Caromble!: The Old-School Brick Breaker That Deserves Your Attention at -20%
Caromble! resurrects the classic brick breaker with a distinctive visual identity and completely overhauled ball physics. Available on Steam with a 20% discount at $10.23, the game from Dutch studio Code Boje follows in the footsteps of Breakout (1976) and Arkanoid (1986)—while carving out its own identity. Does it deliver? First impressions inside.
A genre nobody's waiting for—and yet
The brick breaker is one of the oldest genres in video games. Breakout (Atari, 1976) laid the foundation, and Arkanoid (Taito, 1986) popularized the formula with power-ups and varied level design. Since then, the genre has survived on the margins, sustained by enthusiasts rather than the industry at large. Caromble! embraces this lineage without apology, and that may be its greatest strength: it knows exactly what it is.
Developed by Dutch studio Code Boje, Caromble! has been available on Steam for a few years now, but it's resurfaced in the spotlight with a 20% discount, bringing the price down to $10.23. Worth taking a closer look.
What the game actually delivers
Caromble! centers on ball physics designed to be both readable and satisfying: trajectories are calculated to eliminate dead angles and nonsensical bounces—the Achilles' heel of the genre for decades. The ball has weight, bricks react differently based on their type, and power-ups punctuate progression without drowning the core gameplay in noise.
The aesthetic opts for colorful cartoon style, a far cry from the retro pixel-art you'd instinctively expect from a game like this. It's a defensible choice: it ensures instant clarity of on-screen elements, which matters tremendously once the ball picks up speed.
Who is Caromble! really for?
The game makes no bones about its modest ambitions. It's aimed squarely at genre enthusiasts—those who harbor fond memories of Arkanoid Returns (Taito, 1997) or appreciated more recent attempts like Shatter (Sidhe Interactive, 2009), one of the rare modern brick breakers to genuinely leave an impression, thanks in part to its soundtrack and fluid physics.
For players with no particular attachment to the genre, the appeal remains limited. Caromble! doesn't attempt a deep reinvention of the formula or bolt on roguelike or narrative layers. It's a brick breaker, period.
The price verdict
At $10.23 with the current discount, Caromble! occupies honest territory. It's not an impulse buy for everyone, but for genre fans hungry for a polished, frustration-free experience, the asking price is reasonable. Keep an eye on that promotional window if this speaks to you.