Foxpaww Breakout (PC)

Thank you SnowySierra for submitting this through our Steam Curator.

Take the classic block-breaker genre, add a bunch of cute woodland creatures, and you've got yourself FoxPaww Breakout by SnowySierra. An arcade-style game that takes inspiration from the Breakout series, but with something a little bit different. Whereas many games of this genre take place on one screen and the goal/objective is to eliminate all the blocks, Foxpaww’s objective is to save the trapped animals across multiple screens in a single level.

Most block-breaker games only have the player control the paddle to hit the ball around. Foxpaww, on the other hand, has the player control both the ball and the paddle (in this case, the paddle being a paw). Using up or down on the arrow keys, mouse wheel, or WASD has the ball curve giving it a bit more control beyond the designated path the paw hits it in. Moving left and right with the previously mentioned controls moves the paw around. There are three different methods of control, whether it’s only using the mouse, the keyboard, or a combination of both, but all of them have their fair share of issues. Because the game has very minimal options, there is only one resolution available, being 1920x1080. The game automatically pauses when your mouse moves off the game screen (I’m using 2560x1440 resolution) so while mouse controls are the most accurate, they end up being the most annoying as well. Keyboard controls are not as swift or accurate as mouse movement, but are way less annoying to deal with.

Foxpaww is split into 21 randomly generated levels, each containing many different rooms to find the captive animals. There are different types of “blocks” ranging from fluffy kitties and puppies, apples, carrots, ice crystals, cacti, and rocks. Sometimes there are larger “blocks” that consist of trees and snowmen that spawn more blocks if left undisturbed. There are a few graveyard/Halloween-themed levels that have little ghosts and skulls floating about. Most of the blocks have adorable faces and the ball itself is a fuzzy brown creature. It’s sickeningly sweet! At the bottom is a row of thorny bushes. Don’t let the fuzzball touch them or a life will be lost.

With the randomly-generated levels, Foxpaww boasts a high amount of replayability, but a player will most likely see everything that is offered within the first 15 minutes of playing and may drag on for many. There are these fuzzy notes scattered in the levels that act as requirements to move on to the next level. They’re fairly easy to collect and most players will reach the max of 99 before a third of the way through. Unfortunately, Foxpaww doesn’t do a whole lot with its concept and misses out on improvements that other older games of the genre have made, such as Arkanoid utilizing power ups and Super Breakout having multiple game modes.

The music and sound effects are fine. There are only a few tracks in Foxpaww, but it does fit the relaxing tone. Sound effects are pretty unique as there is a distinct sound for each property. Hitting the ice crystals has a cool shattering sound effect, collecting the fuzzy notes is distinct, and hitting ghosts gives off a little “ooooo…” sound effect. This game can almost give me diabetes for how cute it is.

Foxpaww Breakout is another entry to a long-standing genre spanning about 45 years. It’s super adorable and the aesthetics are nice, but doesn’t do much that the genre hasn’t already done at this point. The strange feeling of the controls (there really needs to be a full-screen option) and lack of options make this one a hard recommendation, despite its low price range. I’m sure that if you like furry animal creatures or something generally safe for all ages, it’s an hour and a half well spent. However, for people expecting an evolution of block-breaker games. you’ll want to look elsewhere.