A Musical Story
- March 4, 2022
- Glee-Cheese Studio
A Musical Story is a short rhythm game that stands out with genuinely good original music, a touching story, and amazing visuals. If you’re a fan of music, art, or all things creative, this game is certainly right up your alley.
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 game features beautifully designed graphics, a captivating soundtrack, and a unique narrative that enhances the overall experience.
- It offers a different take on rhythm gameplay, focusing on complex rhythms and musical ideas rather than fast-paced inputs, making it feel like a playable concept album.
- The art style and storytelling are engaging, creating an emotional connection with players as they progress through the chapters.
- The gameplay can become frustrating due to the requirement of perfecting each chapter to unlock the true ending, leading to repetitive restarts after minor mistakes.
- There is a lack of visual cues for rhythm tracking, making it difficult for players to keep time, especially during complex sections with long silences.
- The pacing of the story can feel slow and drawn out, with some players finding the narrative incoherent and the gameplay repetitive.
- music79 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and integration into the gameplay, with many reviewers highlighting its unique blend of 60s and 70s influences, creating a captivating atmosphere that enhances the storytelling. However, some players find the difficulty in achieving perfect scores frustrating, as it detracts from the enjoyment of the music itself, leading to a focus on memorization rather than musicality. Overall, while the soundtrack is celebrated, the game's design choices regarding rhythm and difficulty may limit its appeal to a broader audience.
“It's like a playable concept album, with very tasteful layering of tracks, and the music perfectly fits and changes with the mood of the scenes.”
“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 rhythms that are asked of you in the moment really force you to stop, listen and think about the music and rhythm which in turn helps you connect to the characters in a way no other game does in my experience.”
“The easy mode just makes things boring and makes a player focus on the small moving dot instead of listening to the 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.”
“It's not a killer, but it's a weird miss for a game that takes musicality so seriously.”
- story59 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story in "A Musical Story" is praised for its unique integration with rhythm gameplay, featuring a charming narrative about a band’s journey intertwined with themes of love, addiction, and friendship. While the art and music are consistently highlighted as stunning, some players find the storytelling pace slow and the narrative occasionally confusing or repetitive. Overall, the game is seen as a beautiful experience that effectively combines visual and auditory elements to enhance the storytelling, despite some criticisms regarding its execution.
“The story itself is a rollercoaster that manages to find a sweet spot between emotional and intimate.”
“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.”
“Great story told in a beautifully unique way.”
“Pair to that an extremely long-winded story that spends an entire chapter, through endless little cutscenes, telling a tiny bit of the story that could be told in a single comic-book page... and I was disappointed.”
“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.”
“It takes two hours to tell a story that would fit in a shallow, 3-minute music video.”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it rewarding and engaging, particularly in its rhythm mechanics, while others criticize it as monotonous and lacking depth. Many users noted that the mechanics can become overly simplistic or frustrating, leading to a disconnect between the gameplay and the narrative. Overall, while some appreciate the artistic elements and challenge, others feel the gameplay fails to provide sufficient engagement or satisfaction.
“And it made for much more interesting gameplay, and I needed to consciously try to figure out what the rhythms at play actually were, or find cues in the backing track to help me know when the next note would come in.”
“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.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay itself fails it atrociously.”
“The current gameplay mechanics are very boring.”
“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 another images about the story and a series of new buttons to hit.'”
- graphics18 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming hand-drawn art style and appealing visuals, which enhance the overall experience and engagement with the story. Many reviewers highlight the aesthetic quality as a significant strength, complemented by a well-designed soundtrack that adds to the atmosphere. However, some suggest that incorporating more dynamic visual elements could further elevate the presentation.
“Graphics, ideas, and music are all well designed; a great enjoyment indeed.”
“The music is great, the visuals appealing, and the story touching.”
“The story is engaging and the art style is a candy to the eye.”
“The story can be summarized with the sentence 'camping trip gone wrong gone sexual' 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.”
“Aesthetically pleasing in a lot of ways.”
- emotional3 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, enhancing the overall experience beyond just poignant musical moments.
“The music is great, the visuals appealing, the story touching.”
“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.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its strong art style and music, which effectively 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.”
“The atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, making it hard to immerse myself in the game.”
“Despite the game's setting, the atmosphere lacks any real tension or excitement, leaving me feeling disconnected.”
“The environments are bland and forgettable, which severely detracts from the overall experience.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game to be highly entertaining, noting that it effectively keeps the story engaging despite its incomplete nature.
“This is hilarious because, in my opinion, neither have you made the story look boring nor complete.”
“The humor in this game is top-notch; I found myself laughing out loud at the clever dialogue and absurd situations.”
“I love how the game balances humor with gameplay; it keeps things light-hearted while still being engaging.”
