Robobeat Review

Robobeat puts players in the virtual boots of Ace, a famous bounty hunter, who’s on the hunt for his latest target: eccentric robot-showman Frazzer. In order to put an end to this evil mastermind, players will have to find their way through a twisted techno-playground fill with unrelenting enemies. Grab your guns, favorite tape, and let’s get to hunting.

Robobeat is a first person rhythm based shooter set in a rogue lite setting where each movement and action is reliant on music. The game will grade you based on how your shots fired are in tune with the song’s beats. You’ll have to try and chain beats together so your shots are more effective and create uniquely stylish shooting sequences.

And yes, roguelike implies that everything is generated on the spot and no two playthroughs will be same; also means that you cannot rely on memory because every time you restart, everything is new and fresh. The game will thankfully give you hints as to where to go. You’ll need to clear enemies from the room before moving on to the next.

The control scheme is simple: RT/LT shoots (if you have 2 guns equipped), Y is to charge your weapon, X to parry and RB+right d-pad arrow for utility items (ex: Teleport). You can jump in the air and smash the ground sending nearby enemies flying in the air so you can shoot them. As you run around levels, you’ll also find additional guns where you can either switch your main weapon or use two guns at once.

As you play and replay through the game,you’ll find blueprints and new tapes (tunes). Blueprints can be used at workbenches and allows you to (permanently) unlock new items. But it’s not that simple. You also need Bips, which basically acts as the in-game currency. Bips are obtained by clearing rooms of enemies. And yes. If you die, you lose all your Bips permanently, except those spent at workbenches.

While the game’s visuals aren’t revolutionary, Robobeat looks fine. It has a throwback visual style to classic PS1 games and considering this game is made by a one-man studio, it’s quite impressive. The overall visuals are dark colored palette and it doesn’t change much over time. Enemy design is fine, albeit limited. The soundtrack is. as you’d expect, a vital part of a rhythm based game. The score is an ecclectic mix of hard rock and EDM tunes which does a great job to match the action onscreen. You can also change it at any time.

The game does have a few problems. As you might know, roguelike games means that there’s no progression as you constantly restart in a new level design. Also in your playthroughs if you accidentally go into an already cleared path, you die… for some reason. If you miss picking up the gun at the start, you’re fucked. Movement is fast/slippery, as if you running on ice; takes a bit of time to adapt. It’s funny that the game’s tagline is Shoot To The Rhythm, yet you can shoot at will independant of the music. If you wait for specific notes to shoot, you’ll get shot. Unnecessary parry button; considering you keep your distance from enemmies by shooting them, rarely, you’ll need this action.

Robobeat is a classic roguelike experience; play and surive as long as you can and then start everything over anew when you die. It’s a fast paced game matching the game’s upbeat soundtrack. There’s a decent, albeit minimal, weapon variety. But despite the game’s minor flaws, if you’re not a fan of the genre, this game won’t convert you. If you enjoy having a sense of progression when you play video games, this is the opposite. Aside from that, it’s a fun action game. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll have a blast with Robobeat.