After the supersaturation caused by TapTap Revolution on the mobile side, and the Guitar Hero / Rock band franchises for instrument-based titles, rhythm-based games struggle to find unique elements, both in terms of gameplay and presentation, to feel truly unique. Everyone wants to feel like they’ve done the next big thing, but at the end of the day, few succeed. LOUDDeveloped by the folks at Hyperstrange, is the next contender to join the list, offering a unique gameplay loop coupled with a recognizable story to boot.
Following in the footsteps of the . handheld spin-offs Rock band series, such as the exclusive PSP Rock Band: Unplugged, LOUD is played with each side of the controller, for a total of six lanes where the notes come from. Since this was played on the Switch, that means the notes on the left were played with the up, left and down buttons on the directional pad, while the right lane was played with Y, A and B.
As you can expect, notes switch sides, and by linking notes together you get a score multiplier. If you miss a note, your multiplier will end and if you miss too many notes, you will get a warning. The difference between LOUD and other games is the less forgiving it is to deal with mistakes. Instead of giving you many chances with a success meter, you will fail if you miss three notes during a song. Yeah, three strikes and you’re out.
LOUD It even has a very interesting story to it. This is the story of a teenager who wants to play guitar, write music and perform. For almost every rock and metal fan, regardless of gender, the story of LOUD is very recognizable. A parent gives you your first instrument, helps you play the first few chords, and then you find like-minded people to play some music with. The story progresses between tidbits of exposition-heavy cutscenes and the songs you learn to play. As you become a better guitarist, the songs get harder and harder.
The songs are great as a rock fan, LOUD does a great job of really discovering what it’s like to learn to play music and how your taste evolves with age. From the beginning playing fairly classic sounding songs, to a grunge and punk phase, the progression through the ages is very recognizable to fans of the music. That, coupled with the fun and eye-catching gameplay, makes it a blast to play.
Perhaps the only part of LOUD that felt like a slight disappointment was the graphics department. Nothing going on is super interesting visually, but that’s far from unheard of in rhythm games. It’s not like Guitar Hero looked great or something great was happening in the background, outside, maybe, Warriors of Rock. LOUDHowever, the spaces look unique, and at the very least the different segments of the game (playing in your bedroom, a garage, a location) don’t just feel like simple reskins of each other. It also runs fine.
LOUD doesn’t feel like it was trying to copy the countless other rhythm-based games released over the years. It feels like its own thing. The way the story is built feels much more like a personal story, making it feel more unique than other games in the genre. Plus, it feels recognizable, and anyone can understand whether it’s for the style of music, wanting to be a musician or just having a passion for anything you need inspiration for. Not to mention the excellent gameplay and the ever-evolving difficulty, which makes it a truly addictive and replayable game, where you’ll want to play your favorite songs over and over again.
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While the various parts of the game are thankfully not reskins, they’re still not too interesting to look at. Fortunately, they are really just backgrounds of the actual game. |
The actual gameplay is a lot of fun, learning every song is pretty much the only way you can hit every note at higher difficulty levels. The replayability of LOUD is amazing. |
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The evolution of music in LOUD is incredible and the music written for the game is perfect. Nothing else needs to be said. |
LOUD is a spectacular rhythm-based game that takes a lot of practice to become a real success. As with other rhythm games, you definitely want to spend time playing the songs you love, over and over. |
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Final verdict: 8.5 |
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LOUD is now available on Nintendo Switch, PC.
Rated on Nintendo Switch.
A copy of LOUD was provided by the publisher.
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