Groove Coaster

About

"Groove Coaster" is a rhythm-based game where players ride a roller coaster through various tracks while hitting notes to the beat of the music. The game features bright, colorful graphics and a variety of songs, both original and licensed. Players can unlock new songs, skins, and other customization options as they progress.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,094 reviews

music178 positive mentions

optimization14 negative mentions

Groove Coaster offers a vibrant and exhilarating rhythm game experience with a unique roller coaster-like gameplay mechanic.
The game features a diverse soundtrack with many catchy songs, appealing to fans of electronic and Japanese music.
The visuals are stunning and add to the overall enjoyment of the gameplay, creating an immersive experience.

The PC port suffers from significant input lag and calibration issues, making it frustrating for players to achieve accurate timing.
The game has a limited song selection compared to the arcade version, with many popular tracks locked behind expensive DLC.
Controller support is poorly implemented, requiring workarounds and often leading to inconsistent performance.

music
944 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
76%
5%
The music aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the soundtrack to be diverse yet ultimately forgettable, lacking memorable tracks that resonate emotionally. While the game features a decent selection of songs, particularly from Japanese pop and electronic genres, the limited initial song list and reliance on paid DLC for additional content have frustrated users. Additionally, issues with song synchronization and clunky menu navigation detract from the overall experience, making it challenging for players to fully engage with the music.
- “The soundtrack is phenomenal though.”
- “Zuntata and the rest of the sound team have done a really great job on the dance/electronic style of the soundtrack.”
- “Great rhythm game with great music!”
- “While the concept of tapping along to the beat of music sounds promising, in practice, it quickly becomes repetitive and uninspired.”
- “Many of the songs feel generic and forgettable, lacking the memorable hooks and infectious beats that define great rhythm games.”
- “The lack of standout tracks makes it difficult for players to become emotionally invested in the game and its music, further diminishing the overall experience.”
gameplay
132 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
53%
12%
The gameplay of Groove Coaster is a mixed bag, with some players enjoying its unique mechanics and challenging rhythm elements, while others criticize it for lack of depth, poor design choices, and frustrating technical issues like input lag and synchronization errors. While the core gameplay can be fun and addictive, especially for rhythm game enthusiasts, many find it disjointed and difficult to fully appreciate due to its confusing user interface and visual distractions. Overall, the game offers a vibrant experience but may not meet the expectations of all players, particularly those seeking a polished rhythm game experience.
- “Very fun rhythm game, I honestly recommend it because the game has a lot of nice songs and it also has its unique mechanic of ad libs, which is rather cool.”
- “The core gameplay is extremely fun and the initial song list you get with the base game is surprisingly large.”
- “Gameplay is fun and addictive, and it has lots of replayability value.”
- “Groove Coaster presents itself as a vibrant and exhilarating rhythm game, but beneath its flashy exterior lies a disappointing and disjointed experience marred by poor design choices, lackluster gameplay, and a frustrating user interface.”
- “The game's mechanics lack depth and variety, with little room for creativity or skillful play.”
- “These technical shortcomings disrupt gameplay and immersion, turning what should be a captivating rhythm game into a frustrating and disjointed experience.”
graphics
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
63%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant and distinctive visual style that enhances the rhythm gameplay, particularly the abstract and psychedelic elements that sync with the music. However, some users criticize the port's performance issues, particularly on AMD graphics cards, and note a perceived downgrade in visuals compared to the arcade version. Overall, while the visuals are generally considered impressive and engaging, there are calls for further optimization and options to improve the experience.
- “All the twists and turns in the songs make it more fun, and the background visuals look amazing as well!”
- “The visuals were a lot more impressive than I expected and every song feels fresh due to the unique beatmap style.”
- “The in-game visual style is quite distinctive (reminiscent of the vector-based games of the 80's), and the individual visuals for each song have an attention to detail that really adds to the experience.”
- “Additionally, the graphic choices make it clear this game was never meant to be played on a PC, and the screen ratios make that very clear.”
- “Good game, bad port, bad visuals.”
- “Seems to be an issue with AMD cards where the full visuals aren't loaded into the game when playing a song.”
optimization
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
47%
41%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting frequent lag, stuttering, and synchronization issues that hinder gameplay, especially on higher difficulties. While some players experience no performance problems on specific setups, many others note clunky menus and poor design choices that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is seen as poorly optimized for keyboard use, leaving players hoping for future updates to improve performance.
- “It plays just like the arcade version, the visuals are excellent and I have no performance issues (i5 6300, GTX 960m, 16 GB RAM).”
- “+solid port, no performance issues.”
- “I'm hoping this game's good performance will become a sign for other developers and publishers to bring more bemani-esque games to the NA PC market, as it is severely lacking.”
- “The game suffers from frequent lag, stuttering, and synchronization errors, making it difficult to enjoy a seamless and immersive gameplay experience.”
- “Stuttering and input issues are present on higher difficulties, making them a pain to play.”
- “Game is horribly optimized for keyboard, but rhythm games are crack for me, so here's 20 bucks.”
stability
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The stability of Groove Coaster on Steam has been widely criticized, with users reporting frequent bugs, input lag, and freezing issues, particularly during song selection. While some players have had a smooth experience, the overall consensus highlights significant stability problems that detract from gameplay. Many recommend avoiding the game until these issues are addressed.
- “Not sure how I missed this game for so long... runs great for me. I got it as a bundle with Space Invaders Extreme, and I am thrilled with both games.”
- “And that's why you absolutely shouldn't buy Groove Coaster for Steam, as it's a buggy mess that I feel is overshadowed by Wai Wai Party, the Switch game, in every single way possible.”
- “The song list is pretty limited and support for it has been kind of minimal, in addition to some timing issues I don't normally encounter that I'd lean towards calling buggy.”
- “It even freezes on the song select screen for like 1 second when you pass through every single song!”
grinding
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to long load times and unresponsive controls that hinder the experience of retrying levels. While some appreciate the mandatory grinding for unlocking additional content, many experienced players feel that being forced to slog through easier difficulties detracts from the enjoyment and challenges they seek. Overall, the grinding mechanics seem to pad playtime rather than enhance it, especially for those familiar with previous versions of the game.
- “Unlocking stuff feels grindy.”
- “While I'm okay with this when it comes to receiving any extra charts, having to slog through low difficulties involuntarily in order to get to something challenging for those experienced with other versions of the game is just tedious and pads out playtime.”
- “However, it seems they attempt to rectify that through mandatory grinding.”
story
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
64%
21%
The story aspect of the game is primarily conveyed through a mission system, particularly in the Switch version, which offers a more feature-rich experience with better UI, song variety, and defined missions compared to the Steam version. However, some players express disappointment with the limited mission offerings in the game, especially in its early stages. Overall, while the Switch version enhances the narrative experience, there are still areas for improvement.
- “It has a better UI, more song variety, and little missions to do.”
- “Maplestory 2 brought my attention to the said song via its players, so I figured to play it on here.”
- “The only things I got are that there are really no missions besides the in-game store, so that's sort of a letdown, but this game barely came out, so I can't really blame them.”
- “On that note (no pun intended), as other reviews have said, Wai Wai Party on Switch is the more feature-rich version with more songs, better DLC packages, and clearly defined missions (which I don't think the Steam version has at all).”
- “There have been times ad-lib notes have destroyed my chain, which is frustrating.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
10%
10%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players finding the gameplay fun and addictive across various skill levels. While the current tracklist offers decent replay value, some users suggest that an expanded selection could enhance longevity. Fans of rhythm games are encouraged to experience it for its engaging core mechanics.
- “Gameplay is fun and addictive, and it has lots of replayability value.”
- “The core gameplay is fun, there's replayability, all skill levels can enjoy it, and if you're a fan of rhythm games but haven't tried Groove Coaster, you owe it to yourself to experience what this game has to offer!”
- “36 is a decent number with plenty of replayability, but Groove Coaster could use a beefier tracklist for the sake of longevity.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in this game is derived from its absurd shortcomings, such as poor synchronization and a lack of engaging content, which users find amusingly disappointing. The commentary on the game's reliance on paid DLC for song expansion adds a layer of irony, highlighting the disconnect between expectations and reality. Overall, the humor is rooted in the game's failures rather than intentional comedic elements.
- “The bad news is that the game's actual content is hilariously barebones, and it's clear that their plan is to pump the songlist with paid DLC.”
- “You aren't gonna get any awkward karaoke DDR-style top 40 pop or any hilarious memey DJ Max J-rap.”
- “Who's laughing now, you lil idiot?”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many reviewers feeling that the quality of the game is lacking and that it relies heavily on DLC to enhance content. Despite the game's promising premise, the perception of it being a quick profit scheme has led some to reconsider their recommendations.
- “However, the reality is that all Taito wanted was a quick cash grab from us.”
- “The whole half-assed quality of code on different machines feels like a massive cash grab.”
- “Just as I suspected, a DLC cash grab to the max... I would almost not recommend this game now just based off of that alone, but since the premise of the game is still good, I'll keep it as recommended.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players feel that the absence of standout tracks hinders their emotional investment in the game and its music, ultimately detracting from the overall experience.