The Metronomicon Review
Before games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band created a more standard template for rhythm games, it’s easy to forget that the genre’s early days often ventured into more quirky territory. Numerous Japanese developers would often attach intentionally ridiculous window dressing and stories like in Space Channel 5 or Elite Beat Agents, Even PaRappa the Rapper, the game most commonly labeled as the genre’s proper debut, revolved around a paper-thin dog rapping with onions to woo a flower.
While I wouldn’t say that developer Puuba’s latest title, The Metronomicon, tries to be as unabashedly weird, its genuine mixture of note-matching gameplay and role-playing battles, complete with an actual plot set in a fantastical music-powered world, is refreshing in how unashamed it is to try something completely different. While the gaming industry is no stranger to having promising-sounding experiments turn out more flawed than fun, this is not the case. There’s a shocking amount of substance, polish, and well thought out elements contained within this indie title, and there’s little reason to pass it up if the premise interests you.
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Score: 87% - Great
With an impressively novel and well-done approach to gameplay, as well as a great tracklist and campaign to back it up, The Metronomicon is one of the best rhythm games in recent memory.
