Robobeat – PS5 Review

Have rhythm games left the stage or have they just transitioned into first-person shooters? I’ve seen a few now where shooting on the beat has been their gimmick but Robobeat is the first one I’ve had to a review. Coming from the mind of Simon Fredholm, this effort takes a gnarly futuristic setting and mashes it with a pumping soundtrack. It’s got a lot of ideas and most of them seem to hit.

You play as Ace, a bounty hunter hot on the tail of Frazzer and his army of robot followers. There is more to it than that but it is mostly told in fragmented flashbacks and curiously left notes. It’s not too deep or complicated but it does at least flesh out the protagonist and his main quarry.

The gameplay follows other rhythmic shooters into the mix. Whilst you can shoot some weapons at will, timing your shots to the music is where the real damage is. I did worry I would just too tone deaf to get deep into this. Thankfully, the beat indicator is metronomic and there’s a variety of songs to play along to. You can think of these as difficulty modifiers with slower songs more passive enemies but with less opportunities to spray lead.

It’s a nice trade-off and the idea of combat being balanced around the soundtrack is clever. Whilst the indicator is there, the music is easy to tap along to and get into a groove. Weapon cooldowns are measured in beats and I really like how every room pulses with the music. By the end of a run, the timing was drilled into my head.  It’s a shame the ability to play with your own music hasn’t made it’s way over to the console release.  As it is, the soundtrack that is here is pretty good.

Robobeat is a roguelite. There is a hub area that you return to after death with four paths. Each of these paths represent a slither of the whole game and do ease you in gently. The first is little more than a tutorial that introduces you to the base mechanics of jumping, shooting in time with the music and parries. Guns don’t reload but you can recharge them for a damage boost. If all this sounds a bit much, you can remove the on-beat requirements for combat, turning it a more conventional shooter. It does make for a lesser experience but the combat remains twitchy and intense.

Once the first path is out the way, the game opens up with the second path introducing players to a more fully-featured dungeon. It’s randomly-generated, although the geometry largely stays the same. Encounters can feel familiar as the enemy composition seems to be the same each run. In that sense, you can plan a little. Enemies spawn in waves, giving you a little respite.

Fights can feel frantic as they descend on your position. Most of them like to utilise projectiles which can be parried back at them. The timing is fairly reliable and it can be a great way of controlling a crowd. There’s a measure of verticality to it as Ace can slide and wall-jump his way to high ground. Arenas are spacious and encourage you to experiment with your mobility.

It could devolve into chaos but the action is readable. Projectiles have a visual component, as well as an audio cue. Enemies can do damage on contact so I tried to maintain my distance as much as possible. Dashes and slide can help create that space and it’s a solid set of tools that made me feel like an action hero. Not that I felt overpowered. I think the challenge stays consistent with each new path adding new concerns to the mix.

Honestly, I find the difficulty to be nicely poised. Obviously being restricted by the beat can be an obstacle. Enemies seem to fire at the same cadence but I also think the movement options make it exhilarating to dodge trouble at the last second. I’ve had runs go immediately south but I’ve also made it through rooms with just a single health point to my name.  Being careful is crucial but enemies also have a predictable pattern to them.

The combo system feels diverse. As well as maintaining a beat combo, you can uncover new ways to kill enemies, typically on the move or with the many barrels that are dotted around. You also have a ground-pound that can launch enemies into the air. It is definitely a game I enjoy watching as there’s a surprising amount at your disposal and it is satisfying to pull off.

Once an arena is finished, a number of rooms open up to you. These can be prize rooms that contain weapons, shop rooms or enemy encounters with special rewards, for example health or blips. During the game you can find blueprints which can then be locked permanently by spending blips at a workbench. Before most bosses, you can also spend blips to recover your health.

The random nature of the game means you can’t really rely on certain rooms or weapons to come your way. I’ve found myself a little pigeonholed into a certain load-out which can limit my options in combat. Do yourself a favour and find a plan B. There’s a lot of variety to the weapons and it pays to know a little bit about each one. You can also draw cards for perks which are valid for your whole run.

Aesthetically, the urban environments can look a little stale but the dour backgrounds make the enemy silhouettes and incoming fire distinguishable. The little story vignettes are well presented and the soundtrack is memorable. If there’s one thing that does annoy me is how the paths are extensions of the one that’s come before it. One the one hand, it helps you with its repetition but, once you’ve beaten previous path, there’s no need to return.

Robobeat is a fantastic rhythmic shooter with a lot of mechanic variety. Whilst it can be bogged down by repetition, the combat has an unpredictability that makes each run tense. It can be so rewarding to make it through by the skin of your teeth. The timing aspect might be tricky to grasp but it did eventually click for me. It’s combat makes for a exhilarating time and the weapon variety allows for plenty of experimentation.