Bounce Arcade Feels More like VR Breakout Than Pinball

Pinball is a tricky thing to capture and recreate. I mean, there are traditional video game adaptations that might not feel like they get the cabinet experience right. Bounce Arcade attempts to offer the same sort of feel, only from a different type of perspective. While it does manage it for a few of its tables, I also often felt like it was more of a Breakout sort of game than a VR pinball experience due to its execution. 

Rather than being played like a traditional pinball game with the perspective of looking down on the field from above, Bounce Arcade essentially places people in the position where the paddles lie. You know that open, empty gap where the balls can slip through? That’s your home for the game! Your left hand is the left paddle and right is the right, as you’d expect. However, you aren’t limited to only swinging them back and forth, and you can move either hand in the space above, below, to the left, and to the right of that unguarded expanse. So right away, it feels more like Breakout because of that additional freedom in terms of positioning. You’re moving more to meet the ball, rather than being locked in place and limited.

The other element that keeps Bounce Arcade from feeling like pinball and instead like a Breakout or Alleyway variant is the additional degree of control over the ball. You can sort of guide it to certain positions on the field, to a degree, with a press of a controller button. In cases like the Monster Manor map, it’s actually a necessary mechanic for lighting up the space around you. But it feels more targeted than you’d expect otherwise. Likewise, a gauge can fill that offers something of a homing function to pull the ball toward you. They’re the sort of abilities that you’d expect from other games. 

Now, there are tables in Bounce Arcade that do feel like ones you’d see in a more traditional pinball games. Gunpowder Gulch, a wild west themed space, is one. There are plenty of visible bumpers and ramps. The forced perspective is right. It has the characterizations you’d expect from a table. The same goes for Monster Manor. It features objectives like you’d see in some pinball games, given you need to light the ball on fire and hit designated markers to brighten up the space. And again, there are the obvious ramps and bumpers around the area. Pirate’s Plunder does to a lesser degree, as it starts to feel more like it deviates from the pinball formula, while Asteroid Outpost’s perspective and execution 100% made me feel like it was a Breakout background.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that Bounce Arcade somehow doesn’t succeed. It’s quite a fun experience! Chasing high scores is entertaining, and there are enough bumpers and possible objectives to help with racking up points. It just doesn’t always feel like what it is billed as. When you do get a map that is more akin to an actual pinball table, it’s quite fun! I’d even say Monster Manor feels a bit innovative, since it’s the one that best uses the unique features and VR elements while still feeling like a more traditional pinball experience.

With Bounce Arcade, Velan Studios tried to recreate a type of moment and feeling. Sometimes, it accomplishes that. Other times, it feels like an entertaining take on VR Breakout. It’s never a bad time. It just won’t always feel like VR pinball. As long as you’re okay with that, you’ll get along fine.  

Bounce Arcade is available on the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and Meta Quest Pro VR headsets.