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Disclaimer: Ghost Beat was sent to me for free, but this review is not sponsored. All of the opinions in this review are my own. I appreciate the opportunity to play the game for free and would like to thank the developer for sending it to me.
Typically, my reviews have five components: story, characters, mechanics, inclusivity, and style. In the case of Ghost Beat, there is no story to follow. Since the nature of the game makes it virtually impossible to assign scores to the story, characters, and inclusivity categories, I have opted to omit them from this review. I recommend focusing more on my descriptions than the numerical score if you are considering buying the game.
Ghost Beat is described as a "rhythm based precision platformer" on its website. While the description is technically accurate, I have never played a game like Ghost Beat and feel hesitant to call it a platformer. At present, there are five levels (but more will be available in the future). Each level takes place within a different world, with each world being represented by a circle as pictured above. You must guide the little ghost through an array of obstacles to eventually help it reach the center of the world. Each level has its own tune, and you must move the ghost in conjunction with the rhythm of each song.
The mechanics of this game are incredibly simple. There are three rings in each world between which the ghost can move. As the player, you must move the ghost inward or outward to avoid obstacles. New obstacles and features are introduced seamlessly, typically within the first 10% of each level. As mentioned above, your timing must be precise. I wrongly assumed that a game with such simple mechanics would be easy. While I certainly would not describe Ghost Beat as a hard game, it offers an enjoyable degree of challenge. The style seems electro-inspired, with neon worlds and upbeat music.
My biggest frustration stemmed from the disparities in difficulty between the beginning and end of each level. I frequently found myself breezing past the first half of a level, only to lose repeatedly after the 90% mark. I understand that these disparities were likely intentional, but it was still somewhat frustrating to repeat parts I had mastered in order to reach the difficult portions. It took four hours for me to beat the five existing levels, but play time for Ghost Beat cannot be generalized to every player because it will depend on each individual's memorization abilities and sense of rhythm.
Overall, Ghost Beat is a fun play and an excellent option for people wanting a Halloween-related game that isn't scary. It's also fairly priced at $1.99, making it accessible to many players. I'm excited to see what future levels will look like and how they will replicate the exuberant energy of the original five.
Mechanics: 2/2
Style: 2/2
Overall Score: 4/4
Citations:
Berczi, Sandor. "Ghost Beat World 4." https://www.ghost-beat.com/.
Berczi, Sandor. Ghost Beat Press Kit. https://www.ghost-beat.com/.
Berczi, Sandor. "Ghost Beat World 1." https://www.ghost-beat.com/.
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