First impressions are everything in media, but it can often be misleading. Nowhere was that more apparent than in my time with UNBEATABLE (yes, it is all caps, the developers say so themselves!). It starts off as a punk-infused, playful rhythm game with a somewhat barebones story and a host of seemingly disjointed elements. Come the conclusion, however, and UNBEATABLE had struck a chord. It’s very much akin to discovering that rough indie band beginning their musical journey, only to discover they’ve got a banger of a track mixed in to their first album.
UNBEATABLE is made by a small development team, and the passion for delivering something unique is unquestionable. It has some rough bumps in the road, but I’d argue the final cut of its heartfelt song is all the better for, or in spite of, it. Drop a beat and let’s shred our way (or time our button presses) through what makes UNBEATABLE an experience worth checking out.
Hold That Beat
UNBEATABLE is split into two modes: story and arcade. We’ll start with the former, as it’s the more all-or-nothing of the two. We assume the role of Beat, a pink-haired 21-year-old lost in both direction and in the world itself. She stumbles across a young girl named Quaver, who, in naïve and cheerful spirit, enlists Beat to form a band, completed by the twin duet of Treble and Clef. The only problem is, music in general is banned in the world of UNBEATABLE.
An institution by the name of HARM is systematically rooting out any form of musical creativity, asserting control through dampeners and incarceration of those who disobey. For about 80% of the story chapters, the primary focus is on rebelling against the system and forming shaky bonds with your fellow band members. I didn’t necessarily dislike it, but I wasn’t especially engrossed in it either. Up until chapter five, I’d found myself mostly gliding through it, enjoying the in-jokes and minigames more than the narrative itself.
Like a complete reinvention of a band you’ve come to love, however, UNBEATABLE turns this on its head with its final act and concluding section. There’s a serious emotional and personal beat that arises towards the end, and damn does it hit hard. I wasn’t expecting it, and certainly my own personal circumstances made it much more relevant than it may have been before, but come the credits, UNBEATABLE had struck a real note with me. Like climbing a mountain, the journey is full of stumbles, but the final view is something worth pushing through it all for.
Blink-182 and You’ll Miss It
The central cast are generally all likeable and flawed, which makes them easy to root for throughout. Treble and Clef have a fun dynamic, while Quaver is the emotional anchor for the group. Beat’s a complicated, unsure and assertive protagonist, one who can slap down a cop with sass before falling prey to her own thoughts in a heartbeat. There’s plenty of charm in the group, which sadly is lacking in most of the rest of the campaign before the final encore.
Firstly, the cutscenes are often very roughly cut and have jarring transitions far too often. I found it quite disjointed and at times, quite tough to follow. Cutscenes also conflict with the rhythm gameplay, where it’ll overlay in ways that obscure the camera, or cause a lag, which forced me to miss beats I couldn’t see. These problems frustrated me at first, but the overall experience glossed over their impact. Even so, they can be an annoyance, that I hope (and believe) will be ironed out with patches.
The story is split into a mix of 2D exploration with light platforming and interactive objects, as well as rhythm minigames and the full note-slapping gameplay. The exploration is okay, with semi-open environments and collectibles to gather. However, it can be confusing knowing how to progress at times. Mainly looking at you, giant billboard toothbrush. The minigames were a highlight for me, often using creative setups to freshen up a simplistic mechanic. Whether helping a kid count at skipping, nailing home runs in a baseball setup, or pouring out the perfect Old Fashioned as a bartender, the side-activities are addicting fun.
The Offspring of Beatable
All of which leaves UNBEATABLE’s story mode feeling rather messy, which is fitting for a rebellious indie band. Some parts are great, parts that are boring, parts that are raw and parts that feel refined. Generally, it’s at its best when you’re smashing combos and hitting perfect QTE prompts to the awesome soundtrack, and at its worst during the in-between sections. Thankfully, the payoff is worth it in the end, but there are some duds amongst this debut album’s tracklist of a campaign.
The same cannot be said of the actual rhythm gameplay, though, which was a blast from my first hour to my 12th. You use one face button for lower hits, and another button for upper hits. Simple, right? It is. But that’s where UNBEATABLE shines. Notes come thick and fast (especially on higher difficulties), with damaging obstacles to contend with, multi-hit behemoths to smash through and finger-destroying combinations that’ll test all of your dexterity.
I was less of a fan of the “combat” variants, where notes come from up/down, as flurries of notes are just much more difficult to comprehend (not helped by the camera at times). However, once you get the swing of each rhythm game’s method, you’ll find a lot of fun to be had here. So much so, in fact, I spent just as long in the arcade mode as I did with the story. The main thing is that when the game runs well, the rhythm action is smooth, responsive and oh-so satisfying. I felt like a legendary punk hero at my best and a pathetic, washed-up Z-list guitarist at my worst. Exactly like you should do with these games.
Arcade Paradise
UNBEATABLE’s arcade mode is hugely impressive, boasting dozens of tracks. Not only that, there are acoustic versions of songs, remixes of them, remixes of remixes, draft versions, all sorts. You can apply modifiers to make things more or less challenging, with a rating system to track your progress and a host of challenges to complete. Once you’re done with the story, it’s the ideal option to have to keep you coming back, refining your skills, jamming out to great music and having a break from the world.
I managed to get a good grasp of Hard difficulty, with a decent amount of success on Expert. Hit Unbeatable and beyond difficulties, though? Good luck to you. The offering is deep, and there’s gameplay potential for dozens upon dozens of hours here. I love the arcade mode, and a lot of that is due to the quality of the music and the refined level of the gameplay mechanics. It’s just a joy to play, and though the story’s conclusion will stick with me emotionally, the arcade mode is what will keep me coming back to UNBEATABLE.
Once again, there are the occasional performance issues. More than once, in either mode, the game just locked up and either wouldn’t progress, or the controls stopped functioning. These required restarts each time, which is irritating, and in one case, it took a whole system restart to get the game to transition into gameplay from an in-game cinematic, after 3 attempts of it just doing nothing. From losing combos to missed notes, to repeating 5-minute segments and suffering a stuttering framerate, there are some problems that need addressing.
The Evanescence of Unbeatable
UNBEATABLE’s anime art style further lends itself an air of flair. Each of the locations, characters and set-pieces has a huge amount of vibrant colour that pop off the screen. There are noticeable breaks in the edges of maps and getting caught on rogue geometry happens a little too often. Overall though, both the music and visuals excel at creating a punk atmosphere and engaging setting.
UNBEATABLE definitely felt like one of those games where the adage of “greater than the sum of its parts” applies. It coalesces into an experience that launches this indie band far beyond the limits of what it ‘should’ have been able to. It’s often raw, unpolished and unrefined, but the passionate, beating heart of this rhythm action game shines through thanks to the superb tunes, heartfelt final act and a creative direction that’s unafraid to take risks.
In a nutshell, UNBEATABLE is that indie band that comes out of nowhere and drops a bombshell album that leaves you blown away. A bit like hearing Hybrid Theory for the first time when I was younger (and if you follow me at Finger Guns, you’ll know just how big a compliment that is). It has flaws, it has problems, but UNBEATABLE is undeniably a success, and I’d argue its flaws show just how good the overall vision must be to overcome them.
UNBEATABLE is available now on PC (review platform), Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.
Developer: D-CELL GAMES
Publisher: Playstack
Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.
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