Sonar Beat bops along to the aquatic beat today
Underwater levels always have good music
Here a short and sweet little something to tide you over til' Wednesday - Sonar Beat is a creative-looking little rhythm game by Life Zero. Released today, it costs less than a cup of mediocre coffee. There's some story here about defeating enemies attacking a super-secret submarine, but the truth is that it's all rather relaxing, audio and visual-wise. Notes appear on your sonar screen, and you click, tap or hold buttons depending on their type as they pass under your scan. Take a peek at the launch trailer below.
While it lacks any bigger-name musicians, Sonar Beat's music seems a pretty catchy set of chill, aquatic beats. It all sounds like it's lifted from the obligatory underwater levels of every game through the 90s. The trailer doesn't make it too clear how the game works, but it's pretty simple - different colours of notes represent left click, right click or both clicks, and notes with trails behind, you hold the mouse down for. Miss a note, and rather than immediately take a hit, it moves closer inwards, meaning you have three chances to nail any given note.
One thing that does set Sonar Beat aside from most rhythm games is an element of randomness. While every note will sync up to the beat, the exact note chart is slightly shuffled every time. While this of course hurts the game's value for score-chasers, for someone looking for something that can be replayed without being entirely familiar, that's a perk. While a lot of other rhythm games bombard the player with visual noise (much as I love Groove Coaster, it's messy), this one feels a little clearer and cleaner in its presentation - could be a good little chill-out game.
Sonar Beat is out now on Steam for £2/€2.24/$2.49, and published by Hiberus Games. The game is also available on Android and iOS for the same price, if you'd rather carry it around with you.