"Electronic Gaming Monthly" staff also reviewed the game, with four separate reviews giving the game scores of 6/10, 6/10, 5/10, and 3/10. All four reviewers compared it to "Arkanoid", complaining about the lack of enhancement over the "Breakout" format. GamesRadar shared the sentiment in their review of the 3DS re-release, with reviewer Nathan Meunier giving it a score of 5/10 and stating "Alleyway wasn't so hot when it first came out, and it still pales when put it side-by-side to other similarly priced offerings". He further added at times the game appeared to "hate" the player with its difficulty, though acknowledged that the addition of save states "takes some of the sting out of losing". "Retro Gamer"s Darran Jones called it "pretty piss-poor all the way back in 1989", noting the bland levels and lack of power-ups found in "Arkanoid", and that many similar clones had outperformed it. Not all comments about the game have been negative. The two "Electronic Gaming Monthly" reviewers that gave the highest scores did state they felt the design was perfect for the Game Boy, one adding "It's also a very good game that combines some new features ... with the original Break-Out theme" and concluding "Alleyway is good—but a bit long". German magazine "Power Play" gave the game a rating of 48%, but also praised the game's level variety. The book "Rules of Play" discusses the game as an example of improved design over a base core mechanic, citing the inclusion of distinct sound effects for ball collision as a means to praise the player for destroying bricks, and the varied level designs as "well done" and giving the player "an element of discovery to the overall experience." Allgame noted that despite the simplicity and variety, "Alleyway is fun to play", further adding that games of its kind "always play well on the Game Boy".