Robobeat Review

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play a high speed first person shooter that is actually a rhythm game in disguise? Well, look no further!

Robobeat is a high octane action game that puts music front and center, and every action you take is controlled by the song's beat. The game is flashy, and completely over the top, but also challenging, with multiple branching paths. It is a game that asks you to not only learn these paths, but master the songs as well, as different beats will determine how well you do as you progress.

Previously the game released on PC to critical acclaim, but today I will be taking a look at the newly released PlayStation 5 version of the game. While it is identical to the PC release in many ways, the console versions do not have access to the custom soundtrack feature. Instead, console players are limited to the in game featured songs, which are actually a perfect fit for the disco inspired setting.

With that being said, I'd like to thank developer Simon Fredholm and publisher Kwalee for providing me with an early review copy, as this game was quite the treat! (Even though I've died hundreds of times...)

The Story of Robobeat:

Robobeat's story is an interesting one that isn't always front and center.

The game follows the story of Ace, a famous bounty hunter who has been searching for a crazy robot named Frazzer. This leads Ace to his "twisted techno-playground," where he must make his way through multiple areas, and take out as many enemies as possible all to the beat of the music.

It is a pretty straight forward "plot," but as players progress through the game more and more gets revealed about the world. This includes "found footage" giving us glimpses of the past, and notes left behind that give us clues to what is really happening. 

Of course players also have the option to ignore these notes, and simply blast their way through each stage, but there is something interesting happening here that is well worth discovering for yourself.

The Gameplay:

As mentioned before, Robobeat is a unique rhythm game blended with an action first person shooter.

Early on the main character is given a cassette tape to begin playing music, and as you advance through the game more become available to you. The song you pick completely sets the tone for the upcoming stages, and you are free to change out songs as needed. Faster songs mean faster enemies and more actions that can be performed, while slower songs give you more time to breath, but also less time to attack. Switching becomes key to surviving the more hectic areas, but going too slow can cause the easier areas to last longer than needed. So it becomes a fine balance between faster and slower songs, but ultimately it comes down to what you are most comfortable with.

Once you pick a song, the next major choice is which guns you will bring with you into the levels. Ace can hold a gun in each hand, and there is a wide variety of different types to use. While some are standard revolvers, others let bullets bounce off of walls, or there are unique weapons like the ping pong paddle. 

There are also unique active abilities that can be found and equip during each run through the stages, as well as passive abilities that help give you a slight edge over the incoming enemies. Upon dying all of this is stripped away from you, but many items can be re-obtained simply by stepping back into the central hub after a death. As the game progresses a shop becomes available as well, but many items and upgrades need to be found within the levels themselves; which are also sometimes pretty well hidden.

The ability cards which are picked up throughout each path allow you to pick between three perks, with an option to re-roll them if you do not see something that works with your current build. It costs money to re-roll, with the fee going up with each go, but typically you can find something useful pretty quickly. And if not? Sometimes the new abilities give you a reason to try something new. The game has a lot of options when it comes to how you attack, and at times that isn't always obvious.

Outside of shooting, Ace can jump, slide, wall run, and bounce off of walls to avoid enemy attacks, and using this extreme parkour is also in fact key to survival. Enemies will rush you, and they will come at you with melee weapons, and some even have homing projectiles that cannot be avoided by just running. You have to make use of everything within the environment to avoid such attacks, and failing to do so will kill you in no time. There are also unique platforming based areas which reward you for completing them, but failing will take you through a normal room instead; it doesn't result in your death.

 

Thankfully the game doesn't begin with this craziness, so it gives you time to adapt, but it does ramp up in difficulty pretty quickly during the second half of the second difficulty path.

Although you technically can freely move and shoot, your movements and attacks are nearly useless unless everything is done on the beat. Shots and attacks will bounce off of enemies or do little to no damage if they are attacked off beat, and other weapons will not even fire unless they are used in perfect sync. The ping pong paddle is one such weapon where every "shot" needs to be fired on the beat perfectly, and missing will cause a delay and force you to return to the initial setup of the attack. 

Keeping track of the beat isn't too challenging on its own, but when you mix in dodging enemies, jumping off of walls, and flying through the air as the entire world pulses around you, it can start to become overwhelming. The good news is a reticle in the center of the screen will help keep you on the beat, with lines hitting the center showing the moment you should shoot. 

This helps you keep on track, and can also be useful for those who are not as experienced when it comes to the music genre (or rather, playing instruments and counting/stepping to the beat of a song). As someone who joined band as a ten year old however, I personally didn't pay much attention to this... But it was still really nice to have.

During the stages themselves, multiple doors can be opened, with different paths being available to explore. These doors contain symbols to let you know what is hidden behind them, with special rewards and even bosses being tucked away deeper into each stage. Each path also has multiple areas within them, meaning it isn't as simple as going through the game a level at the time. Instead, to complete each path you need to reach the end of all stages within said path, and dying will send you back to the hub to start over. It almost feels like a rogue-like, except the paths are basically the same each time. This means players can go back for items they missed without relying on luck to randomly generate it in, and replaying areas is required if you want to experience everything. 

It is thanks to these branching paths and hidden unlockables that the game has plenty of replayability, and even changing songs will help provide a different experience. Of course it is also very clear that this game was designed with multiple runs in mind, as there are only a handful of paths to take overall... And that is perfectly fine.

Playing Without Music:

Although music is the core of Robobeat, there are options for those who struggle with rhythm games, and for those who may not be able to hear the soundtrack.

By navigating to the option menu, you have the option to turn on a setting which simply lets you to cut loose and attack when you want to. Be it mashing the shoot button as fast as possible, or simply shooting off beat; you can do whatever you like. This does make the game a bit "easier," but even with this turned on the game is an insanely fast (and challenging) game. 

Despite you being able to attack whenever you want, enemies and bosses will still follow the beat of the music. This means timing is still very important when it comes to dodging attacks, but you could also possibly kill enemies slightly faster simply by getting more attacks off of your own. It does balance out in the end, but is still a great option for those who may need or want to not be as restricted.

Along with this, those who cannot hear the music still have ways to keep up with the beat. Besides the visual cues of the world pulsing and the reticle, the PlayStation 5 version sends feedback through the controller as well. This way players can actually FEEL the world along with seeing it, which really helps out as well. 

In the end, hearing the music isn't actually required to play this game, and that was a great call.

Should you play it?

Robobeat is a very interesting game. The non-stop go-go-go-go-go nature of the game keeps you constantly moving, jumping, sliding, bouncing, and flying through the air, while the music itself controls what you should do, and when you should do it. Want an even faster experience? Play a faster song! Is the pace too much for you? Then switch it up and go a bit slower. 

It is a truly unique concept, and chaining together combos of attacks and skills feels great, but it isn't something you will master right off the bat. In fact, this is a game you will most likely fail at over and over again, until you eventually learn the enemy layouts, and realize what will or will not work. In that regard, it is a lot like a rouge-like, but also not completely. The game is mostly predefined, but dying does in fact send you back to the main hub. You lose your stuff, but you keep rewards you've unlocked, so your future runs can get easier; plus you yourself retain your knowledge of the run as well.

While there isn't a massive variety of enemies to take on, bosses are all very unique, and fighting them basically turns into a puzzle. Each has their own mechanics you need to memorize to take them down, and it has to be done to the beat of the music. This provides an additional challenge to the fights, but also makes them a lot more stylish, with some really cool ways you can tackle the challenge! As the boss attacks are also always on beat, memorizing their moves, and when they do them, is key, making the entire fight a song and dance.

Of course, the same can be said about the rest of the game as well.

Robobeat does a great job making you feel like an action hero. Dying might be frustrating at times, but when you get a cool new weapon to go all out with, it is a complete blast! This isn't limited to ranged weapons either, as melee weapons such as swords eventually unlock as well. Getting in close while dancing around the enemies slashing to the beat is pretty great, and dodging attacks right before you get hit feels so natural once you get used to your current song. It makes you feel invincible, while also knowing that you are technically a glass canon. Prior to picking up perks a few good hits will take you out instantly, but that's not something you really think about in the heat of the moment. It is just you, your music, and an army of enemies that are ready to drop to that very same beat.

Overall, this is a game that anyone who enjoys arcade style action games will enjoy. It isn't fully a music game, nor is it fully a shooter, but it blends the two elements together to create something unique. The parkour elements are also a lot of fun, and the skills you can pick up add a whole other level to combat thanks to the possible combos you can pull off with them. The game also smartly teaches you these combos while you play, so you aren't fully in the dark with what you can or cannot do.

The biggest downside to the console release is the removal of custom music. It was stated this was due to legal reasons; however, there are plenty of console games that do allow this. Music isn't a main "gameplay feature" for these titles however, so this is technically a different case.

In the end, Robobeat is a game I really enjoyed, and one I am going to keep playing. There is still a lot to tackle, and there are a lot of extras (such as speed challenges) that I still need to conquer. In fact, at the time of this review, there are many achievements that have yet to be obtained by a single pre-release reviewer. There is a lot to this game, it gets very challenging, especially in difficulty three, and it will take dozens of runs to fully explore each path. It has a lot of replayability, and that makes it perfect to play in short bursts... (Or what feels like short bursts, but in reality hours have gone by.)

If any of this sounds fun to you, then yes; I highly recommend Robobeat. Just get ready to die a lot, and slowly learn how to become an action hero!

Robobeat is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.