[b] Kill the Music [/b] is a survivors-type game mixed with the rhythm gameplay from [b] Crypt of the Necrodancer [/b]. It draws heavy inspiration from punk rock imagery and music. This is my first survivors-type game I’ve ever played, and it was a pretty good experience. I haven’t played other games of the genre like [b] Megabonk [/b] or [b] Vampire Survivors [/b], but I feel as though [b] Kill the Music [/b] barely scratches the surface of the genre’s capabilities.
[h1] The Story [/h1]
The story is light in this game. You play as musical prodigy and enthusiast, Roxie. Roxie has been trapped in Hell to fight Death and his minions countless times using various musical instruments. As you complete higher difficulties, you will learn more about Roxie’s life and how she ended up in her position.
[h1] Gameplay [/h1]
As mentioned above, [b] Kill the Music [/b] is a survivors-type game, a bullet heaven if you will. The main gameplay loop revolves around clearing rounds of selectable difficulty, receiving an appropriate reward (typically in the form of a stat upgrade), and selecting a new gameplay upgrade to help in the next round. As you obtain more upgrades, Roxie will become stronger. Make the right build, and you won’t even have to worry about taking damage.
The main gimmick in this game is its rhythm mechanic. Like [b] Crypt of the Necrodancer [/b], you will have to play along to the beat of the music in this game. While movement is not tied to this mechanic, attacks and dodges are. On each beat hit, the player has the option to attack or dodge. Time this correctly to increase your combo meter and activate some upgrades. If you’re too early and miss... well, you still perform the action, but it decreases your combo meter.
When starting a run, you select your starting weapon, which is a musical instrument. There are twelve selectable starting instruments, but all can be classified under Guitars, Basses, Keyboards, or Drums. Guitars are a standard melee weapon, focused on close-range attacks. Basses act as an AoE attack, creating a shockwave around Roxie, which forces enemies back. Keyboards orbit around Roxie; they are uncontrollable by the player and deal damage when they come into contact with an enemy. Drums are projectile based, shooting a projectile on each beat hit.
I enjoy all the ideas presented in the game, but I don’t think they’re executed very well. The rhythm mechanic is cool but very basic. I was left wondering what it actually does. I know I have to play along to the beat, but why? My weapons still deal damage if I miss, and I can still dodge when I’m off beat. Is it really just to rack up a combo and activate some upgrades? It isn’t even a guarantee that I will have any of these upgrades in my run.
I love the feeling of being incredibly overpowered in games, too, don’t get me wrong, but it was too much in this game. The first few rounds are challenging, having to avoid enemy attacks and carefully select upgrades. But once you have all your weapons and a few decent upgrades, the game becomes too easy. It feels great for the first round or so, but runs can contain up to twenty rounds! I usually ended up being bored out of my mind, melting enemies just trying to rush to the boss stage.
[h1] Gamefeel [/h1]
Moving forward from gameplay, the artwork and music in this game is great. I grew up in the early 2000’s playing games like [b] Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 [/b]. I love the punk aesthetic and it is done very well in this game. The enemies look like they’re decals straight from a skate shop. The characters look exactly like how I would imagine a stereotypical punk band, complete with spikes, flannels, fishnets, ripped jeans, all the works. Everything is given just the right amount of edge to look like they’re straight from that era.
The music fits the game well, too. I don’t think it’s the pinnacle of gaming music, but great backing music for a heavily rhythm-based game. The developers did a great job of having a wide selection of music that plays each round. I was never left getting sick of a certain tune or hearing one too often.
[h1] Conclusion [/h1]
I have nothing but high praise for the people behind this game. It takes a lot of work to create something like this, and even more work to have it come out as good as it did. For all my complaints, I enjoyed my time with this game. Although, from a personal view, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if it weren’t designed around punk rock.
This game is good for a first-ever experience with a survivors-type game. But I got bored far too quickly when I felt like it should have been engaging me more. If you have played any form of bullet heaven or survivors game before, I wouldn’t recommend this game. But if you haven’t, or you like punk music, play this game! It'll be a good experience.
