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Music is an essential part of life, and music-centric games are not uncommon. However, creating a standout and enjoyable musical game experience is a challenging endeavor. Developed by Worm Animation, Beat The Game is described as “a journey to find excitement in music.” The game focuses heavily on sound, aiming to let players enjoy self-created mixes. Prior to release, Beat The Game received several nominations for design, graphics, and audio at various game festivals. But does the final product live up to the hype? Does it successfully deliver on its musical promise while providing a compelling overall experience? This review will delve into these questions.

A Diverse Soundscape

The core gameplay of Beat The Game revolves around collecting scattered sound fragments within the game world to create a musical performance. There are 24 unique sound fragments to discover. These fragments can be integrated into the protagonist’s audio mixer. You’ll acquire these sounds through various methods, such as utilizing a sound detector or combining found objects. With eight channels and a selection of effects, players can mix these fragments to craft a variety of musical backdrops with unique nuances.

Musical taste is subjective, making it nearly impossible to create universally appealing music. Instead of striving for universal appeal, Beat The Game empowers players to explore and express their own musical preferences. If you enjoy experimenting with and blending sounds, this game could be a good fit.

Beat The Game – Gameplay Screenshot

A Game or a Glorified Demo?

The developers describe Beat The Game as a game “to enjoy, not to conquer.” This statement rings true, as there isn’t much to conquer. While the sound design is a highlight, other crucial aspects of the game fall short.

Graphically, Beat The Game offers a unique aesthetic. The environments and scenery are generally pleasing, and the character models are detailed. While not groundbreaking, the graphics are decent enough to engage players. However, “decent enough” seems to be the ceiling for many aspects of this game.

The storyline, or lack thereof, is another concern. According to the Steam page, the protagonist, Mistik, is a music producer transported to another universe after a motorcycle accident. His mission is to collect sound fragments in this new world to create a grand symphony. However, this narrative is barely present in the game itself. A few details are hinted at, but they are vague and lack any meaningful impact. Without external information, players wouldn’t even realize there’s a story. Consequently, the narrative and its value are practically non-existent.

Beat The Game – Environment Screenshot

As previously mentioned, the core gameplay loop involves finding sound fragments to build a musical piece. With only 24 fragments to collect, it’s possible to complete this task in under an hour, effectively “beating” the game in less time than Steam’s two-hour refund window. This limited content is a significant drawback for players who value playtime.

Furthermore, the game suffers from other issues, including a lack of clear dialogue, numerous pointless items, and occasional bugs.

Beat The Game – Exploration Screenshot

Beat The Game had the potential to be a captivating and enjoyable experience, but it falls short. It feels more like a paid demo than a full game. Ultimately, YouTube offers a free alternative for listening to music, and numerous other tools provide more robust and versatile sound mixing capabilities than a game with a mere 24 sound fragments.

Conclusion

While Beat The Game offers a unique premise and a decent sound design foundation, it ultimately fails to deliver a compelling gaming experience. Its limited content, underdeveloped narrative, and technical issues hold it back from reaching its full potential. For those seeking a robust music creation tool or a substantial gaming experience, other options are likely more satisfying. If you’re curious about the sound design aspect, consider waiting for a significant price drop or further development.

• Developer: Worm Animation
• Publisher: Worm Animation
• Genre: Adventure
• Release Date: September 7, 2017
• Platform: PC
• Minimum System Requirements:
  • OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
  • Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6600 or AMD Phenom™ X3 8750
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 256 MB VRAM, DirectX 9 and Pixel Shader 3.0 support
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 1200 MB available space