Birthed from the imaginative concepts of a few college students, Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians swims in a new direction. Its small German development team known as Threaks (a combination of three and freaks) has hoped to create something new with a unique blend of action-adventure and rhythmic gameplay. Unlike other games which center the game around rhythm, Beatbuddy balances the delivery so you can decide how much you participate in the acoustic experience while venturing through the game’s dangerous underwater caverns.
It’s been a bold undertaking for such a small development team, but if any company can pull it off it’d be the creative minds of a focused indie team. Well, after over four years of development it’s finally here. Does it live up to its potential?
Beatbuddy paints a simple story about a world under attack with a small cast of characters. Their text dialog is accompanied by the sounds of beat boxing in the background, hinting at the game’s musically-driven theme. As cut and dry as the story is, its presentation as outstanding. Each of the levels are brought to life with unmistakable hand-painted art. The game is dazzling with visual charm and you’ll feel a sense of reward when you complete a chapter to see what’s next.
If you owned a SEGA console growing up, Beatbuddy might immediately spring to mind fond memories of Ecco the Dolphin. The game’s underwater gameplay is primarily an action-adventure filled with puzzles and unfriendly dangers. Movement and interaction are on-point, although the water lag takes a little getting used to. The difficulty curve is well-balanced leading to quick submission of the tutorial section but intense conflict during the final hour. Some puzzles are downright adrenaline-pumping with time constraints. Others take observation and thought. Toward the latter sections of the game, they become disappointingly redundant. The lack of momentum results in much of the initial fun factor becoming lost in the deep sea.
As you become acquainted with the game’s quiet protagonist, you’ll begin to actively enjoy the music. Movement and interaction introduces new layers in the always-evolving soundtrack, as do objects in the environment. You’ll soon find yourself stopping the character to break beats, and moving craftily to kick the musical sensation into climax. Jumping into the Bubbly Buggy, the protagonist’s dependable vehicle, you’ll need to be on-point with your movements. Missteps can lead to dangerous damage and inevitable checkpoint loading. It’ll be in your best interest to feel the beat pulsing through the colorful environments as you tour through each chapter. If nothing else, you’ll enjoy the soundtracks during their progression in each level. Subtle differences evoke different moods. It goes without saying that the beats are fantastic.
By the end of the experience you’ll have completed six levels ranging from 40 to 60 minutes each. Although the levels are linear, certain sections can be done in an order of your choosing. Outside of gathering all the scattered beatpoints you won’t have much reason to come back for more. Without a form of multiplayer or a level editor this becomes another ‘one and done’ game. Thankfully, clocking in at around five to six hours its length is above par for the friendly price of $14.99.
Beatbuddy succeeds at its attempt of harmonizing an underwater adventure with an interactive musical composition. The ocean full of puzzles and challenges that await are only held back by its inability to consistently evolve. Its visual presentation is one of the best in indie history, and some of the game’s best moments of musical participation will have you bobbing your head and waving your hands in the air like any disc-jockey on the job would. It isn’t a perfectly rounded adventure, but it’s one that succeeds at the premise similar to how Sound Shapes did last year.
Jonathan Leack is the Gaming Editor for CraveOnline. You can follow him on Twitter @jleack.
We received one review copy of Beatbuddy: Tale of the Guardians from Reverb Publishing for PC. We were held to the embargo date of Tuesday, August 6th, 2013.
