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Rocksmith

Musicians finally have a game to call their own. Rocksmith delivers the most realistic music experience with a great track list, tons of options to tweak your sound, and progressive difficulty to test all abilities.
Rocksmith Game Cover
86%Game Brain Score
music, gameplay
graphics, story
91% User Score Based on 864 reviews
Critic Score 77%Based on 4 reviews

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Rocksmith Game Cover

About

Rocksmith is a single player and multiplayer casual simulation game. It was developed by Ubisoft - San Francisco and was released on October 15, 2012. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

Rocksmith is a unique music game that allows players to plug in their own electric guitar or bass and play along to a variety of songs in different styles. With innovative game design and adjustable difficulty, it caters to both beginners and experienced musicians, helping to develop real skills and styles. Local multiplayer mode for up to 2 players, with mini-games and split screen option, makes it perfect for friendly competition or collaboration.

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91%
Audience ScoreBased on 864 reviews
music95 positive mentions
graphics3 negative mentions
  • Great learning tool for beginners and experienced players alike, helping to improve guitar skills and dexterity.
  • Dynamic difficulty adjustment keeps the gameplay engaging and allows players to progress at their own pace.
  • Fun mini-games and a wide selection of songs make practicing enjoyable and less tedious.
  • Requires a proprietary Real Tone cable, which can be expensive and hard to find separately.
  • Some technical issues, such as audio lag and difficulty recognizing notes, can be frustrating.
  • The menu interface is clunky and not user-friendly, making navigation cumbersome.
  • music
    483 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its diverse song selection and the ability to play along with real instruments, which enhances the learning experience. While the game offers a solid catalog of songs and downloadable content, some users find the difficulty scaling and song accessibility challenging, particularly for beginners. Overall, it is seen as a fun and engaging way to learn guitar or bass, though some players express a desire for a broader range of songs and more affordable DLC options.

    • “The simulated crowd response to your performance is a fun gauge of just how well you're playing, and the song selection is varied and entertaining.”
    • “The way the game gradually scales to your own ability of the song being played is brilliant and makes you more determined to get better and fully learn the songs and hit the correct notes.”
    • “Rocksmith gives you a shortcut to actually playing songs and having fun, and it makes you desire to practice and get better.”
    • “The songs in the game are lame as hell.”
    • “I have to sit through 20 mins of tutorials talking to me like I'm disabled, then I can't play the songs I want because I have to level them up like I am learning numbers.”
    • “The only thing I have against this game is some of the songs you have to learn in order to progress.”
  • gameplay
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in Rocksmith is primarily focused on teaching guitar through an engaging, real-instrument experience, reminiscent of Guitar Hero but lacking traditional game mechanics like story modes or unlockable content. While the remastered version enhances learning with adaptive difficulty and intuitive controls, some users find the training mechanics frustrating and the overall gameplay can feel repetitive. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate the freedom to play without strict rules and the solid song selection, making it a valuable tool for aspiring guitarists.

    • “Rocksmith is a teaching tool; the gameplay is kind of similar to Guitar Hero, but instead of a plastic toy, you use a real guitar.”
    • “The 2014 version is better in terms of gameplay, but this version really pushes you to master all of the in-game content and is much better at gradually increasing the difficulty.”
    • “The gameplay is fantastic.”
    • “The main part of it is ok, or as good as Rocksmith ever gets in any version (which can be really quite good), but the training mechanics are incredibly awful. My first impression was 'this has to be the worst possible way to learn a song anyone could think of.'”
    • “While an awesome concept with many awesome tools and things to do, I found the gameplay to be a bit boring.”
    • “I should note that I spent very little time actually playing this game, so the review may not be so much on gameplay, but the time spent with the menu made me absolutely hate this game before even going into playing it.”
  • graphics
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are generally considered mediocre, with some users finding them plain and simple, yet acceptable given the focus on gameplay rather than visuals. However, the complexity of the backgrounds can hinder visibility, making it difficult to see notes, and many players express frustration over the game's high graphics requirements, which may necessitate expensive hardware upgrades. Overall, while the graphics are not a standout feature, they are deemed forgivable in the context of the game's primary purpose.

    • “Decent graphics”
    • “Overall, the game works well, if you can get its graphic settings low enough to get it to behave.”
    • “The menus are often awkward to navigate, and if you're used to other rhythm games, the complexity of the visuals can be headache-inducing.”
    • “Prepare to shell out more money on a top-of-the-line graphics card, as even a decent graphics card won't do it.”
    • “As for graphics in this game, it's plain and simple, but it's forgivable since you're playing an instrument and not looking at the scenery.”
  • story
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story aspect is generally viewed as underdeveloped, with players noting a lack of depth and direction in the narrative. While the addition of a near story mode offers some enjoyment, many feel it is too simplistic and lacks the engaging elements needed to fully invest players. The remastered version, while great for learning songs, misses the story-driven missions that provided a sense of progression and purpose in earlier iterations.

    • “The story-driven element of the game makes you feel like you have proof of the game's educational bend.”
    • “It's not as polished, but the near story mode was a nice addition that's fun to play through.”
    • “This game is fun, but it is still missing some more elements, like a story, something to get you further invested. I love how the Ubisoft team developed the venues and how you progressed to a whole new scene after beating venues.”
    • “The remastered version is great for learning songs, but it lacks any form of story mode or story mechanic, and you basically only learn songs.”
    • “This game is fun, but it is still missing some more elements, like a story—something to get you further invested. I love how the Ubisoft team developed the venues and how you progressed to a whole new scene after beating venues, but it needed chapters, more unlockables, and a sense of direction of what kind of guitarist you wish to be.”
    • “The new version does not have these types of missions.”
  • stability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous glitches, crashes, and performance issues across both the original and remastered versions. While the concept is appreciated for its educational value, the software is described as poorly coded and buggy, leading to frustrating experiences during gameplay. Overall, players find the game enjoyable but marred by significant stability problems that detract from the overall experience.

    • “I wasted a lot of time (around 20 hours), money (more than 200 EUR, not including my instruments, of course), and nerves around troubleshooting and testing various setups (both with the original and the remastered version).”
    • “I mean yeah, it's Guitar Hero but with an actual useful skill, but it does require proprietary hardware, is pretty badly coded software prone to glitches and crashes, and it's outdated thanks to 2014.”
    • “Great for learning but oh my goodness is this buggy as hell!”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is generally smooth, with engaging crowd interactions and varied song selections enhancing the experience. However, some users report issues with performance, particularly in specific mini-games like "guitarcade," which suffer from glitchy freezes that detract from gameplay. Additionally, there are instances where inputs do not register during performances, leading to frustration.

    • “The simulated crowd response to your performance is a fun gauge of just how well you're playing, and the song selection is varied and entertaining.”
    • “Except that, the game runs smoothly and I highly recommend it!”
    • “The only problem is that sometimes in the middle of a performance, nothing I play registers for points.”
    • “And there is no soft reset in a performance.”
    • “If you score well enough in the performance, you unlock an encore song or two that you haven't yet practiced.”
  • grinding
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While it effectively encourages practice and skill development through gamification and mini-games, some players feel that the initial stages can become tedious, particularly with repetitive tasks and a frustrating user interface. However, the game's ability to adjust difficulty and incorporate engaging challenges helps mitigate some of the monotony associated with grinding.

    • “The game has many great features, such as the automatic difficulty adjustment, ensuring you're always challenged at your skill level. The technique challenges are easy to pick up but difficult to master, and the game cleverly hides skills and techniques within enjoyable minigames, making the learning process fun rather than tedious.”
    • “The UI is terrible and there are many small annoying things that can make learning from this product tedious.”
    • “I had some of the same feelings that I had with Guitar Hero, grinding tracks, trying to get higher scores.”
    • “Every track starts at a beginner stage, making them tedious, hitting single spaced out notes waiting for the 'AI' to pick up and them be fun to play.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviews indicate that the monetization strategy may be frustrating for players, with concerns about the frequency and quality of advertisements, particularly noting an unpleasant voiceover. Players express uncertainty about the overall value of the monetization approach, suggesting it could impact their willingness to continue engaging with the game.

    • “Not sure how much all that adds up to, but there's always next year if my patience builds back up.”
    • “I can't skip the annoying voice (sounds like a classical German advertising voice).”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game impactful, as the distinct facial expressions of audience members enhance the immersive experience, making them feel like genuine rock stars rather than mere caricatures. This emotional connection significantly contributes to their sense of achievement and enjoyment in playing lead guitar.

    • “The audience members' faces are distinct and serve as a real emotional trigger for improvement.”
    • “It was a huge leap toward really being able to play lead guitar for me, and made me feel like a real rock star rather than a cartoon one, as I did when I used to play Guitar Hero.”
  • atmosphere
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its engaging crowd dynamics, particularly during moments of achievement like scoring and leveling up, despite some initial delays and tuning steps that may slow down the experience.

    • “Though slow with all the additional tuning steps and delays in getting the game going, I really enjoy the crowd atmosphere, especially when you're achieving higher scores and increasing levels in real-time.”
  • humor
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by a self-aware acknowledgment of its poorly designed user interface, which some players find amusing despite the frustration it causes. This blend of humor and challenge adds a unique charm to the overall experience, making it memorable for users.

    • “The good news is, once you grit your teeth through the hilariously bad UI and maybe pay a few more dollars than you should for a couple of DLC tracks so you can actually rock, Rocksmith is an absolutely excellent guitar training tool.”
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77%Critics’ scoreBased on 4 critic reviews
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13h Median play time
30h Average play time
2-70h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Rocksmith is a casual simulation game.

Rocksmith is available on PC, Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and others.

On average players spend around 30 hours playing Rocksmith.

Rocksmith was released on October 15, 2012.

Rocksmith was developed by Ubisoft - San Francisco.

Rocksmith has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its music but disliked it for its graphics.

Rocksmith is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Rocksmith® 2014 Edition - Remastered, BandFuse: Rock Legends, Rocksmith 2014 Edition, Rocksmith+, FourChords Guitar Karaoke and others.