UNBEATABLE. That's how I describe this game as. It's just a completely amazing story about two people who both lost their own way, the adventure it brings them on full of amazing moments, and an ending I cannot come out of without not being able to see because of how many tears fell down my face.
The Story: Without any spoilers, unbeatable is a game that follows the main story of two characters (called beat and quaver), in a world where music is illegal, and YOU DO CRIME! Tagline aside, music is illegal due to monsters that appear called "the silence", and the police force known as HARM, stop anyone who plays music acting as a corrupt government if i had to put it in my own words. Throughout the story, beat comes to her own conclusions about her life, along with quaver coming to her own as they embark on the adventure of their band, unbeatable. (Treble and Clef also exist but the story isn't exactly focused on them sorry fan reading this)
The Gameplay: UNBEATABLE isn't completely focused on rhythm. Most of the game is spent walking around, progressing the story and taking in the beautiful landscapes and I thought mentioning this first was a good idea to those who want purely a rhythm game (I'll talk about arcade in a second, don't worry). The actual rhythm portion is the main two button gameplay you'd see in games such as muse dash, with taps, spams and holds, where the gameplay can shift left and right. A bunch of minigames appear in the story too, such as batting, or beating up police which is always fun. Now, arcade mode. Arcade mode is solely the rhythm game for people who want more of the game, climb ranks and get full combos for their favorite songs in the soundtrack or collabs.
The soundtrack: Where. TO. START. The ost for this game is phenomenal, and every track in the story completely fits in with the tone and atmosphere of what is currently happening. Wether it's RE-TUNED being the best track I've heard to start a game off, to dialtone being calm at points which reflect in the story and loud when things kick off, or BOOKEND SONG. Just typing that gave me chills for one of the best finales I've ever seen for a game, which had me genuinely cry eight times, acting as a good feeling song for the end of the game, but so damn emotional at the points where it matters.
THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT: Throughout reviewing games, I've never written something like this. But there's no other way to put it.
This game MEANT something to me. Meant a lot even if some of the core points of the game didn't exactly strike, but made me feel so immersed with what is happening. Whether it was a hype moment happening where the finale of a chapter had me smiling and yelling "YEAH!", or points near the end of the game, where I was bawling my eyes out. Those damn voicemails... it's impossible not to feel something. You can feel the passion of all of the developers in this game. UNBEATABLE has it's flaws, don't get me wrong. But that can be pushed aside because these people really wanted to make a story that would stick with you. UNBEATABLE isn't a love story. Not in the traditional sense. But damn it is one in it's own right.
PLAY UNBEATABLE. It's an experience you won't regret. Thank you D-CELL.
