This reminded me of childhood playing games like this! For me, the ball got stuck bouncing back and forth with very little angle at times, although I was able to change the direction by catching it with the very end of the paddle, if it trapped by the wall you were stuck. I'd have preferred a little more control generally with the paddle.
Lower difficulties didn't really show the mechanic of damage to neighbouring blocks, but it was good to see them cracking on the hardest difficulty. I like the mechanic, good job overall!