The Metronomicon: Slay The Dance Floor

The Metronomicon has a few faults, but nothing that stops it from being my favorite rhythm RPG mash-up to date. With a killer soundtrack, some fun mechanics, and quite a lot of content, The Metronomicon is a beat worth getting down to.

83%Game Brain Score

music, gameplay

grinding, optimization

83% User Score Based on 301 reviews

Critic Score 90%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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About

The Metronomicon: Slay the Dance Floor is a rhythm RPG where you control characters who fight monsters in time with music. Progression includes improving character stats, finding new equipment, and learning abilities. A free update added local multiplayer, endless mode, new heroes, passive abilities, and a seeded speed run cheat code. Replayability is encouraged through freeplay mode, ranked side quests, and an arena.

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The Metronomicon: Slay The Dance Floor screenshot

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 301 reviews

music126 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

The game combines rhythm and RPG elements effectively, providing a unique and engaging gameplay experience.
The soundtrack is diverse and enjoyable, featuring a variety of catchy songs that enhance the overall experience.
The character and ability customization adds depth to the gameplay, allowing players to strategize and adapt their approach.

The art style and graphics are considered mediocre and do not meet modern standards for visual quality.
The story and dialogue are often seen as forgettable or poorly written, detracting from the overall narrative experience.
Technical issues, such as lag and controller recognition problems, can hinder gameplay and frustrate players.

music
338 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
61%
2%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising the soundtrack as catchy and enjoyable, particularly for fans of electronic and dance genres. However, some players find the music choices repetitive or not to their taste, expressing a desire for more variety and the inclusion of custom tracks. Overall, while the soundtrack is considered a highlight by many, its appeal is subjective, and it may not resonate with all players.
- “The soundtrack is great, and it has DLC for even more music and more battles.”
- “This is an insanely fun rhythm game with a banger soundtrack.”
- “The music is amazing and I find myself playing songs just to hear them.”
- “If the business plan for a game is to compete with Spotify, which is free and has effectively unlimited music, all of which is better than the music here, it's failed before it even started.”
- “The game doesn't have button presses in sync with what's being played most of the time; it's usually just pressing buttons in time with the music but not in sync with what's going on.”
- “The music is very hit and miss for me when it comes to their sound.”
gameplay
109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
62%
3%
The gameplay of the game is a unique blend of rhythm mechanics and RPG elements, offering a dynamic experience that requires both accuracy and strategic decision-making. While some players appreciate the addictive nature and depth of the mechanics, others criticize the narrative delivery and the sometimes overwhelming UI. Overall, the game is enjoyable for those who appreciate rhythm games, though it may not satisfy players seeking a strong RPG experience.
- “The gameplay is incredibly solid and very well refined.”
- “Great blend of RPG mechanics and rhythm gameplay.”
- “The character swapping and ability mechanics provide a whole new layer of gameplay, which is cool.”
- “The developers failed one of the most basic, fundamental requirements of game design: 'show, don't tell.' You'll spend a huge amount of time not playing the game, but clicking through endless lines of poorly written visual novel text cutscenes because the developers couldn't figure out how to relate their narrative through the game mechanics.”
- “The gameplay is a lot less skill-based and a lot more random. If you're looking for a game with similar gameplay, please play 'Before the Echo.'”
- “The experience is not helped by the game's menus being difficult to navigate and the game doing a poor job of explaining the mechanics beyond the basic controls of how to play.”
story
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
75%
8%
The story in the game is generally considered weak and forgettable, often described as cheesy and juvenile, with many players skipping through dialogue due to its lack of engagement. While it features a light-hearted premise involving dance school graduates battling monsters, the narrative is overshadowed by the gameplay, which is more enjoyable and offers significant replay value. Overall, the story serves as a basic framework for the rhythm mechanics rather than a compelling narrative experience.
- “The story halfway takes itself seriously, the voice acting is enthusiastic, the soundtrack bops, and the cutscenes are incredibly cheesy, but looking past the cringe it really adds some charm to the game and its characters.”
- “The story is funny, the songs are amazing, and the gameplay allows for both casual and hardcore gamers to enjoy themselves.”
- “The Metronomicon is the fusion of rhythm style rock band and guitar hero style lane gameplay with a fully fleshed out RPG with unique and voiced characters, skills, equipment, and a detailed storyline.”
- “The story is quite boring, but the gameplay is kind of fun for a couple of hours.”
- “I was engulfed by all of these things that by the time I noticed, I had skipped most of the dialogue and understood maybe less than half of what was going on story-wise.”
- “Playing the majority of the side-content I gained access to, it took me about 6 hours to finish the main story mode, which felt very short, especially considering there's almost little-to-no story to speak of.”
graphics
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
54%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the colorful and quirky art style and animations, while others criticize it as bland and uninspired. Many players feel that the visuals do not meet contemporary standards, lacking polish and detail, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, some users appreciate the graphics for complementing the gameplay and aesthetic, suggesting that while not groundbreaking, they still contribute positively to the game's charm.
- “The graphics of Metronomicon are just amazing!”
- “Fantastic combination of RPG and rhythm game elements combined with an excellent art style and eclectically brilliant soundtrack make for an amazing gameplay experience.”
- “The art style is bubbly and colorful.”
- “Regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is very low, beneath what PC gamers have come to expect in this era of cutting-edge photorealistic 3D graphics.”
- “It's unclear if this is due to a lack of budget to arrange someone who can create graphical assets properly, or a lack of talent.”
- “The art style is a little bland and uninspired, cookie-cutter RPG characters with slight party vibes; however, the designs and animations of enemies can be rather interesting and hilarious.”
humor
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its cartoonish and juvenile style, providing a light-hearted and entertaining experience despite a simplistic and forgettable story. Players appreciate the funny character dialogue, amusing animations, and the overall whimsical vibe, which enhances the enjoyment of the rhythm-based gameplay. While some find the humor to be hit-or-miss, the combination of catchy music and silly scenarios contributes to a charming and fun atmosphere.
- “There's not much of a story to speak of, but there's a lot of cartoonish and juvenile humor, and the gist is that we are following several recent dance school graduates as they use their new magic dance powers to stop rampaging groups of evil dancing fantasy monsters.”
- “The story is kind of stupid, but it's light-hearted, harmless, and can be quite funny; a fun means of getting you through the game (and honestly you can't expect a grand, epic tale from a music game).”
- “A cute little silly unique rhythm game with RPG elements and good humor.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
64%
14%
21%
The game offers significant replayability through various modes, including a solid main campaign, endless mode, and optional challenges that encourage players to improve their skills and compete on leaderboards. The addition of user-generated content and a diverse soundtrack further enhances replay value, making it appealing for both casual players and dedicated fans. Overall, players appreciate the depth and variety that contribute to a highly replayable experience.
- “There's a main campaign, which is solid, and arcade modes like endless mode, or beating a song based on specific criteria, so there's a good amount of replayability.”
- “Well balanced, great replayability, catchy songs, always working to best yourself and reach higher in leaderboards.”
- “This, accompanied by the incredible soundtrack, a great amount of choice and depth with the player characters, and the many interesting and unique difficulty modifiers make for a great game with a lot of content and tons of replayability—whether you're an expert gunning for the top spots on the leaderboard, or a newbie who keeps dying but keeps coming back for the music and the fun.”
- “For as much variety and replayability as the RPG mechanics can add, they are relatively shallow and those looking for an RPG may leave disappointed.”
- “Great game, though the story mode is just a smidge too short; that said, the rest of the game has a lot of replay value, and the DLC is very reasonably priced too.”
- “There's also a lot of replay value.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
78%
Overall, players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game. While some appreciate the short and purposeful grind with clear goals, others find the experience less engaging and feel that progression systems lack player agency. Many agree that while some grinding is present, it is more accessible compared to traditional RPGs, with options to earn rewards without excessive effort.
- “No grinding needed, but enough challenge so that you consider getting a level or two.”
- “Also no grinding necessary, which is always nice.”
- “The systems to progress and upgrade your team feel largely outside your agency as a player, and 'grinding' songs for experience is a process that doesn't feel all that great. It's unclear how hard difficulty scales to your party levels and what they even do beyond netting you new moves.”
- “Just like regular RPGs, there is a little bit of a grind; although it's much more accessible than, say, Disgaea or Final Fantasy, which require lots of grinding.”
- “I don't see myself grinding for neat stuff like I did in Patapon.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
Users suggest that the game's optimization is closely tied to its performance, indicating that better performance may enhance the rarity of in-game items or features.
- “The optimization in this game significantly enhances performance.”
- “I would assume the rarity scales with performance.”
- “The game's performance is severely lacking, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I would assume the rarity scales with performance, but it feels unbalanced.”
- “Optimization issues are ruining the overall experience.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Character development is noted for its anti-cliché designs, featuring diverse gender roles and ethnicities; however, reviewers feel that the lack of narrative depth and time dedicated to the story limits the opportunity for meaningful character exploration.
- “The character designs are refreshingly anti-cliché, with strong female DPS characters and a male healer, showcasing a diverse range of ethnicities that adds depth to the narrative.”
- “The character development is rich and engaging, allowing players to form meaningful connections with each character as their backstories unfold throughout the game.”
- “Each character evolves significantly over the course of the game, making their personal journeys compelling and relatable, which enhances the overall storytelling experience.”
- “Character designs are deliberately anti-cliché (the party's strongest DPS are usually female, the healer is male, 'white' isn't the default ethnicity) but don't do much beyond that, given that there's almost no time in the story to get to know them.”
- “The characters lack depth and development; they feel more like archetypes than fully realized individuals.”
- “Despite the unique character designs, the narrative fails to explore their backgrounds or motivations, leaving them feeling flat and unengaging.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with many users expressing a strong emotional connection to its mood and overall ambiance.
- “The mood and atmosphere resonate with me so deeply; it's almost unreal.”
- “The game's atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into its world.”
- “Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that stays with you long after playing.”