If you threw Cyberpunk 2077, Guitar Hero, Chrono Trigger, and Into The Breach into a blender, you’d get Keylocker. Shown off during the ID@Xbox showcase, this sci-fi, turn-based RPG relies on music and rhythm – in a world where singing and dancing are banned, you gather a party, fight the powers that be, and rock out at gigs in protest. If you’re looking for something distinctive to add to your Steam wishlist, this is it.
A slick amalgam of some of my favorite genres, Keylocker is a cyberpunk turn-based rhythm RPG game where you play as B0B0, a singer trying to bring music back to a silent world that made it illegal. With gorgeous pixel art visuals, fights aren’t just about positioning, as you’ll need to attack and parry to the musical beat to get the most out of every encounter.
Inspired by the Mario and Luigi RPG series and the iconic Chrono Trigger, Keylocker will let you choose between multiple characters with their own unique skill trees and stories. To my delight, there are no random battles either. Instead, you fight opponents in a seamless world using a grid system that lets you alternate between attacks, defense, and other rhythm-based abilities.
There’s even a Guitar Hero-style minigame where your band plays music as it tries to bring the sound back to the world, but just watch out for the authorities, who will try to keep up the ‘Law of Silence’ with excessive force.
The musical mechanics make me think of Crypt of the Necrodancer while the turn-based combat screams Into The Breach, and that’s a combo I never realized I needed until I wrote it out just now.
While Keylocker is going for a unique blend of games and genres, you’ll still get up to a lot of the typical RPG fare like finding and unlocking equipment, setting up your character and their abilities, and exploring the world while interacting with NPCs to change the course of the story.
Keylocker can be added to your Steam wishlist right now, and there’s even a free demo for you to try out ahead of the scheduled summer 2024 release date.
There’s a whole suite of cyberpunk games you should check out if Keylocker looks like your thing, alongside some of the best rhythm games if you love playing to a beat.
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