This issue was not frequent but certainly noticeable when it occurred. The only issues I experienced with the game happened when the action was too much for the frame rate. While it wasn’t as flashy as some of the dazzling obstacles in previous levels, the hulking figure was just as impressive and fun to watch.

Unlike the other levels, this one had an actual monster who moved, and attacked with the music. I had the pleasure of playing one of these boss battles and it was phenomenal. Fortunately for you, you are given extra lives to compensate, but this mechanic prevents the interruption of the action. The only levels that don’t have checkpoints are the intense boss battles. No matter the decision, it is always satisfying when it works out, but if not, you and your team will just start again at the last checkpoint. You can risk your own life to let your friends keep going through the level, or try to be the hero by carrying your team to the end. This makes it tough to decide if you should dash into a dangerous area to revive a fallen comrade, or let them drift away as the song moves on. When playing with up to three other players, only one has to reach the end of the song to beat the level. Just Shapes & Beats forces you to think fast and think critically. Strategy also plays a big factor in the game. left stick to move and a button to dash through obstacles) but they are enough to weave your way through the songs’ attacks as if it were a complex bullet-hell game. So while your senses are bombarded with an intense array of pink particle effects and the perfectly synchronized tunes of artists like Danimal Cannon and Zef, your job is to avoid it all till the song is over.

Gameplay is designed so that levels directly correlate to gaming-inspired music. Instead of trying to maintain a rhythm, like in Rock Band or Guitar Hero, you are at odds with it. Shapes & Beats is a rhythm game like no other. After playing an early build of the game, I can already tell Just Shapes & Beats can crescendo into something special when it launches this winter. That game was Berzerk Studios’ Just Shapes & Beats. While checking out indie games at Atlanta, Georgia’s Momocon, one game was absolutely hard to miss.

Just shapes and beats platforms