Old School Musical

With a combination of amazing chiptunes and retro goodness Old School Musical should be the game to convert you if you’ve never considered Rhythm Action before.

84%Game Brain Score

music, story

optimization, grinding

91% User Score Based on 444 reviews

Critic Score 77%Based on 10 reviews

Platforms

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About

Old School Musical is a single player and multiplayer arcade action adventure game. It was developed by Plug In Digital and was released on September 13, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

"Old School Musical" is a rhythm game that follows the adventures of Tib and Rob, two video game-obsessed brothers. They embark on a journey through various parodied retro gaming worlds, battling against glitches and viruses to save their sister. The game features over 50 stages with catchy chiptune music and engaging gameplay mechanics. It's a nostalgic and entertaining experience for fans of classic gaming and rhythm games.

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 444 reviews

music204 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Old School Musical is a charming rhythm game that pays homage to classic video games, filled with nostalgic references and a delightful chiptune soundtrack.
The gameplay is engaging and accessible, with multiple difficulty levels catering to both newcomers and experienced rhythm game players.
The humorous story and quirky characters add depth to the experience, making it enjoyable beyond just the rhythm mechanics.

Some players find the difficulty spikes between normal and hard modes to be frustrating, with a lack of suitable options for those in between.
Unskippable cutscenes and visual distractions during gameplay can disrupt the flow and make it harder to focus on the rhythm.
The game can become repetitive after completing the main story, and some players feel that the visual effects in the post-game content can be overwhelming.

music
482 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
56%
2%
The music in "Old School Musical" is widely praised for its catchy chiptune soundtrack, which effectively evokes nostalgia for classic gaming eras. Players appreciate the variety and quality of the tracks, often describing them as earworms that enhance the overall experience, despite some criticism regarding the synchronization with gameplay. While the game features a solid selection of original songs and homages to retro music, opinions vary on the memorability and challenge of certain tracks, with many finding the soundtrack enjoyable enough to listen to outside of gameplay.
- “The music is a complete earworm; I found myself just sitting back and listening to the soundtrack while doing chores, and I've gone back and played through levels again just to remember how much fun it was.”
- “The music is amazing and upbeat, giving each level a distinct feeling.”
- “The soundtrack is one I'll listen to even out of the game.”
- “The most important aspect of music/rhythm games such as this is done average/badly; you wouldn't come back to these tracks or even remember them.”
- “The soundtrack is not always rhythmic, meaning you can't really feel out a lot of the arrows and have to look at the screen's visuals instead.”
- “It will frustrate you when you are nailing a song only to have the readout become unreadable as a 'challenge.' Instead of upping the difficulty with more challenging music, this game makes it more challenging to actually read the music.”
story
266 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
62%
7%
The story of the game is a whimsical and humorous journey featuring two brothers on a quest to become heroes, filled with nostalgic references to classic video games. While some players found the narrative engaging and entertaining, others felt it lacked depth and was primarily a vehicle for gameplay, with unskippable cutscenes that could disrupt the flow during song replays. Overall, the story is appreciated for its charm and comedic elements, making it a fun addition to the rhythm game experience, though opinions vary on its overall significance and execution.
- “What you'll realize after starting it is that the story is in-depth and entertaining!”
- “The story is quite fun to play through, and playing each song has more, and in some cases different, sections in the arcade mode along with challenging, modifier-driven post-game content.”
- “The story is very cool, filled with lots of references to legendary old games and TV shows, and it's very clever and witty.”
- “The story was not that great or interesting though and most of the comedy did fall completely flat for me, besides a few chuckles.”
- “The main storyline is just bizarre and mixes something occasionally serious among a bunch of silly, awkward attempts at humor.”
- “Without a significant story here, it’s time to focus on the gameplay.”
gameplay
118 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
65%
3%
The gameplay of this rhythm game is characterized by its simple yet addictive mechanics, primarily involving timed directional inputs that evoke nostalgia for classic titles. While some players appreciate the humor and retro references, others find the gameplay repetitive and lacking in depth, with minimal evolution throughout the experience. Overall, it offers a fun, albeit basic, rhythm challenge that may appeal to fans of the genre, especially when enjoyed for its aesthetic and music rather than its complexity.
- “The gameplay is so satisfying it's hard to stop once you start playing, especially when you start mixing different playstyles.”
- “This game is a real gem that takes a familiar rhythm mechanic and plays a very entertaining story with levels directly inspired by the golden age of retro gaming.”
- “The rhythm game mechanics employed by this game are as classic as the references contained, with the core timed directional presses seen in classic rhythm titles.”
- “The characters are funny and the music is amazing, but the gameplay was just awful.”
- “The gameplay is just a basic rhythm game with poor feedback, no sound effects when you hit a note, and no real UI to display your performance. The graphics are as blank as the OST that I already forgot sadly; it's also pretty short if you don't fail a single song.”
- “The music is meh, the gameplay is boring, the game plays purely on nostalgia and it does it well, which makes it hard for me to give it a thumbs down, but if I'm being honest, I can't really recommend it. It's a mediocre game overall, but with a lot of love and passion put into it.”
humor
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
98%
2%
The humor in the game is a mix of nostalgic references and quirky dialogue, often drawing from classic video games and 2000s webcomic styles, which some players found charming while others deemed it hit-or-miss. Many reviews highlight the engaging story and funny character interactions, though some criticize the humor as occasionally flat or overly self-referential. Overall, the game is seen as a lighthearted and entertaining experience, particularly for fans of retro gaming culture.
- “If you want a fun and short homage to old school game titles with tongue-in-cheek humor and rhythm gameplay, this game is pretty fantastic.”
- “Combine this with the banger tunes and funny story, and you have something pretty much anyone can enjoy.”
- “Non-stop blisteringly funny and self-aware game geek humor with a constant barrage of grin-inducing references, which should tell you enough to know if this is your jam.”
- “Basic rhythm game buried under a ton of deeply unfunny writing.”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
66%
5%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming pixel art style that pays homage to 8-bit and 16-bit aesthetics, evoking nostalgia for older games. Reviewers appreciate the detailed visuals and creative level designs, although some note that the humor can be hit or miss. Overall, the visuals are described as enjoyable and fitting well with the game's rhythm gameplay and chiptune soundtrack.
- “Fantastic soundtrack, flexible difficulty settings, captivating artstyle—absolutely adored it all!”
- “The pixel art style always makes me smile as I appreciate when developers manage to create detailed settings using only pixels.”
- “It's a great homage to old school video games with great chiptune music packed in a fun and entertaining rhythm game + great artstyle.”
- “The gameplay is just a basic rhythm game with poor feedback, no sound effects when you hit a note and no real UI to display your performance. The graphics are as blank as the OST that I already forgot sadly; it's also pretty short if you don't fail a single song.”
- “The visuals are cute enough, plenty harking back to older games which made me roll my eyes, yet sometimes smile with what they picked.”
- “The soundtrack is not always rhythmic, meaning you can't really feel out a lot of the arrows and have to look at the screen's visuals instead.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
22%
21%
The game offers high replayability due to its multiple difficulty levels, bonus modes, and additional content like arcade and multiplayer options, despite the main story being relatively short (2-3 hours). Players appreciate the challenge and variety provided by modifiers and extra levels, making it an engaging experience that encourages repeated play. Overall, the combination of addictive gameplay and a fantastic soundtrack contributes to its strong replay value.
- “The story mode is short, you'll finish it in about 2-3 hours; however, there is a bonus mode where you play in a part of the story that was glossed over, with even more new music and modifiers to add even more challenge and replayability.”
- “Fantastic soundtrack, tons of replayability in the arcade and Chicken Republic modes.”
- “The levels have a good length, perfect for replayability, and there's extra content after the main story.”
- “The story mode is short; you'll finish it in about 2-3 hours. However, there is a bonus mode where you play in a part of the story that was glossed over, with even more new music, and you can use modifiers to add even more challenge and replayability.”
- “Definitely has a lot of replay value as well.”
- “The difficulty was perfect for me (I beat the story on normal, but there is a harder difficulty if you want an even better challenge), and the replay value is high for me.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's optimization is criticized for poor feedback mechanisms, including a lack of sound effects and an ineffective user interface, which detracts from the rhythm gameplay experience. Additionally, the shared screen in multiplayer mode complicates performance evaluation, while the graphics and overall presentation are described as lacking depth. Despite some praise for the pixel art and clever dialogue, the overall execution leaves much to be desired.
- “- sometimes there's a lot going on on the screen, so you can't really appreciate the fact that what's happening is tied to your performance - the pixel art is amazing, the dialogue and action are very clever.”
- “The gameplay is just a basic rhythm game with poor feedback, no sound effects when you hit a note, and no real UI to display your performance. The graphics are as blank as the OST that I already forgot, sadly. It's also pretty short if you don't fail a single song.”
- “Your performance here is rated and there’s also multiplayer; however, the screen is shared, so the feedback is messed up.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Players consistently express that the grinding required in the game is excessively time-consuming, often likening it to needing a second life to manage the demands.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express frustration with the lack of feedback on button presses, which diminishes the emotional connection to the game, making interactions feel insubstantial and disconnected.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report encountering significant glitches that disrupt gameplay, impacting the overall stability of the experience. This instability detracts from the immersion as users navigate their journey to find their mother while dealing with these technical issues.
- “They go on a journey to find their mother and to figure out how to escape the glitches.”