Battle Bands: Rock & Roll Deckbuilder
- November 13, 2023
- Aerie Digital
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam"Battle Bands: Rock & Roll Deckbuilder" is a roguelike game where you progress from a garage band to a rock legend, building your deck with unique cards and special instruments. Customize your band and play solo or with friends in a cooperative campaign, earning experience and tokens to unlock new cosmetics. The game is free-to-play and offers a deckbuilding experience with a musical twist.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Battle Bands is a unique and creative co-op deckbuilder that is fun to play with friends, offering plenty of replayability and engaging mechanics.
- The game features a fantastic art style and an enjoyable soundtrack, enhancing the overall experience while playing.
- The developers are active in improving the game, frequently releasing updates and balancing changes, which shows their commitment to the community.
- The game suffers from a low player base, making it difficult to find matches and fully experience the co-op gameplay without friends.
- AI-controlled band members can be frustratingly uncooperative, often making poor decisions that hinder gameplay, especially in solo runs.
- Some players find the game unbalanced, with difficulty spikes that can make progression feel unfair, particularly against AI opponents.
- music52 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy and engaging quality, enhancing the overall experience with a vibrant soundtrack that complements the gameplay. While many players enjoy the unique musical aesthetic and the integration of music into the deck-building mechanics, some express disappointment that the cards do not influence the music directly. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal, especially in cooperative play.
“The music is catchy, and while you might get your teeth kicked in early runs, as you increase your instrument level, which unlocks more potential cards to be obtained, then you'll find yourself starting to turn the tide against some rather varied AI bosses.”
“Really fun coop card game with an incredible soundtrack!”
“Great music, artistic style, and gameplay.”
“Why do the cards not affect the music at all?!?!?!?!??”
“I had also really hoped that music would actually be a more integral part of the game rather than just a sort of skin and it's really not at all.”
“Basic, you need to play a music sheet and play many cards as required to complete it.”
- gameplay38 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this roguelite deckbuilder is praised for its depth and strategic variety, allowing players to create diverse builds and enjoy a fresh twist on traditional mechanics through music and performance cards. While the game is easy to pick up and features a compelling multiplayer experience, some players note that the AI could be improved and that certain mechanics lack clarity. Overall, the core gameplay loop is engaging and offers replayability, especially when played with friends.
“Gameplay-wise, there is enough depth in the game that you can create various builds to beat the game.”
“Addicting gameplay, quick and easy to pick up, a lot of strategy involved; overall, super great game.”
“This game's core loop is extremely fun and replayable, with each instrument being its own class and a leveling system that unlocks more cards.”
“Almost nobody is currently playing this game, meaning that if you want to experience the co-op gameplay, you'll need to drag one or two friends away from Pal World (or whatever is the new hotness on Steam at the time you're reading this).”
“For one thing, please do something to improve the AI bots or implement some sort of mechanic to work better with them.”
“Gameplay is a bit one-dimensional as of now, but the developers are working on it!”
- graphics14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are highly praised for their amazing art style, reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim comics, and for offering extensive customization options for characters. The combination of vibrant visuals and a unique musical aesthetic enhances the overall experience, making it stand out in the roguelike genre. Players appreciate how the graphics complement the game's multiplayer deck-building mechanics and funky rock and roll theme.
“The art style is just amazing, and the game offers a great amount of customization for your band regarding its members.”
“Love both modes, and the music and artwork are fantastic.”
“Let's start with the graphics and sound of this game, which work really well generally.”
“Lets start with the graphics and sound of this game, which work really well generally.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessive, particularly in relation to the season pass for cosmetics and the necessity of grinding for card level-ups to progress. While the game is enjoyable, many reviewers express frustration over the grindy nature, especially for a game priced at nearly $20, leading to concerns about its overall value and enjoyment.
“It's a really fun game, but I just can't recommend it with how grindy the season pass to get cosmetics is.”
“For an almost 20 dollar indie game, I certainly wouldn't expect there to be an incredibly grindy season pass... or a shop where you can pay real money for 'coins' to buy cosmetics with.”
“After you have seen the 8 bosses, you are just grinding for card level ups.”
- replayability12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game is highly praised for its replayability, with players noting the fun core loop, diverse mechanics tied to different instruments, and a leveling system that encourages multiple playthroughs. The combination of challenging gameplay, creative freedom, and engaging animations and music adds to its charm, making it a worthwhile investment for players seeking lasting enjoyment.
“Only £14 ($17) is not a lot for a game with this much replayability and charm.”
“There is a ton of room for creativity and a good deal of replay value.”
“This game's core loop is extremely fun and replayable, with each instrument being its own class, focusing on different mechanics and a leveling system that unlocks more cards.”
“Lots of replay value in having to level each instrument and how new cards are unlocked with each playthrough.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is highly praised for its synchronization of environmental objects with the rhythm, creating an engaging and immersive experience. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be one of the standout features of the game.
“The best thing about Battle Bands' atmosphere is that numerous environmental objects are in sync with the rhythm.”
- story4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story mode is perceived as somewhat grindy, presenting a challenging progression that can feel like a hard wall, even for a rogue-like game.
“The story mode is a bit grindy.”
“Even for a rogue-type game, there is a hard wall in progression in the story.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The monetization model is generally viewed as fair, as it incorporates a rewarded currency system with coins, rather than relying solely on premium currency for transactions. This approach helps balance the microtransactions and enhances the overall player experience.
“These features, along with the presence of coins as a rewarded currency rather than an exclusively premium currency, make the microtransactions seem fair.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is praised for its innovative mechanics, which introduce a fresh twist to the deck-building genre by incorporating songs and performance cards instead of traditional attack and block cards. This new approach enhances gameplay and offers a unique experience for players.
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-executed, making it an enjoyable experience, especially when played with friends.
“The humor is on point, and this is surprisingly fun to play with a group of friends.”
“The witty dialogue and hilarious situations kept us laughing throughout the game.”
“I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, making every moment enjoyable.”
