There are many titles that have done innovative things within the rhythm game genre, such as Crypt of the NecroDancer (and its Cadence of Hyrule) or the Rhythm Heaven series. Soundfall is an rhythm game in the same vein, combining elements of twin-stick shooters, looter shooters, and roguelikes together into one package that moves to the beat. Screen Rant had a chance to try a demo of the PC version of the Soundfall, which offered a taste of what's to come in the final version of the game.
Soundfall stars a woman named Melody, who is dragged into the realm of Symphonia, which is a fantasy realm that is the embodiment of music itself. The lands of Symphonia are under threat from the monstrous Discordians, who have infiltrated different songs around the land. It's revealed that Melody is one of the Guardians of Harmony, who must banish the Discordians and restore harmony to the land of Symphonia. The land of Symphonia is broken up into worlds with individual stages, similar to that of the Super Mario Bros. series.
The gameplay in Soundfall will be familiar to people who have played Enter the Gungeon or Nuclear Throne. Melody can bring two ranged weapons into a level and use them to shoot foes. The player unlocks a sword a few levels in, which is powerful and can perform a quick three-hit combo but leaves Melody vulnerable to a counter. Melody can perform a quick dash to gain some distance and use its invincibility frames to protect her from enemy attacks. What makes Soundfall unique is that everything is moving to the beat. If the player fires their weapon to the beat, then it does more damage and takes a lot longer to overheat. If the player ignores the beat, then the weapon will heat up really quickly and will need to cool down before it can be used again, dissuading players from spamming the fire button. There is a metronome on the bottom of the screen that can guide the player, but looking at it means looking away from the enemies on the screen.
The stages in Soundfall have a basic fantasy world design, but with the twist that most parts of the scenery move to the beat, similar to 's cartoonish design and visuals. One negative aspect of the game is that it rewards the player for completing a stage before the soundtrack loops, which means it's incentivizing finishing the level as soon as possible, rather than taking the time to explore. It can be tricky to complete the stage even when making a beeline for the exit, so there isn't much of a chance to stop and smell the roses.
The first world of Soundfall is broken into different stages, each of which contains a single song as its backing track, with a pace that determines the beat. This means faster songs give the player more of a chance to use powerful rapid-fire shots, but it becomes harder to keep up with the beat. The enemies in the Soundfall demo have a mix of abilities, such as small enemies that try to swarm Melody, long-ranged snipers that dart about the field, dinosaurs that fire missiles as part of an AoE attack, and bulky enemies that perform leaping attacks. The initial combat encounters are a breeze, but they become extremely tricky when varied groups of enemies appear. The battles are fast-paced and the player needs to be on their toes at all times, as the dash isn't forgiving and only grants a brief moment of safety from attacks. The combat is a lot of fun, even if maintaining the beat can be difficult in the heat of battle, especially when juggling different buttons.
The story seems like standard video game fare, with a person from the real world becoming the hero in a fantasy land, which has been seen in many games such as the Forspoken and its land of Athia. What is impressive about Soundfall is the quality of the animated cutscenes that appear at different moments in the story, as these contain gorgeous and colorful visuals that match the aesthetic of the game world. The enemies have fairly standard designs, but Melody looks fantastic, and she is meant to be ed by other heroes in the final version of the game. There was a varied mix of songs in the demo and the final game is meant to contain over 140 songs, so there will hopefully be something there that players will enjoy.
The player can unlock loot in each stage and can purchase new items in the store on the world map. The Soundfall demo only had a small number of weapons available, but there was a good mixture of ranged weapons on offer, which have different attributes and perform in different ways when hitting the beat. There's a certain satisfaction when acquiring a new weapon that lets the player mow down foes that were giving them trouble in the previous stage. It will be interesting to see what the loot can do in the full version of the game, as items that could extend the length or duration of the dash and offer invincibility frames while using the sword would be extremely valuable, as they would make the combat easier.
Soundfall can best be described as an action RPG version of Crypt of the NecroDancer. There is no turn-based option here, however, as the player is constantly moving and firing. The gameplay loop is challenging and a lot of fun, but the player's enjoyment might be tied to how much they like the songs on the OST. Luckily, the PC version of Soundfall will let players import their own songs, which will be translated into stages, allowing players to create a musical adventure that's more to their liking.
Soundfall is currently in development and will be released for Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in Spring 2022.
