I’m one of those people who needs a soundtrack to survive. It may be corny to walk down the street to the Fallout: New Vegas soundtrack thinking you’re a post-apocalyptic courier but it feels cool. That’s why rhythm games have always caught my attention and there’s few as rhythm-y as Robobeat, a brand new rhythm roguelike which has just waltzed out onto Steam.
I suspect that if you’re a fan of rhythm games, your introduction to them on PC would be with the likes of Audiosurf, just like it was for me. DNA from that early Steam title lives on in the newly-released Robobeat, an FPS roguelike that encourages you to shoot in time to the soundtrack. It’s what that soundtrack is that makes this new indie game so exciting, because there’s a couple options available to you.
You can just use the thumping dance tracks that come with the game, and to be honest, you should at least when you start playing. They make your heart pound, combining with the cyberpunk aesthetic to put you right in the moment-to-moment combat of dodging, running, wall-jumping, shooting, all in time to the tunes. But that’s not all you can play with.
Robobeat’s true strength is that, like ancient predecessor Audiosurf, it lets you use your own music. Supporting several common file types, you can simply slap in your own tracks, trim them down if needed, and then start blasting away. Combine the ability to use your own music with the replayability of a roguelike and this could be a game to earn a spot on your hard drive for a long, long time to come.
Personally I’m looking forward to seeing how Robobeat reacts to music from a few different genres. Maybe a moment of dark jazz courtesy of Bohren & der Club of Gore, or something more pastoral with a spot of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6. Hell, fire up John Cage’s 4’33 and see what it does. Some of these may not work but I’m excited to try.
In addition to the game’s own soundtrack several other titles have tossed in their tunes. Secret rooms are dotted throughout the game where you can unlock tracks from Dusk, Ultrakill, and BPM: Bullets Per Minute.
Robobeat is out now and you can grab it with 20% off until Tuesday May 21. Head over to the Steam page to check it out.
If this has you hungry for something else repeatable why not take a peek at our guide to the best roguelike games you can play, or the best indie games on PC in 2024.
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