I’ve been playing a bit of Warframe recently and I’ve found myself infatuated by a particular Warframe you can play as, Octavia. You see, her gimmick is that she’s a music-based character that can literally cause enemies to dancedancedance-till they’re dead and it’s both equally hilarious as it is effective. It even allows you to make your own songs that play through her abilities which is a neat touch. It got me thinking about games that used music as a mechanic in gameplay and how unique of an idea that is.
Many games have done it before, hell games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have made it their main gameplay loop. However in more recent times I’ve seen more games take it as a central focus but melding it with different genres such as roguelike dungein crawlers in Crypt of the Necrodancer and First Person Shooters in BPM. These games utilise music as a main mechanic and it really links the experience of human artistry by focusing on such things. Many people, especially big companies, tout fancy looking graphics and gorgeous scenery as big selling points of games, but only in some rare occasions do people use the music in games as a focus for how good a game is. I think many more games should put music into a core mechanic, even if it’s just playing the game in time with the music which can really get the blood pumping.
However I’m curious to know what some of your favourite music used as a mechanic games there are, or even just moments in certain games. Let us know in the comments! That’s all for now, and as always. It’s not just a game, It’s a Life.