BIT.TRIP BEAT

BIT.TRIP BEAT attempts to answer the question, “What if Pong was a rhythm game?” I say “attempts” because while the answer is not without its charms, it could have been reached a lot more gracefully. Successfully deflecting a stream of incoming beats with a motion-controlled paddle is undeniably satisfying, but it’s also not very likely. The controls are confused by the edges of the playing area and suited for either speed or precision, but the levels often expect both simultaneously while serving up moments that would feel at home in I Wanna Be the Guy. I don’t make that comparison just to namedrop a notoriously hard game – parts of BIT.TRIP BEAT genuinely feel like pranks on the player. The ultra-retro presentation is lovely, but since sound and colour are the only ways it can convey information, reverting everything to a tuneless monochrome when the player is doing poorly was a particularly thoughtless choice. It’s also odd that all releases after the Wii version have removed the game’s multiplayer capabilities.