Project Arrhythmia

About

Project Arrhythmia is a rhythm-based bullet-hell game set in 205X, where up to 4 players can collaborate locally to navigate through evolving music-timed scenes and obstacles to help a programmer find a cure for the devastating "Tokyo Flu." The game features a level editor for custom stages and a robust scoring system to challenge friends.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 3,250 reviews

story52 positive mentions

stability22 negative mentions

The game features a robust level editor that allows for endless creativity and customization, making it a standout compared to similar games.
The community is active and supportive, with a plethora of user-generated levels that enhance replayability and provide a variety of challenges.
The visuals and music are engaging, creating an immersive experience that keeps players coming back for more.

The game is still in early access, with an unfinished story mode and some performance issues that can affect gameplay.
Controls can feel heavy and imprecise, which may frustrate players, especially those transitioning from other rhythm games.
Some levels can be overly difficult, leading to a steep learning curve that may deter casual players.

story
320 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
74%
10%
The story aspect of the game is currently incomplete, with only a few levels available and many players expressing frustration over the prolonged wait for a full story mode, which has been in development for several years. While some users appreciate the community-driven content and the ability to create custom levels, they often view the existing story as a minor bonus rather than a central feature. Overall, anticipation for the eventual release of a more developed story mode remains high among the community.
- “The mesmerizing levels, the sheer amount of work and dedication put into those same levels, and even the different custom storylines are all worth staying for.”
- “I have been playing for over 1,000 hours and I can't wait to see what happens in the story mode; there is a lot of custom levels and it has been a nice story for the game.”
- “The gameplay is smooth, and the fact you can make your own maps is amazing because that's the only thing that's keeping the game together at the moment, as the story mode is still in development.”
- “The story mode only has 4 levels, and the level design feels shallow.”
- “Update from over 4 years post EA launch: there is still no story mode.”
- “This game is a scam, don't waste your money on it, it will never be completed, 3 years in early access and the 'story' is still being worked on.”
music
246 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
51%
2%
The music in this game is widely praised for its vibrant and engaging quality, with many players highlighting the impressive variety of tracks available, including user-generated content. The integration of music with gameplay creates a unique experience, often described as a thrilling blend of rhythm and bullet-hell mechanics. However, some users express frustration with song restrictions and the difficulty of creating custom levels, while others appreciate the community's contributions to the game's soundtrack.
- “The music and rhythm are great, but from the fourth stage on, the game becomes stressful.”
- “Visceral is the right word, with pulse-pounding music that plays with you as you just can't wait to see what happens next.”
- “This is an incredibly cool musical bullet hell (think Touhou rhythm game hybrid) with an insanely impressive custom song community.”
- “Doesn't feel like a rhythm game to me; some stuff is just vaguely synchronized with the music. The gameplay reminds me more of playing a bullet hell.”
- “Thus, at least until the official songs set is implemented, the game lacks any sense of progression and pretty much relies on the community and you choosing levels from the workshop, with all the ups and downs that come with it.”
- “I've managed to find both awesome and not so awesome levels in there, and unsurprisingly, the vast majority of songs are on the harder side of things (and obviously the mentioned difficulty level isn't always reliable).”
gameplay
100 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
58%
6%
The gameplay has received mixed feedback, with many praising its smooth mechanics and the creativity of community-made levels, which enhance the overall experience. However, some players have noted a lack of tutorials and original gameplay elements, leading to a steep learning curve and occasional frustration. Overall, while the game offers engaging and fun gameplay, improvements in controls and additional mechanics could elevate the experience further.
- “The gameplay was extremely good in custom levels (while the story is still unfinished); it's amazing the ways it is made.”
- “The gameplay is a ton of fun and the community and game support are both excellent.”
- “If you liked the gameplay of Just Shapes & Beats and want to explore a huge variety of community-made levels, with tons of unique concepts and creativity to them, or even give making them yourself a shot, absolutely buy this game.”
- “The first time that I played the game, I never understood what the game was like, and had a very hard time learning the mechanics due to the lack of tutorials I ran into.”
- “Doesn't feel like a rhythm game to me; some stuff is just vaguely synchronized with the music. The gameplay reminds me more of playing a bullet-hell.”
- “The only enemies' movements in levels are just walls appearing and bullets, and there is no truly original gameplay.”
graphics
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
43%
5%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and aesthetic appeal, featuring stunning geometric visuals that enhance the overall experience. While some players note that the game is CPU intensive and can lag due to the visual overload, many appreciate the clean design of menus and level editors. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, contributing significantly to the game's enjoyment, despite some opinions that gameplay may take a backseat to the graphics.
- “The visuals are beautiful, watch out for those lag spikes though.”
- “Project Arrhythmia is a wonderful game, it has beautiful graphics and wonderful music, but most of all, the levels you play are levels created by the community!”
- “You got stunning geometric visuals.”
- “It is a CPU-intensive game and the graphics aren't demanding; you could probably play this on integrated graphics without noticing a difference.”
- “Graphics don't matter in this game; it really depends on the creator of the levels on whether it looks absolutely amazing or absolutely trash. Besides that, the menu and editor look clean and do what they set out to do.”
- “It may get laggy at times, but that is probably because of the overload of visuals (which is a positive).”
humor
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
6%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players highlighting its colorful visuals and amusing audio choices, including popular songs and funny sound effects. Many users find the game to be a source of laughter, thanks to its creative community-generated levels and humorous elements like memes and quirky shapes. Overall, the game successfully combines vibrant aesthetics with a lighthearted, comedic experience.
- “This game is so funny.”
- “Quite the funny haha moment.”
- “Others can make you laugh with some funny memes in the background.”
- “God damn, it was not funny.”
- “God damn, it was not funny.”
stability
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and glitches that hinder gameplay and progress. While some acknowledge that the game is in early access and appreciate the developer's efforts to address these issues, many find the current state frustrating and poorly optimized. Overall, the game's potential is overshadowed by its instability, making it difficult to enjoy fully.
- “Game was too buggy to be enjoyable, the editor is too confusing, progress is lost if your game crashes, the game is fully community-made so there isn't even much effort put into level design by the creator, and half the time when you take damage your game crashes.”
- “To delete more than a few objects crashes the game (freezes it until you alt+f4), the game hasn't received a playable update in years.”
- “Tldr: the game is a good idea, and given enough time it will eventually be a really fun and good game, but in its current state it's painful to work with, and is incredibly buggy and poorly optimized.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's optimization is a significant concern among users, with many reporting frequent performance issues, low frame rates, and bugs, particularly on lower-end systems. While some players appreciate the level design and smooth operation in certain contexts, the overall experience is marred by inconsistent performance and a lack of clarity in gameplay mechanics. Improvements in optimization and user interface features, such as an undo button, are highly desired to enhance the gaming experience.
- “The game runs smoothly, and the editor leads to stunning level design!”
- “Could really use some performance optimizations though, some custom levels tend to be quite laggy.”
- “The levels are great, although some levels have performance issues.”
- “The game has awful performance; I am playing on a 16 gigabyte RAM computer, and simple levels bring the FPS down to an unplayable amount even on low resolutions.”
- “Could really use some performance optimizations though; some custom levels tend to be quite laggy.”
- “An undo button, and a general improvement on performance issues that can occur during gameplay can really improve my experience as the player.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The game offers significant replayability, primarily due to community-generated content that allows players to access new levels daily, creating an almost infinite replay value. While some users feel it lacks certain elements to enhance replayability, the overall consensus is that the developer's support for user-created content greatly enriches the gaming experience. At a price of $12, many find the content and replay value to be very fair.
- “✅ Infinite replayability (you can keep on coming back and play any new level that the community puts out there every day!)”
- “Devs giving the community necessary tools to create infinite replayability for a game is one of the best decisions a dev can do, and with this game it also rings true.”
- “While you can play it for a while, it missed something important to its replayability factor.”
- “This game has nearly unlimited replay value as people upload their own levels with any music.”
- “- $12 is a very fair price for the amount of content and replay value you can get out of this game.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players consistently express that grinding in the game is extremely time-consuming, often requiring a significant commitment that feels like needing a "second life." Many find the process tedious, especially when it comes to editing levels, indicating that it may not appeal to everyone.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Just be warned if you plan on editing levels; it can be quite tedious at times, and it isn't for everyone.”
- “Dump your entire life for grinding.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development received mixed feedback, with some users praising the character designs as exceptional and deserving of high ratings, while others expressed dissatisfaction with the user interface and personal preferences regarding the character aesthetics.
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players highlight the emotional aspect of the game as being significantly enhanced by its small, welcoming, and heartwarming community, which fosters a sense of belonging and connection.
- “It's worth it, especially because of the small yet welcoming and heartwarming community.”

Buy Project Arrhythmia

152h Median play time

105h Average play time

24-200h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 8 analyzed playthroughs

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