Unbeatable introduces itself with a simple, yet punchy premise: we find a group of teens in a band, on the run from and getting into fights with the local authority. The twist? Instead of playing out as a traditional story-driven game, the beating drum of the experience is structured around rhythm-based gameplay.
Sequences such as dreams and combat encounters are all guided by Unbeatable's take on the classic Guitar Hero notes-on-a-fretboard style gameplay, in which prompts tell you which buttons to press in time with the music. Here, it's only two buttons: up and down. And while there are more traditional gameplay moments--like minigames where you must memorize movement patterns and react to the beat of different tempos--in a similar fashion to Rhythm Heaven, it's the harmonious intersection with all the game's other sections, which would normally play out as mere cutscenes, that makes Unbeatable stand out.
A decade ago, right around the time that Rock Band and Guitar Hero launched their respective swansongs marking the decline of the domestic rhythm game era, it would have been novel to see a studio blend rhythm game mechanics into a narrative adventure. But Unbeatable is just one example of this approach; dozens of studios have been toying with the intersection of music games with other genres. Now, 10 years after the rhythm game heyday, they're basking in a renewed appreciation of those elements.
One can cite the likes of KickBeat, Beat Hazard, and Crypt of the NecroDancer as some of the pioneers of this movement. Yet some of the boldest examples didn't appear on the setlist until closer to 2020, including Soundfall, a twin-stick shooter with rhythm-based mechanics, the first-person shooter BPM: Bullets Per Minute, in which all of your actions are tied to the beat, the Yume Nikki-inspired Everhood, and the hack-and-slash No Straight Roads.
Hi-Fi Rush
But it was 2023's Hi-Fi Rush that took hold of this emerging movement and put it center-stage. The rhythm-based character action game developed by Tango Gameworks was a surprise in more ways than one. It was a departure from the studio's previous work, which included The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. It was announced and then immediately shadowdropped during a presentation by publisher and then parent company Xbox. And, most importantly, it was a rare example of a rhythm game with a triple-A production, boasting a lengthy campaign and an inimitable licensed soundtrack.
The launch of Hi-Fi Rush, and the cult following it gained, marked a pivotal moment for this new wave of rhythm games. It's one that was only strengthened by the launch of Fortnite Festival at the end of 2023, a far more traditional take on the genre made by Rock Band creator Harmonix, but one that helped to augment this growing interest in a rhythm game resurgence.
Since then, developers have showcased even more examples of mixing and matching rhythm and other genres. Ratatan introduced itself as a rhythm roguelike side-scroller and a spiritual successor to Patapon. The Sifu-esque brawler Dead as Disco looks like the natural evolution of KickBeat, the same way BPM paved the way for Metal: Hellsinger. Just a few months ago, Annapurna announced People of Note, a turn-based RPG where each combat encounter is presented as a musical performance.
If music is embodied in your day-to-day life, the appeal of these genre mashups is arresting. It's the satisfaction of a good needle drop, but implemented as a baseline, inviting you to keep the rhythm with a tap of your foot or a slight nod as the action unfolds. Music inherently co-exists with visual media--scenes can become memorable moments with the right song accompanying them. This new movement in games, however, is akin to the approach of films like Baby Driver. Music becomes less of an accompaniment and more of an active participant in the action and drama, infusing every inch of the environment and every step you take to set the pace in a playful way.
I don't think it's a coincidence that this movement is happening while companies are manufacturing plastic guitar controllers again, and as publishers are finally revisiting some of their rhythm game classics to try and bring them back to the spotlight, as with Nintendo and Rhythm Heaven Groove. At the heart of it all, though, is the importance of paying attention and listening to the developers who keep on influencing one another, the way musicians find inspiration in the people who came before them, to reinvent past genres.
It's hard to say if more AAA companies will place bets on massive productions around rhythm games to try and recapture the heights of the era defined by Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Regardless of how many people get a plastic guitar in their living rooms again, this new era of rhythm games is already playing a different tune.
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Sequences such as dreams and combat encounters are all guided by Unbeatable's take on the classic Guitar Hero notes-on-a-fretboard style gameplay, in which prompts tell you which buttons to press in time with the music. Here, it's only two buttons: up and down. And while there are more traditional gameplay moments--like minigames where you must memorize movement patterns and react to the beat of different tempos--in a similar fashion to Rhythm Heaven, it's the harmonious intersection with all the game's other sections, which would normally play out as mere cutscenes, that makes Unbeatable stand out.
A decade ago, right around the time that Rock Band and Guitar Hero launched their respective swansongs marking the decline of the domestic rhythm game era, it would have been novel to see a studio blend rhythm game mechanics into a narrative adventure. But Unbeatable is just one example of this approach; dozens of studios have been toying with the intersection of music games with other genres. Now, 10 years after the rhythm game heyday, they're basking in a renewed appreciation of those elements.
One can cite the likes of KickBeat, Beat Hazard, and Crypt of the NecroDancer as some of the pioneers of this movement. Yet some of the boldest examples didn't appear on the setlist until closer to 2020, including Soundfall, a twin-stick shooter with rhythm-based mechanics, the first-person shooter BPM: Bullets Per Minute, in which all of your actions are tied to the beat, the Yume Nikki-inspired Everhood, and the hack-and-slash No Straight Roads.
Hi-Fi Rush
But it was 2023's Hi-Fi Rush that took hold of this emerging movement and put it center-stage. The rhythm-based character action game developed by Tango Gameworks was a surprise in more ways than one. It was a departure from the studio's previous work, which included The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. It was announced and then immediately shadowdropped during a presentation by publisher and then parent company Xbox. And, most importantly, it was a rare example of a rhythm game with a triple-A production, boasting a lengthy campaign and an inimitable licensed soundtrack.
The launch of Hi-Fi Rush, and the cult following it gained, marked a pivotal moment for this new wave of rhythm games. It's one that was only strengthened by the launch of Fortnite Festival at the end of 2023, a far more traditional take on the genre made by Rock Band creator Harmonix, but one that helped to augment this growing interest in a rhythm game resurgence.
Since then, developers have showcased even more examples of mixing and matching rhythm and other genres. Ratatan introduced itself as a rhythm roguelike side-scroller and a spiritual successor to Patapon. The Sifu-esque brawler Dead as Disco looks like the natural evolution of KickBeat, the same way BPM paved the way for Metal: Hellsinger. Just a few months ago, Annapurna announced People of Note, a turn-based RPG where each combat encounter is presented as a musical performance.
If music is embodied in your day-to-day life, the appeal of these genre mashups is arresting. It's the satisfaction of a good needle drop, but implemented as a baseline, inviting you to keep the rhythm with a tap of your foot or a slight nod as the action unfolds. Music inherently co-exists with visual media--scenes can become memorable moments with the right song accompanying them. This new movement in games, however, is akin to the approach of films like Baby Driver. Music becomes less of an accompaniment and more of an active participant in the action and drama, infusing every inch of the environment and every step you take to set the pace in a playful way.
I don't think it's a coincidence that this movement is happening while companies are manufacturing plastic guitar controllers again, and as publishers are finally revisiting some of their rhythm game classics to try and bring them back to the spotlight, as with Nintendo and Rhythm Heaven Groove. At the heart of it all, though, is the importance of paying attention and listening to the developers who keep on influencing one another, the way musicians find inspiration in the people who came before them, to reinvent past genres.
It's hard to say if more AAA companies will place bets on massive productions around rhythm games to try and recapture the heights of the era defined by Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Regardless of how many people get a plastic guitar in their living rooms again, this new era of rhythm games is already playing a different tune.
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