Another game which brings the music-driven genre together with beat-em-up type games (well, I say another like there is plenty, but I can actually only immediately think of one other, which is KickBeat).
It’s a fun concept, and I think they are definitely a worthwhile addition to both genres.
The art style, graphics and animations in this game are definitely a highlight to the game. It’s nice to be in this game and the levels are fairly different in terms of colour palettes and environment, which makes each level quite nice to look at. It’s a game that’s very nice on the eyes.
Gameplay however, from what I have seen, is fairly flat and consistent throughout. You are given a tutorial for the basic mechanics but after that the gameplay doesn’t seem to change much. The change, I’m guessing, lies with the campaign mode slowly rising in BPM, which makes the levels increasingly harder and more challenging. Is that enough to keep you engaged though?
I guess it’s up to you.
The next thing that I noticed is that this game can only really work with music that has a consistent beat. This game is primarily a rhythm game to a set list of music tracks provided, and on that level it works perfectly well and is great for people that want to use the game for solely that (what it was intended for).
The secondary feature to this game, a mode where you can upload your own tracks to play in a custom game, is however held back a little bit because of this.
I enjoy games driven by my own music, and I’m someone who seems to prefer playing music which changes pace. Music that starts slow, builds up, has a racey solo, drops down again, and all this, is very fun to play in games which can handle those chops and changes. TERRORHYTM syncs the song to a manual beat which you have to calibrate at the start of each song, and it runs off of that beat throughout the entire song. Most rock music just wouldn’t work with this game, but if you enjoy listening to electronic music or music with a consistent beat throughout, it’ll work perfectly.
So in terms of using the custom game mode, be mindful of what music you want to play with when buying this game!
This game also does not have music streaming integrated into it like some of the newer music-driven games do. You will need MP3 files on your computer to use this custom mode.
This game is fun, and I think if you can manage to master it at the higher challenge levels I think you could get a lot out of it. For me, I enjoy it, but probably won’t choose it over some of the other music-driven games that I have played. Of course, that shouldn’t be too surprising seeing as this game wasn’t built to be a “play your own music” game, that mode is merely secondary to the main game.
There is no story in this game that I can see, it seems to be a purely casual game which you can play levels and rank up to unlock new ones. I mentioned in passing earlier KickBeat which is a game that is similar to this one. They both have their merits, but I would likely personally choose to play KickBeat over this one. KickBeat has a story campaign as well as a similar custom game mode, and can handle songs with the peaks and troughs mentioned a bit earlier. This game looks very pretty, and is well made, but has nothing to really entice me personally to play it.
I managed to get this game in a trade for pretty cheap and honestly, I do like this game but if I was going to buy it myself, I would find that the price doesn’t justify it. It’s a bit pricey for what it is, and the game I’ve been doing way too much shilling for here is half the price.
I wouldn’t recommend for you to not buy this game, I still think it’s worth a try for people that are interested in it, but perhaps maybe wait for it to go on sale.
I feel like I’m doing a lot of complaining here but my last complaint is that I just couldn’t get a controller to work with this game. It has an option to use a controller in the settings, but I couldn’t get it to work. I tried 2 separate Xbox controllers with my PC and neither would respond once I got into the actual level. This is definitely a game that would be a lot more comfortable and casual to play if you could get a controller to work, but just be mindful, as I couldn’t.
To end of a positive instead of another complaint, I’ll say that once again, this game is really aesthetic, and it feels as if a lot went into making this game look good, and work with the playlist of songs that they have provided. If you’re good at it, and you’re on point, this game can feel really rewarding. The quick and smooth animations only add to that, you kick a dude, swing around, do a backflip, smack down the next guy, get a weapon pick up, slash the next one down, perfectly on time and it gives you that badass feel. It wouldn’t be my go-to but it’s still a worthwhile game.
TL;DR : Really good looking game, basic gameplay, custom mode is only really good for music with a consistent beat, custom mode needs MP3 files to play, no story, campaign increases in challenge as you go through, bit pricey in my opinion, controller didn’t work for me, but generally a worthwhile game to try if you’re interested.
[quote][b]Controller support:[/b] Not Included
[b]Local music files:[/b] Included
[b]Online streaming:[/b] Not included[/quote]
[quote]For more reviews of this genre, check out my curator page [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/29402802-The-Best-Music-Driven-Games-%25E2%2599%25AB/] The Best: Music Driven Games ♫[/url]
Where we review games able to be driven by your own music. [/quote]
