Rhythm hit Groove Coaster drops the beat on PC in July
And the beat goes on
Taito's Groove Coaster series has been a mainstay in both arcades and on mobile for yonks now. A one or two-button rhythm game with simple sprites and vector graphics paired with a broad range of Japanese electronica, often featuring Taito's quirky in-house band Zuntata. An unusual pick for a PC port, but as someone with it constantly installed on their phone I'm certainly not complaining that Degica and Taito are set to launch it on PC this July 17th.
While I could be wrong, it appears that the upcoming PC version of Groove Coaster is based on the latest arcade iteration - Groove Coaster 4: Starlight Road - and brings the option to play it in both Android style (just single-button taps and swipes) or Arcade style (two buttons/analogue sticks, allowing for more rapid beats and the occasional double press), which should help increase the accessibility of it a little.
The PC version of Groove Coaster will be launching with 36 tracks, with more coming as paid DLC. If it's anything like Groove Coaster 2 on Android, expect a mountain of Japanese indie tunes featuring absurd breakbeats and the occasional vocaloid. The Android version even has three whole albums worth of Touhou remixes, although they're a bit expensive for my tastes.
One thing that may put off PC users is the game's native vertical 16:9 display. There are 4:3 and 1:1 modes available in this upcoming PC version, but they don't appear to give you any more visible notes to react to. This is an arcade game through and through. If you've got one of those rotatable monitors or a laptop that doesn't mind sitting on its side, though, you're golden.
Groove Coaster is launching on July 17th. You can wishlist it and see the full track listing here on Steam.