UNBEATABLE [REVIEW] – A Stylish Rhythm Riot With Some Rough Edges

UNBEATABLE is one of those games that’ll grab your attention before you even start playing, with its stylish anime aesthetic and punk attitude practically DEMANDING a double take from the get-go. And once you DO start playing? It’ll quickly become clear why people have been buzzing about the game since its early Kickstarter days. After beating it over the last week, I’ve been left really impressed by what I played – even IF the pacing of the story isn’t always the best and some technical issues hold it back.

Check out some screenshots down below:

UNBEATABLE puts players in a world where making music is a criminal act ever since a catastrophic concert spawned strange entities called The Silence. You step into the shoes of Beat, a musician with a messy past (and a wildly rebellious streak), who teams up with a gang of like-minded musicians to bring the magic of music back into a silent world. The premise is strong, the attitude is fun, and the early hours set up something genuinely compelling.

However, the story doesn’t always live up to that early promise, and whilst the narrative swings between plenty of heartfelt moments and comedic banter between the heroes, some sudden leaps in the tale don’t always hit as well as they should. Sometimes it felt a little rushed whilst other times it felt a little too slow, with the narrative also having moments where you might be left wondering what you even need to do to push things forward. Admittedly, this might be more of a ME thing – especially since the game really hooked me in with its strong opening – but I couldn’t help but to feel like it could’ve done with a stronger sense of direction.

But hey, at least the characters are all likable and really well-written, with some strong moments between them that do give a grounded feel to the experience despite the anarchic tone. I was a big fan of Beat too, and whilst she is prickly by design, she’s also endearing with her badass attitude that feels befitting of the adventure that she is leading. It’s clear that there could be something special across the narrative… the pieces just don’t always come together.

Fortunately, the rhythm-based gameplay absolutely sees the game hits its stride, and despite only really requiring the use of two buttons, it manages to deliver a surprising amount of depth. Notes come flying in as Silence creatures, and hitting them sends Beat darting across the screen – turning what could’ve been a simple lane-based system into something oozing with genuine style and flair. As difficulty ramps up, the game transitions between two lanes and four lanes, mixing in hazards and multi-hit enemies that force you to stay alert with your button-mashing but without ever feeling unfair.

“UNBEATABLE isn’t perfect, but its wonderful sense of style, absolutely banging soundtrack, and energetically unique rhythm-based gameplay make it a stand out as a worthwhile experience.”

Despite its simplicity, it can take a little bit of time to settle into the rhythm, and when you do, the game really does feel fantastic. Everything is snappy and responsive, and the heightened speed on harder difficulties captures that ‘just one more try’ pull that great rhythm games rely on perfectly. The only real drawback in combat is found during especially busy sequences, where the screen can get REALLY hard to read and lead to some untimely mistakes. It’s never a massive issue, but there were a few occasions where the game’s over-the-top presentation could just get in the way a little –especially when story details are being unveiled mid-combat.

Whilst the main campaign is the beating heart of UNBEATABLE, Arcade mode is where the gameplay can really shine. Freed from the somewhat slow pacing of story exploration, it becomes a pure rhythm-game playground, with dozens of tracks to unlock, variations to experiment with, and modifiers to crank up the challenge. As said, the rhythm-based action of UNBEATABLE is incredibly rewarding and fun, so simply being able to stick some hours into that at a faster pace definitely strengthens the package as a whole.

And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the soundtrack is absolutely banging across the board. The mix of tracks leans heavily into indie punk and garage rock (with a few electronic touches that keep things varied), and whilst not every track is a standout, they all hit really, REALLY hit hard. It’s all well and good being a good rhythm game, but UNBEATABLE backs it all up with an outstanding soundtrack too.

It also just so happens to be absolutely gorgeous, with UNBEATABLE blending slick 2D character art with chunky 3D environments in a way that feels both stylish and cohesive. The vibrant characters pop out against the backgrounds with a real flair, the colour palette keeps things bright and vibrant, whilst the animated scenes add a cinematic vibe that pulls everything together – it all fits the ‘punk-meets-anime’ direction of the game perfectly, with UNBEATABLE one of the most stylish titles that I’ve played this year.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Unfortunately, whilst the game has plenty of strengths, the launch build isn’t free of technical hiccups. Beyond the occasional freeze, I ran into moments where characters clipped into the environment, the audio volume freaked out, some in-game transitions felt disorientating and broke the pace of things, and even the UI during rhythm sections momentarily glitched – nothing devastatingly game-breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but issues nonetheless. In fairness, patches were released during the review period that addressed some flaws I came across, but I think it might still need a little bit of extra work to really iron things out.

Even with those flaws, UNBEATABLE is easy to recommend to rhythm game fans. Its style is undeniable, its songs are fantastic, and its gameplay feels fresh despite its simplicity, so there really is a lot to enjoy here. Perhaps most importantly? It feels really unique. It’s clear that it has some flaws (some of which will be easily fixed, some not so), but it also has a lot of heart. Maybe I’d recommend waiting for a couple of patches before getting stuck in, but even if you can’t wait, there’s certainly a lot to love about UNBEATABLE right now.

Developer: D-Cell Games
Publisher: Playstack
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2240620/UNBEATABLE/