In the Headbangers: Rhythm Royale Review We tell you how the game is part of that small club of video games that manage to combine two seemingly irreconcilable genres to create something new and fun. It is, in fact, the union between a rhythm game and a battle royale and its protagonists are pigeons whose only goal in life is to become the number one Headbanger and show that they know how to keep up.
The fact that developed by Glee-Cheese Studio and published by Team 17Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is nothing more than a large online game for 30 players in which, over four rounds, more and more pigeons are eliminated based on the score they obtain in one of the 23 mini-games available at launch. Each of these challenges has a rhythmic element, either purely audio or a mix of audio and video to test the player's hand-eye coordination.
Since the 70s, whack a mole
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale Minigames They fall into two categories, the extremely familiar ones that have been given a musical touch like the classic whack-a-mole (this time done with melodic sequences to remember and replicate); and other innovative ones capable of surprising like "That '70s Race" in which you have to press the correct buttons while they appear on a vinyl record almost in the style of DJ Hero. Another possible division is between group games, in which all participants in a tournament are on screen at the same time, and one-on-one challenges.
In the first case, all participating pigeons face the same test and the one with the highest score wins. In the second, as in Western or rap-themed minigames, two contestants face off to choose a winner. Whoever succeeds in each pair of races advances to the next round. The mini-games are divided into three large groups: those dedicated to the first round (eliminate the first ten players), those of the second and third (eliminate ten and five pigeons respectively) and those of the final phase which consist of a real game. . Own race between the last five pigeons to see who crosses the finish line first and wins the match.
In the catalog of minigames there is one themed to classical composers, in which you have to replicate DJ scratching, one about using a slingshot to hit the keys of a giant piano, another about racing cars pressing notes to the beat, and many other crazy four-note combinations (one for each button on the controller) that are simple and easy to memorize. There are many intuitive and rhythmic ways in which Headbangers: Rhythm Royale manages to entertain those who play it, and at least for the first 10 or 20 games you play, you will always find some new challenge waiting for you.
time cut
As we spent more and more time with Headbangers: Rhythm Royale, we finally understood who its target audience is. It can certainly be enjoyed solo by challenging strangers on the Internet and it is not possible to play it locally, as this possibility is completely missing. This title will therefore find its most fervent fans. in Discord clans and in all those groups of friends who, from time to time, do not want to play a competitive shooter, an MMO or a MOBA, but simply want to have fun while being distracted.
In its basic version, this Headbangers: Rhythm Royale guarantees (spending time between each one to avoid the effect already seen) many opportunities to have fun at a distance between friends. Competing to see who can best remember a command scheme associated with a melody by confusing the words in the shared vocal channel is a recipe for an enjoyable evening. To maximize the number of users, the developers should have opted for a free business model; On the other hand, Headbangers costs about twenty euros at launch, like Fall Guys: are they trying to replicate the same parable? For now we can say that this price represents a fairly high barrier to entry, so it will be interesting to see how many people decide to buy the game in these first months. The "coming soon" status on Game Pass, however, will make many players happy and could still guarantee sufficiently populated and active servers.
The economic model adopted by the developers is very similar to that of free to play competitors, based on season passes and seasons. We don't know if the upcoming content will be just cosmetic or add new mini-games, and that's our main concern for the future of Headbangers: Rhythm Royale. In fact, by playing the games consistently and continuously, we became quite good at the 23 Headbangers minigames and began to see the challenge wear off.
In fact, we have glimpsed the danger of encountering an experience that in the medium term may already begin to tire in the absence of a clear path to expand the content. There's a lot of potential for entertaining groups of friends online, so if you like the design and format, you'll love it. We advise you not to play too much alone. and save all the laughs that this title can provide (between absurd voices reminiscent of Minions and dancing victory screens) for when you manage to gather your group of friends for an evening of absurdity with music.
Conclusions
Tested version PC with Windows digital delivery Steam, playstation store, Xbox Store, Nintendo eShop Price 19,99 € / 29,99 € Holygamerz.com 7.5 Readers (4) 9.1 your voteHeadbangers: Rhythm Royale is an absurd and fun, free-for-all party game. The developers took the concept behind rhythm games and turned it into crazy mini-games with themes ranging from Western music to disco, from hip hop to 80s game shows, in an experience capable of bringing smiles. and evenings of remote fun between friends who meet online. . The barrier to entry given by the price will not help the game achieve great results at launch, but it could make it economically sustainable and give the authors the resources to add not only cosmetics (of which there are many, one more ridiculous than the another) but new mini-games to keep the experience fresh. The biggest unknown, in fact, is longevity because it is an easy title to learn and master. The arrival on Game Pass will certainly help bring this musical battle royale to the eyes of those looking for a fun and light experience to spend an online evening with friends, where Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is at its best.
PRO
- Intelligent fusion of two genres
- Funny and fun mini games
- Various and extravagant customizations.
AGAINST
- Unknown longevity
- Economic barrier to entry
- Too simple to master
