Slab

if you click resume in the pause menu instead of pressing esc, the ball launches immediately because it doesn't only count as a button press but also as a launch command. major issue reported years ago, dev doesn't give a ♥♥♥♥.

The best word to summarize this game would be uninspired. The levels are pretty generic for the most part, they usually don't require preicison or decision making. The power-ups aren't exciting, a lot of them feel like filler and don't really do that much. The ones that are strong often end levels in a couple of seconds. The entire 50 levels can be completed in about 90 minutes after you are done with that you have to replay the game about 4-5 times for the final achievement. The game has only a single soundeffect for the ball bouncing, there is only a single background image, you can't continue from the level you just died on without going back to the menu. Very little effort went into this game, feels like someone experimented with a game engine and not like a finished game.

Slab is a compact arcade experience built around one of gaming’s oldest and most recognizable formulas: keeping a ball in motion with a paddle while systematically destroying everything positioned above it. Developed and published by Smash The Code, it draws heavily from the traditions established by Breakout and Arkanoid, but presents that familiar concept with cleaner modern visuals, power-ups, achievements, and a structured collection of stages. There is no complicated narrative or progression system demanding attention. The entire experience revolves around reflexes, positioning, trajectory control, and the simple satisfaction of watching a crowded playfield gradually become empty. The basic controls are easy to understand, yet playing effectively requires considerably more precision. The paddle moves horizontally along the bottom of the screen, and positioning it correctly determines whether the ball remains in play and where it travels afterward. This makes seemingly minor movements important, especially when only a few awkwardly positioned bricks remain. Instead of simply reacting to the ball, experienced players can attempt to influence its rebound angle and send it toward…

If you like having to hit the same block multiple times in order to remove it from the field then you're in luck, as that seems to be the only trick the blocks have. The blocks can be various shapes but, up to level 16 at least; there's no invisible, exploding, permanent or otherwise interesting gimmick blocks.

Slab is an older game from 2018. It's a venerable 6 years old at the time of this review. Slab is an unabashed, lazy ripoff of Breakout (Copyright Atari, 1976). Many lazy "amateur" developers don't pay attention to their obligations under copyright law, and often steal the ideas of actual, real game developers without credit, such as the "developer" here has done. At this stage no legal action has been taken by Atari against the "developer", but it's never off the table, as previous copyright law cases have shown. Putting aside the unethical intellectual bankruptcy of stealing someone else's game concept for profit, this is also breaking that unwritten law of stealing other people's game ideas... you should at least try to do better than the game you're ripping off. Slab is considerably worse than Breakout. From a technical perspective, the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard. While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality. Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's…

[strike]Love it![/strike] I've been looking for an arkanoid clone for a long time. Not sure how I got it, but it's really great. The only thing I don't get is the sticky margins. I don't remember that part. Ok, I've changed my mind, this is [b]not[/b] a good arkanoid clone, but it's the closest one yet. There are just too many bugs, to the point that it just doesn't feel like a challenge anymore. There is no polish and absolutely no effort put into level design, the whole thing is just some kid's prototype probably. I wish there was a neutral option because i'm still enjoying the physics of the game, but also disappointed in the overall product. Changed my mind again. Level 19 is pretty good, more by chance than by design, but anyway, none of this matters.