A Musical Story
- March 4, 2022
- Glee-Cheese Studio
A Musical Story wants to be an inspired rhythm game but its vibrant soundtrack and pleasant visuals do little to distract from the sole, central mechanic that never evolves, resulting in frustration and obscuring meaningful progression.
Get on Steam"A Musical Story" is a rhythm game where players rekindle the memories of Gabriel, a young man seeking truth, by pressing buttons in time with a 70s-inspired soundtrack. Storytelling occurs through music and visuals, with perfect song play unlocking hidden chapters. The game features 26 original songs and can be completed in 2-3 hours, with extended playtime for perfect ratings.
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Reviews
- The art style is beautiful and visually appealing, enhancing the overall experience.
- The music is stellar, with a vibrant soundtrack that complements the narrative.
- The storytelling is creative and emotional, successfully conveying themes without words.
- The gameplay is frustrating due to a lack of rhythmic cues and the need for perfect runs to progress.
- Repetitive mechanics lead to boredom, as players must replay sections multiple times for minor mistakes.
- The narrative can feel incoherent and drawn out, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- music172 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in "A Musical Story" is widely praised for its vibrant and soulful soundtrack, drawing inspiration from 60s and 70s prog rock and jam bands, which enhances the game's artistic and narrative elements. However, players express frustration with the rhythm mechanics, noting that the lack of clear beat tracking can lead to confusion and repetitive gameplay, detracting from the overall experience. While the soundtrack is a highlight, the game's design choices may hinder enjoyment for those not deeply engaged with music or rhythm games.
“The art is beautiful, the music absolutely stellar, and the storytelling is wonderful and creative.”
“The music is wonderful with relaxing jazzy vibes.”
“A perfect linear story-driven game with stellar music!”
“With no markings to track beat and/or measure, some songs become an exercise in frustration and simply memorizing the rhythms over repeated plays.”
“The easy mode just makes things boring and makes a player focus on the small moving dot instead of listening to the music.”
“A musical story wants to be an inspired rhythm game but its vibrant soundtrack and pleasant visuals do little to distract from the sole, central mechanic that never evolves, resulting in frustration and obscuring meaningful progression.”
- story130 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story in "A Musical Story" is a mixed bag, with some praising its emotional depth and unique storytelling through music, while others criticize it for being overly simplistic and drawn out. Many reviewers appreciate the beautiful art and stellar music that accompany the narrative, but feel that the pacing and coherence of the story detract from the overall experience. Ultimately, while the game offers a charming premise and engaging visuals, its storytelling may leave some players feeling frustrated and underwhelmed.
“The art is beautiful, the music absolutely stellar, and the storytelling is wonderful and creative.”
“A musical story is a rhythm game about a jam band who decides to travel to play at a musical festival...but it's also about addiction, love, friendship, and the true value of music.”
“The story itself is a rollercoaster that manages to find a sweet spot between emotional and intimate.”
“The story on the other hand... was a little too dry.”
“You can summarize the entire 2-3 hour story in 3-4 simple sentences.”
“There's a kernel of a delightful game buried in here, but the storytelling is so incoherent and dull that it feels like an absolute slog to get through.”
- gameplay55 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing it for being overly simplistic and monotonous, often reducing the experience to repetitive button pressing without meaningful feedback. While some appreciate the rhythm mechanics and find them rewarding, others feel that the lack of depth and engaging narrative leads to frustration and boredom. Overall, the gameplay struggles to captivate players, overshadowed by its limited mechanics and lack of evolution throughout the game.
“The gameplay mechanic is a mix of a 'memory game' and a rhythm game, and can get very hard especially midway in the story when the rhythms get very complex and sometimes practically just random effects without any underlying rhythm.”
“Beautifully made, interesting story, great intuitive and simple rhythm mechanics.”
“The gameplay is rhythm related, where you successively play as different instruments, in time, with some length notes, pauses, beats, etc.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay itself fails it atrociously.”
“I like narrative-driven games with little gameplay, but this narrative wasn't good, interesting, or impactful enough, and the gameplay bored and frustrated me immensely.”
“Tell me how many people will be stupid like me to sit through the whole game when the gameplay is only 'watching the dark screen and hitting two buttons which gives you no positive feedback, and after finishing that, the game presents you with another set of images about the story and a series of new buttons to hit.'”
- graphics38 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their appealing art style and vibrant visuals, which many reviewers describe as "a candy to the eye." The combination of well-designed graphics and a captivating soundtrack enhances the overall experience, although some players feel that the presentation could be more dynamic to match the quality of the visuals. Overall, the aesthetics contribute significantly to the game's enjoyment, despite some critiques regarding the narrative and gameplay mechanics.
“The story is engaging and the art style is a candy to the eye.”
“Very well done visuals and music, and I ended up 100% it because I enjoyed both.”
“Aesthetically pleasing in a lot of ways.”
“The story can be summarized with the sentence 'camping trip gone wrong' and with its charming hand-drawn visuals and music setting the stage properly, it's hard to not be engaged in a story it's trying to tell, and it also helps to reinforce the part of the game that would've been otherwise boring.”
“It is 90% about the story and art style.”
“Don't believe people that say this is easy; they are just beasts. Some levels were pretty hardcore and chaotic for me. In the end, the game had pretty nice melodies and a storyline (although a few chapters left me a bit confused) and an overall catchy art style.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game excels in its emotional depth, combining a touching story with appealing visuals and great music. Players describe the narrative as a rollercoaster that balances intimacy and emotion, creating a profound experience beyond just the soundtrack.
“The story itself is a rollercoaster that manages to find a sweet spot between emotional and intimate.”
“It's much more than an emotional piano riff when things get sad.”
“The music is great, the visuals appealing, the story touching.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its excellent art style and music, which complement the simple gameplay and story, creating an engaging overall experience.
“The gameplay, like the story, is simple with a very good art style, music, and atmosphere.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game to be effective, noting that it adds an entertaining layer to the story, which they perceive as incomplete and not entirely engaging. The comedic elements contribute to a sense of enjoyment despite the narrative's shortcomings.
“This is hilarious, because in my opinion, neither you have made the story look boring nor complete.”
