NOISZ: rhythm game & shoot-em-up hybrid [WIP][PC][DEMO]

A place for people with an interest in developing new shmups.
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dunpeal2064
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Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2010 9:14 pm
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Re: NOISZ: rhythm game & shoot-em-up hybrid [WIP][PC][DEMO]

Post by dunpeal2064 »

So, this game is out as of August 31st, and is currently on sale. I've bought it and played for a few hours, and figured I'd share early impressions.

There are two main modes here, Story and Free (With a third dancepad-capable mode that I haven't toyed with). Going through the story lets you face the bosses/songs in order, and appears to have multiple routes (ie: 4-A or 4-B, I believe this is based on your choices in the light-VN story bits). Free mode functions more like a standard rhythm game, letting you pick a song/boss and difficulty.

There are two buttons here, Shot and Shield. Each must be pressed with the timing of the song rather than being held, and only one can be pressed at a time. Shot is self-explanatory, and shield makes you immune to any white bullets/lasers. Your standard movement speed is closer to the slow speed in Cave/Touhou, but while your shield is active you move at a faster rate. Each phase of a boss has a health meter, which can be depleted to 0%, and then refilled to 100% for bonus score. Once the boss reaches 0%, it goes into an overdrive state, making the patterns more difficult. You also have a chain, though it functions more like a rhythm chain than a Dodonpachi one. Taping in the rhythm (with either shot or shield) increases your chain, and missing a tap or tapping too fast drops it. I believe the chain directly relates to damage, allowing you to get further into overdrive.

Patterns here, from what I've seen so far, are quite good, and tie into the songs so well that you can almost predict whats coming next. The game is also very willing to play with these patterns, moving them in and out to the beat, having lasers change colors to the timing of the song, etc. Scoring has been good so far too, as it rewards both the shmup and rhythm aspect. You want to use shield as little as possible, which means you need good dodging skills, so that you are always damaging the boss, but you also need to keep your chain up, which means not only tapping in time, but moving to the tempo of the game so that, when shield is necessary, you only have it up for 1-2 quarter notes.

Very pleased with this game so far. Being a fan of both genres, I feel like I am more than their target audience, but I think the game would at least be enjoyable to fans of either genre, without necessarily needing to be well-versed in the other.

Its only $10 right now, and it also has a free demo on steam that lets you freeplay 3 songs on any difficulty, so there's no reason to not at least check it out. :)
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