Beat Souls

When I downloaded the new game Beat Souls, I have to admit that part of me hoped that it was going to be the Dark Souls of the rhythm genre. Sadly, it is not. There's no magic, ugly bosses or even one reference to the Estus Flask, but rather four anime girls listening to generic dance music. I'm going to try my hardest to not let this disappointment cloud my judgement, but admit it, now you're curious what a Dark Souls rhythm game would be like. Yeah, me too.

As far as I'm concerned, Beat Souls is nonsense. There's no story explaining why these four anime girls are trapped in a never-ending struggle to avoid obstacles on a note highway, and it was only after reading the game's press release that I realized that the characters are dancing to collect spirits. And don't expect to learn anything about the story from the character select screen, which ends up reading more like dating profile.

Of course, this hardly matters, because Beat Souls is the kind of game that can get by on its addictive gameplay and upbeat dance songs. We don't need an elaborate story to set everything up, because we're here to dodge obstacles and listen to the pop music. And, as rhythm games go, this one has some interesting ideas. For starters, you control a girl and her two "Otomo" companions, which she will use to collect the yellow and blue notes lining the highway. Usually, these companions are positioned on both her left and right side, however, she can pile both on one or the other side when necessary. The goal is to dodge the obstacles and pick up as many notes as possible before the song ends, all in the hopes of earning a high score and full combo.

When I mention obstacles, I'm mostly talking about walls and spikes. This is what the game calls "noise," and you'll have to deal with both obstacles in almost every stage. As I'm sure you've already figured out, you'll need to move left or right to avoid the walls, whereas you'll need to jump over the spikes. This starts out incredibly easy, but the challenge quickly ramps up as the game starts combining the obstacles and leaving harder note patterns.

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On top of dodging threats, the dancing queens in Beat Souls are often asked to collect both yellow and blue notes. This is done by switching the colors on the companion orbs, which is as easy as pushing a button. Or, at least, it's supposed to be that easy. One of the big problems I ran into was that pushing the button didn't always switch the colors. I know the game registers that I pushed the button, because it makes the sound effect tied to changing colors, but doesn't actually switch from yellow to blue. This isn't so bad during the slower songs, when you have plenty of time to look out for this issue, but it becomes an absolute nightmare during the faster (and harder) songs.

Unfortunately, this is just one of the problems I have with Beat Souls. Even if the color switching worked flawlessly, I would still be underwhelmed by the soundtrack and stage designs. I want to say that the music is generic, but that's not the problem. The issue is that every song feels incomplete. Half-baked, even. These feel like rough drafts and sample riffs that could turn into catchy songs, but aren't quite there yet. Hell, most of the tracks in this game don't even have an ending. They just abruptly end, sometimes in the middle of a dance move.

It doesn't help that the note placement doesn't really connect with the song you're hearing. Look, don't get me wrong, I'm not expecting the level of specificity found in Rock Band or Guitar Hero, but if you told me the levels were randomly created by a computer before the song was even added, I would believe you. I suppose the saving grace is that these levels are often fun to play, and I like how they gradually ramp up the difficulty when playing through the lengthy campaign.

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There are other things the game gets right, too. For example, after you've completed any of the normal stages, a harder version will pop up in hopes of challenging you. There are also special levels in the extra difficult Hell Mode, which takes the challenge to a whole new level. The game is good about unlocking new characters, modes and things for you to do, something that kept me playing (and replaying) the 30 song soundtrack over and over again.

I also like the look and style of the game. While simple and lacking in the obstacle department, I enjoyed the cyberpop aesthetic. There are times when things are going so fast and the note highway is so crowded, that the game is almost daring you to stay focused. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for this style of rhythm game, but I like the way it looks, even if there are times when everything blurs together into one chaotic soup. I have a hunch that the presentation (along with the music) will be one of the more polarizing aspects of Beat Souls.

When it comes down to it, this is a game that is saved by its fun gameplay. The combination of rhythm and runner elements makes this admittedly shallow game feel fresh and unique, even if the fun is short-lived. With a more focused story and better arrangement of songs, I could see this becoming a fun series. In its current state, however, I'm having a hard time recommending Beat Souls.