Frantic and rhythmic, ROBOBEAT enters the small crowd of music-centric action games that blend the timing of beats and bullets. While touted as a roguelite, it's more random arcade shooter at heart, focusing on the thrill of the kinetic kill.
Imagining a game without a soundtrack is near impossible. Undoubtedly across the vast ocean of games, there are numerous titles either lacking a score or any other noise outside the cacophony of blips and beeps.
But I crave the music.
And as time has gone on, evocative scores are so intrinsically enjoyable to me that they become a part of the narrative or gameplay. While many developers may work to infuse their game with noteworthy tracks benefiting a key story beat or amplifying the gentle ambiance of exploration, a growing number are emphasizing music as a key hook.
A few years ago, Metal: Hellsinger transformed the concept of a metal album into a video game. Rife with demons and fire and brimstone and bullets, Metal: Hellsinger looked like the cover of a metal album come to life. Its focal point was a combo system tying first-person shooting to the rhythm of metal music. A revolver bullet or blast from a floating skull timed with the beat would raise the player’s combo. It would cause sparks and fire to spurt from the scenery like a pyrotechnics show. And the music would build and swell, until finally the vocals kicked in.
ROBOBEAT puts its soundtrack at equal prominence, using techno and EDM as the gasoline to fuel its shooting vehicle. Here, players do best when they capitalize on pulling the trigger to the tune of the beat. But guns are not the only manner of dispatch, allowing the acrobatic robot player character Ace numerous moves that will help it soar across levels to avoid taking damage, desperately seeking to lock players into a thumping flow state.
Last year, Will reviewed ROBOBEAT on PC and I honestly echo much of his praise for the game. Here, I’m looking at the PlayStation 5 version which, considering the transition from mouse and keyboard to controller, can be a little daunting when it comes to feverish shooters.
The most prominent thing missing from ROBOBEAT‘s console release is the lack of being able to upload your own custom soundtrack to the game. Copyright laws and storage issues are given as the reason for the lack of this feature. While it does sound fascinating to have the game be able to accurately measure the beats-per-minute of a song and allow the player to blast through randomly-generated rooms, us console stans are used to missing out on this kind of tinkering.
Missing feature aside, I never mind the tradeoff of being able to use the DualSense when plowing through a shooter. ROBOBEAT doesn’t amplify the controller’s abilities along the lines of an Astro Bot, yet there’s a number of settings players can make to adjust sensitivity and make shooting snappy, all while having adaptive triggers and some impressive rumble.
ROBOBEAT‘s magic is the few dozen cassette tapes players gather along the journey, all representing different songs that act as the heartbeat of the game’s action. Each song possesses a specific BPM that the game will adjust to. Faster BPM tracks mean players will be constantly hitting the trigger in tune to maximize their score. Slower BPM means a softer pace, giving players a bit more leeway to gather themselves in battle.
The soundtrack here is fantastic. As someone who extols the virtue of synthwave since the days of Hotline Miami, I’ll always be a forever sucker for a game that shreds in any similar way. Over the course of my numerous runs in ROBOBEAT, I felt inclined to play songs with a faster BPM. Something about the pace and my inclination towards constantly shooting works better because I would frequently keep in tune by firing my revolver to the tune, even when an enemy wasn’t around. Gracefully, developer Inzanity allows players to swap out cassettes on the fly, graciously providing the chance to relieve some pressure while also adjusting the soundtrack. It’s a clever move that elevates the thrumming soul of ROBOBEAT.
Though it may be categorized as a roguelite, there are only a few aspects of ROBOBEAT that give me that impression. Runs are definitely random with map layouts, enemies, and the loot players will discover along the way. The point is to dive in, blast through waves, and conquer bosses, rinse and repeat. But sprinkled throughout the pace is upgrade currency players can use at workbenches to unlock blueprints and a small number of upgrades, allowing new guns to be cycled into subsequent runs.
Players can equip a weapon on each hand, each taking advantage of how the game keeps pace. The beat is indicated on the HUD as a scrolling bar that meets in the center of the screen, showing players should shoot when the icon hits the center, much like you would on Guitar Hero or Dance Dance Revolution. Sensibly, pistols fire faster to allow a constant way to keep the beat. Shotguns and heavier weapons may fire with a beat but take another beat or two to reload, still doing so with audible clicks and pauses that feel satisfying.
Yet I would argue ROBOBEAT is more arcade shooter than roguelite. Players can tailor a kind of difficulty to the game with more intense songs but upgrades are primarily meant to throw more toys in the level for players to work with. Ace can ground slam, wall run, and double jump but is also capable of parrying projectiles and using special attacks, all meant to keep that combo going. I can’t imagine what kind of permanent upgrades outside of increasingly better mods and more health would really work with how the game is designed.
This may be disappointing for players who want to feel rewarded for constantly progressing deeper into the game. But like with most roguelites, it would be possible to beat ROBOBEAT from beginning to end with the most basic guns and skills, merely relying on raw skill. And I think that’s truly where the game shines. Its blitzkrieg of dark walls and hallways splashed with neon opponents and signage, coupled with an eye-watering pace are meant to be ground into dust under the player’s boot.
ROBOBEAT is an exciting FPS because of how it weaves a killer soundtrack and punchy combat into its DNA. Firing to the beat of a suite of incredible tracks and sweeping across a techno playground is one of those simple joys in life. While players shouldn’t expect deep roguelite progression, the tools on hand are meant to fuel the frenetic pace, throwing players into a madcap state of sublime shooting.
