Breakout Birdie Panic 1+2 – Review

Breakout Birdie Panic and Breakout Birdie Panic 2 are mobile tapper games that have been ported to Switch. With codes for each Breakout Birdie Panic 1and 2, we decided to split them up to get two opinions on the games.

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Breakout Birdie Panic is quite frankly a boring game where you need to survive in a level for a set amount of time before warping to the next zone. While it takes some getting used to, there is some measure of control over the bird’s movement, meaning you have to think critically in order to survive a level, but there is so little engagement to be had that you will likely question your decision to purchase after only a handful of levels.

The only sound options in the menu are to turn the background music and sound effects on or off, without even sliders to adjust them to your liking. The difference between portrait and landscape simply means either you hold your Switch like a phone for a full-screen experience or hold it normally and have the play area of the screen ridiculously tiny. When I booted up the game it started me off in landscape mode, which I find to be a fairly pointless option to have since in this position you would expect to hold it by the controllers which don’t do anything. That’s right, there’s absolutely no controller support for this game on the console.

I can give the “How To Play” section some credit at least in being a succinct explanation of how to subject yourself to this game. However, it is something you have to choose to look at yourself in the menu rather than it showing automatically before your first game session. The visuals are fine enough though the music is so terribly generic you mostly tune it out and some tracks sound like they may be sampled from other games.

While I can see some potential in it being a fun distraction on your phone, I see no reason to purchase this game for your Switch. A lazy port made for a quick extra cash injection is all I can feel from this.

Landscape mode is only feasible to use if you have your Switch stood on its stand on some form of table and I doubt many would. Even the simple addition of being able to use the “A” button in lieu of a screen tap would have been helpful but alas it is not to be.

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A New Challenger Enters The Playing Field

Mashashy Reviews Breakout Birdie Panic 2

I thought taking Breakout Birdie Panic 2 for the Switch would be a nice chance for me and TheBlueHairedCyborg to collaborate. I’m only sorry it means we will be collectively dumping on what can only be described as “My first Tapper game“, except it’s the sequel and honestly things aren’t looking much different from the original.

I consider myself well versed in the world of idle and tapper games and was ready for the challenge Breakout Birdie 2 presented me as I tapped my Switch screen to bounce Birdie in hopes of avoiding taking damage from enemies and spikes. There are switches to stop obstacles from moving, boxes with hidden power-ups and all kinds of wonderful things, but good luck trying to hit them.

With the tap function only working to bounce Birdie higher, you have little to no control. He will bounce off walls and obstacles which will then change your direction, but the precision required to actually do anything on purpose removes much of the player’s agency to the point where you may as well play an idle game.

Arguably, this is where Breakout Birdie will gain its longevity as completing a level is often a frustrating task, even at lower levels. It’s just I never felt like “I” accomplished anything within these levels. Luck surely plays a part in many games and victories, but somehow this rang hollow in the same way as it would winning a large Minesweeper Map with only one mine to avoid.

Again the Switch port lacks any kind of controller support and the sound design has little to offer, but I suppose some kids would be happy to get their pocket money’s worth out of the first few zones before hitting a progression wall. As an adult with other games to play however, I wouldn’t recommend it to many people.