Grab an extension power-up, and around half the bottom of the screen is protected, making it difficult not to miss returning the ball even if your attention is drawn elsewhere. Together with infinite continues, most players will blitz through this in the space of an evening, leaving just the score chasing aspect and perhaps the desire for a perfect 1CC. Most of its shortcomings can be forgiven though, as the combination of being instantly gratifying and pleasingly polished makes for something highly entertaining. It may not be very cerebral, but it is very stylish.
KT Software’s CyberBlocker Complete Edition is out 29th April on all formats. It first launched on PC in 2022.