City of Beats
- May 1, 2023
- Torched Hill
- 25h median play time
Get on SteamIn "City of Beats," a rhythm-based rogue-lite shooter, players must navigate the rooftops of a city, shooting down hostile robots to the beat of the music. Weapons, enemies, and environmental hazards all move and attack in time with the soundtrack, requiring players to listen closely and time their movements and attacks accordingly. With an emphasis on flow and dynamic gameplay, "City of Beats" offers a unique twist on the twin-stick shooter genre.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The integration of rhythm into the gameplay is unique and enjoyable, allowing players to create music while shooting.
- The game features smooth controls and a visually appealing art style, enhancing the overall experience.
- It offers a good balance of challenge and fun, with a variety of upgrades and humorous elements that keep players engaged.
- The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of diverse content, leading to a feeling of monotony after a short playtime.
- Many upgrades feel situational or ineffective, which can hinder player progression and enjoyment.
- The difficulty level can be frustratingly high, with some players experiencing input delays and balance issues that detract from the overall experience.
- music53 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in "City of Beats" is praised for its integration into gameplay, where shooting and enemy actions contribute to a dynamic soundtrack, creating a unique rhythm-based experience. While some players appreciate the innovative concept and enjoyable soundtracks, others feel that the game lacks the depth of traditional rhythm games and can disrupt the flow of music during combat. Overall, the soundtrack is considered solid and enhances the game's atmosphere, though some players wished for more active engagement with the rhythm.
“I love anything that puts a rhythm aspect into a genre, and City of Beats uses rhythm tastefully while also having some great soundtracks.”
“Each shot you or an enemy fires is a new chord in the song, so soon it becomes a symphony of music.”
“The music is really solid, and when things are flowing, it feels great - I actually completely Tetris effect'd myself with this game, playing enough in a short time that I'm constantly hearing the music (especially the dodge time cues) in my head.”
“For a game that's supposed to be about music, I wasn't blown away by the tune.”
“I started playing it and I kept looking for the rhythm part — other than some music, there doesn't seem to be anything active to it, more of a passive thing.”
“There's a number of things like this in the game where the main idea of the game (the aforementioned shooting/dodging in time with music cues) that make you specifically not play in time to the music, which is really frustrating.”
- gameplay33 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay in "City of Beats" features innovative rhythm integration, where weapon fire syncs with music, enhancing the overall experience. However, players note that while the mechanics are easy to learn, the gameplay loop can become repetitive and lacks creativity in power-ups, leading to a frustrating difficulty spike. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate the satisfying combat and the game's visual and musical elements, suggesting a solid foundation that could benefit from further refinement.
“It has some neat ideas on how to integrate rhythm into the gameplay - weapons fire to the rhythm and add to the music, and to maximize damage you need to time your power attacks well, or else your main attack will stop firing.”
“City of Beats is a fairly simple semi-rhythm roguelite at first glance, but the more you play, the more its satisfying game mechanics grow on you.”
“The game's mechanics are easy to pick up (even for me), but the challenge ramps up quickly, making it a perfect balance of fun and difficulty that wants you to become better and better over time.”
“Brutal difficulty that could be lessened by gameplay elements.”
“I really wish they were more creative here as I feel the power-ups don’t really make a huge difference when it comes to gameplay.”
“The gameplay loop is a bit boring and repetitive and feeds into the increased difficulty in a negative way.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the art style, aesthetics, and smooth performance, while others find them average and lacking in excitement. The visuals are often described as stylish and readable, contributing positively to the gameplay experience, though some players feel that the graphics do not stand out as much as the sound design.
“Good graphics and UI here.”
“With its visuals, soundtrack, and to-the-beat auto-shooting, this game sticks out among the genre.”
“The art style/direction is really solid all the way through, the levels look great, and mostly play great too.”
“The graphics are underwhelming and fail to impress.”
“The art style and direction are inconsistent, leading to a visually confusing experience.”
“The overall graphical quality feels outdated and lacks the polish expected from modern games.”
- humor7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is generally well-received, featuring well-crafted moments and a lighthearted tone that doesn't take itself too seriously. While it shares some similarities with the humor of Ballhalla, it is noted to be less abundant. Players appreciate the funny dialogue, amusing NPC interactions, and the developers' playful trolling, which adds to the game's overall charm.
“✅ Some well-crafted humorous moments.”
“+ The kind of humor that doesn't take anything seriously (I adore).”
“Massively recommend this if you're looking for a fun indie game to play; the music and atmosphere are top tier, gameplay is good fun, and the dialogue is funny, plus you get your very own robotic dog!”
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's story is straightforward, focusing primarily on missions to defeat enemies, with limited lore or depth. While the main campaign offers a balanced challenge and some post-campaign features, players may find the narrative lacking in richness. The soundtrack is a highlight, available for purchase after completing the story mode.
“Overall, I had a good time; a run doesn't take too long to finish, the main story isn't too easy or too difficult, and there are some post-campaign features available as well.”
“The soundtrack is nice; you could purchase the OST if you liked it after you've played through the story mode.”
“There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of story or lore as you pretty much are sent on a mission to kill the baddies.”
“There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of story or lore as you pretty much are sent on a mission to kill the baddies.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, with users reporting smooth performance on both PC and Steam Deck, and noting that everything runs instantly without any issues. Overall, it receives a positive assessment in terms of technical execution.
“I had no issues with performance on either my PC or the Steam Deck.”
“Great optimization; everything is instant.”
“On the technical side, I really appreciated how optimized the game is.”
“The graphics quality is decent, but the overall optimization feels lacking.”
“I experienced significant frame drops during intense gameplay, which affected my enjoyment.”
“The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, even on high-end hardware.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding mechanics to be repetitive and unsatisfying, as they often feel trapped in a loop of collecting permanent currency to reach milestones, only to return to grinding again. While the humor initially adds charm, it quickly becomes tedious, especially when frequent character deaths lead to prolonged wait times for revival.
“The intention here is understandable, but the unfortunate effect is that it creates a rather unsatisfying loop; grind permanent currency so you can get to the next milestone, and then switch back to grinding permanent currency.”
“The humor is amusing at first, but after the third or fourth time the game murders you in the 'safe' hub and you have to wait for your character to stop ragdolling and revive, it becomes tedious and more of a time waster.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users indicate that the game's replayability is limited, with some noting a decline in interest after just a couple of hours. While some players express a desire to explore the mechanics further before making a final judgment, the initial impressions suggest that the game may not offer substantial replay value.
“I will update my review as I spend more time in the game, understand all the mechanics better, and can comment on the replayability, which is important for games like this.”
“However, I will update my review as always once I have spent more time in the game, understand all the mechanics better, and can comment on the replayability, which is important for games like this.”
“Lacks replay value after 2 hours.”
- character development1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the cute character designs, which enhance the overall appeal of the game, but there is limited feedback on the depth of character development itself.
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 200 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting its top-tier music and engaging environment that enhances the overall experience. The combination of fun gameplay, humorous dialogue, and the addition of a robotic dog contributes to a delightful indie gaming atmosphere.
“Massively recommend this if you're looking for a fun indie game to play; the music and atmosphere are top tier.”
“The gameplay is good fun and the dialogue is funny, and you get your very own robotic dog!”
