LightBreak
Description
LightBreak is an art-focused, narrative-driven musical game. Discover the story of Ava, a young traveler who has undertaken numerous adventures and now wishes to return home to recount her tales to her mother. Ava, however, has lost her voice, and due to her mother’s blindness, she cannot rely on visual storytelling. Ava’s one form of communication with her mother is the powerful musical instrument she wields.
The game features a unique gameplay, blending puzzle elements and music to create a dynamic music creation environment. In LightBreak, you control the Magical instrument that Ava is playing - to help her connect with her emotions and communicate her journey to her mother.
Main Features
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A Novel Approach to Audio-driven Game Design
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Interactive audio design by an award-winning composer
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Storytelling game with themes of repair, family, communication, and good vs evil
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Visual representations of Ava’s adventures
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Stunning hand-drawn art
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3D modeling and animation
Gameplay
LightBreak’s main objective is to help Ava play the correct notes on her musical instrument so that she can describe her tales and reconnect with Mother after many years of separation.
The Gameplay is a novel narrative-driven fusion of Audio and puzzle elements. Each face of the magical instrument represents a “track” on the bigger mix. sometimes, your Instrument is out of tune, and you need to tune it to play the music correctly. Eventually, players will enter flow as they essentially create music by fixing up each track of the music. When they find the correct tune, the environment changes drastically as the instrument will render the music and show the visual representation of Ava’s memories connected to that song.
Read More: Best Rhythm Cute Games.
Starstruck: Hands of Time
Play guitar in an interactive rock opera
Play guitar in musical story segments, with a catchy soundtrack featuring live instruments and singing by Elsie Lovelock (Hazbin Hotel). If you still have your Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar controller, dust it off, because this game supports it!
Destroy the world as a giant human hand
Demolish houses, solve puzzles, and open new paths for other characters as a giant hand. Unleash your destructive potential using hammers, screwdrivers, and more.
A strange game set in a miniature world
Save the future by exploring the strange diorama world of 20XX. Meet weirdly cute characters and unravel the mystery of how their little lives are connected to the end of mankind.
No rhythm? No problem
If you want to experience the music and story without the stresses of rhythm gameplay, you can enable “Autoplay” in the options menu. When Autoplay is enabled, the rhythm gameplay sections will play themselves.
Features
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Explore three intertwined adventures set in a charming diorama world, switching characters to solve puzzles and change the future.
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Play guitar and dodge attacks to an original soundtrack in catchy musical story segments.
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Destroy the world as a giant human hand in hectic action-puzzle gameplay. (By the way, you can also customize the hand’s size and skin color.)
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Extensive controller support allows you to play with your keyboard, Xbox controller, PS4 controller, Switch Pro Controller, or even guitar controller! You can also remap controls as you wish for the rhythm gameplay.
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Adjust the difficulty level between “Normal” and “Master” mode for the rhythm gameplay to suit your style, or just sit back and watch with “Autoplay” mode.
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Original soundtrack by acclaimed composer Andrew Allanson features live instruments and vocals spanning many genres.
Read More: Best Rhythm Time Travel Games.
A Musical Story
A Musical Story is a rhythm game set against a 70s backdrop. Explore the memories of Gabriel, a young man trying to come to terms with his situation through the connections to his musical memory. Each correctly played melody opens a new chapter into Gabriel’s past, bringing him closer to the truth.
Key Features
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Rekindle Gabriel’s memories with rhythmic button presses in time with the music
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Storytelling without words – discover Gabriel’s journey through music and visuals alone
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Gabriel’s story comes to life through a beautifully crafted art style
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A unique original soundtrack featuring 26 songs
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Play every song perfectly to unlock a hidden chapter
A Musical Story is the debut game from independent French developer, Glee-Cheese Studio. They are: Charles Bardin (Game Design + Music), Maxime Constantinian (Programmer), Valentin Ducloux (Music + Integration), Alexandre Rey (Artistic Direction).
Read More: Best Rhythm Music Games.
Video World
Disclaimer: Indie work is short and sweet. Don’t expect a lot.
This companion to the EP Video World by Monster Mansion also scored Excellence in Emerging Games at this year’s AGDAs (that’s Australian Game Developer Awards, just in case you’re unfamiliar). It’s a well known fact that Halloween is Christmas for the gays, and this rhythm game harnesses that energy with upbeat synth-pop and some excellent pun work. The bright primary colours and crisp character design make night shift at the video store a delight. This also is a continuation of Film Victoria’s fine work in gaming. Thumbs up from me.
– Real player with 2.0 hrs in game
I really loved Video World! The text was witty and got plenty of laughs from me, the gameplay really fun and enjoyable, and the music is amazing! I felt like the human manifestation of catJAM bopping to the music while playing. It is a short game, but a lot of fun.
– Real player with 1.2 hrs in game
Neo-Zero
Neo-Zero is a role-playing game which takes place in a hi-tech, dystopian, computer-simulated world. Neo-Zero features highly unsafe lab tests (puzzles) and rhythmic battles against husky military recruits.
In the 1990s, a scientist created the Neo-Zero™ Simulation Software to simulate a real world with real people. Their intent was to perform experiments on these virtual people. Shockingly, the simulated world devolved into a dystopia controlled by a single, abusive government. The world had started to build an artificial intelligence that could break itself out of Neo-Zero, so the scientist shut the Neo-Zero project down.
… two decades later, the (now broke) scientist decided to sell Neo-Zero as a video game.
As you boot up your copy of Neo-Zero for the first time, you will be entered into the world that the scientist had shut down.
You play as Apollo, an aspiring junior scientist at Oxylabs who is forced to perform tests using Oxylabs’ Propulsion Gun Prototype. During a morning of testing, Apollo finds himself stuck in the middle of a sticky situation: a military-enforced shutdown of the unethical Oxylabs.
Aela serves as the overseer to your tests on the day of the Oxylabs shutdown. She assists you on the journey to escape the facilities and prevent the government from laying their hands on Oxylabs’ most powerful device: Project Foxtrot.
After Oxylabs researchers determined that their world had a 99% chance of being a computer simulation, they developed Project Foxtrot, an artificial intelligence designed to exploit a glitch in the simulation. However, leaving Foxtrot powered on for more than 5 minutes has resulted in the simulated world falling apart…
Ferdinand is a coworker who led Oxylabs' Project Foxtrot. He may have the solution to stopping Project Foxtrot from destroying the world.
Perhaps Bonnie can help you find Ferdinand. Bonnie is a young entrepreneur who runs a chemical factory and is ready to make the deal of a lifetime. Bonnie may not realize it, but she has a stronger connection to Ferdinand than she is aware of.
You meet many other scientists throughout the game. Some of them do not take their careers as seriously as you do.
Soldiers are trained to capture any scientists they come across. Like typical video-game grunts, these soldiers have disgusting personalities and a terrible sense of humour!
Brobots are friendly devices which can feed you with corny jokes in times of despair. However, their software is pretty fragile, so handle them with care!
??? ????? ?? ?????? ? ?????? ????????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ??????? ????? ?? ???????? ?????????? ??? ?????????? ?????? ? ??????? ?? ???????? ???? ????? ??????????
Battles: battles against enemies require you to press the WASD keys to deflect projectiles to the rhythm of the music.
Puzzles: you will encounter several puzzles that you must complete during your testing as an Oxylabs researcher. These puzzles feature bridges, locked doors, teleporters and the occasional riddle!
Money: you can spend the world currency, Jimmies, on snacks, lavish dining, as well as phone calls with your little brother Vlad.
As you struggle to escape Oxylabs and fight against the government, several characters develop along the way – including those that desire control over the artificial intelligence. Do you align yourself with or against the government? Can you save your family from impoverishment? Will you be able to stop the rogue intelligence from destroying the Neo-Zero simulation? That’s up to you to decide.
![UNBEATABLE [white label]](https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/1290490/header.jpg)
UNBEATABLE [white label]
Initial impression after beating all the songs on Normal:
Game’s real stylish, but that can get in the way of playing it. Had several times I missed a beat either because there was so much going on screen I couldn’t even see it, or the camera was moving around so fast that the beat I needed to hit wasn’t shown until right before I had to hit it.
The blue enemies are obnoxious since you don’t know what the delay will be between the first and second hit until ~after~ the first hit, makin it kind of annoying to get right since some blue enemies need you to hit the second immediately after the first, while others have a noticeable delay between the two.
– Real player with 9.2 hrs in game
I really wish there was a “Keep an eye on it” option for reviews.
This game looks great, has an excellent soundtrack, and the gameplay is there. There’s very little in regards to an actual one player mode - you start the game, it dumps you into a tutorial, then a single song, then it just lets you select songs without showing a story progression. It might be because it’s still a work in progress, I don’t know.
Edit 6/26/21: Please disregard the previous review I had posted; After playing the game a bit longer, I figured out that the counter is for the percentage of perfect hits that you score, based upon the amount of notes that have been played so far. THAT is why the value goes down severely when you miss something very early, and why it feels like you’re not gaining that much of a percentage back as the song plays on. It’s a very backwards/opposite way for the game to keep score of that, and considering a lot of other UI design choices, it might be intentional. I haven’t figured out the formula, but it assigns a different value to Great and Poor hits.
– Real player with 5.0 hrs in game
DISHARMONY
Set in a world inspired by music, DISHARMONY takes you through an adventure filled with smiles, tears, and maybe a few scares along the way. Expect to see various towns and cities, quirky characters, mind-bending puzzles, and plenty of cats.
DISHARMONY allows the player to explore the dreams of some of the game’s characters. Can you help them overcome their nightmares…?
Going through these optional sequences will teach you more about the characters and their personalities, as well as allow you to uncover the deeper secrets hidden in the game’s world.
The game’s battle system is a mix of classic turn-based combat borrowed from old JRPGs and gameplay typically found in rhythm games. Defeat your enemies with the power of music!
DISHARMONY may be a fairly serious game at times, but it also has a lot of goofy and lighthearted humour. Did someone say “puns”…?
No…?
Oh.
Well, there’s loads of them.
The game features an aesthetic inspired by classic games from the 80s/90s, as well as segments featuring hand-drawn art, frame-by-frame animation, and claymation. There are loads of secrets and easter eggs to find, as well as references to various bands and musical artists. The game also features an original soundtrack!
The game’s world features elements of both fantasy and science fiction.
WARNING:
This game features flashing imagery that may cause discomfort or trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy.
It also features dark and potentially disturbing imagery.
Beat Defender
My review may be biased due to my connection with the creator, however I feel confident saying that this game has the potential to become a great and very popular rhythm game. The premise is simple, and the game is quite simple to start learning. Personally I think the learning curve for the first few levels is just about right, requiring a bit of time to learn the basics, and to polish until the final level. Overall I would recommend the game to people that are looking for a new and interesting rhythm game, and especially so if the game continues to be developed.
– Real player with 4.0 hrs in game
Gaem gaem GAEMING!
The game follows a silent protagonist with no known name or history who slashes threats who try and invade homeless camps in the city. Other than that, the game has no real story (though I imagine that a story might be implemented later on.)
The game’s hybrid of rhythm and hack n slash makes the experience unique and enjoyable. However, there are times where the game felt cheap as there was a stun that didn’t allow me to move to another part of the map.
As for the final boss, he is 100% supa sick. However some of his indicators could be more visible as it took me a sew tries to understand what I was supposed to do.
– Real player with 1.4 hrs in game
El Tango de la Muerte
El Tango de la Muerte:
It takes two to tango, isn’t what they say! What if someone wants to tango but has two left feet? The image in my mind is that a person would have his upper body leaning toward the right in order to compensate for his/her unfortunate tendency to deviate to their left side. Joking aside, what would you do if your childhood sweetheart was a great Tango dancer, and you discovered that you actually had not two, but three left feet? You’d probably ask someone to help you out, right? That is exactly what Luciano did. He asked his best friend Julio to teach him how to find the secret of his right foot. Otherwise, it would truly become El Tango de la Muerte!
*– [Real player with 3.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198003030375)*
A fresh and highly unique spin on the rhythm genre. You're basically trying to follow the pattern as it appears on the floor with various flourishes that you can hit for added effect. While this sounds simple, picking up on the rhythm can be tough and you'll feel exactly as awkward as someone dancing poorly would in real life, but when you finally get the beat down and hit that string of notes just right, it feels _amazing_
The theme and story are also very fun. I can honestly say I've never played a game about Argentenian ballroom dancing before. The storyline is like a soap opera gangster story and it's surprisingly well-written with some memorable characters and fun over-the-top melodrama.
*– [Real player with 2.6 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197997934524)*
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## Viola: The Heroine's Melody
I suppose I will put out my 2 cents on this game.
I love it, simply put it that way. Viola takes inspiration from many video game series, yet it still manages to feel unique in its own way. Gameplay is super solid, requiring the proper keyboard presses alongside proper timing to successfully pull off attacks and similar actions. There is also a cool mechanic originating from this game involving defending, in which a character defending has a % chance to protect a teammate from damage. This is a great example of one of the special touches made in the game to help it shine and stand out.
*– [Real player with 53.3 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198093222760)*
Take a chance on trust!
Viola is a cute, relaxing, relatable, and fun game. Plain and simple.
Each character has enough depth so you know what they are about as far as character development goes.
The movement of the platforming is spot on, Viola moves exactly where you want her to be.
I have reached the end of early access in 13 hours, about 1.5 hours of that was backtracking to do side quests/story.
The combat keeps you on edge with the buttons needing to be pressed in a timed manner, is very well balanced, and you will not need to grind.
*– [Real player with 15.6 hrs in game](http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198192861143)*
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