EGX Coverage - Sound Caster

Article by Adam Ray

It's a little known fact that I deeply love rhythm games. Everyone I know has some opinion about the very physical arcade classic, Dance Dance Revolution, while I spent a great deal of the evenings in my youth when I should have been studying instead playing Cytus on my clapped up old Android phones.

EGX has since merged with MCM, making it a whole weekend of nerd culture. My own work with the Mystic Muses D&D Podcast has been well documented at that event, and this will be the first of two rhythm games I had the delight of sampling at that amazing event.

Sound Caster is a hybrid adventure rhythm game with an amazing pixel art style. It's simultaneously a delight for an ADHD sufferer like myself, and a nightmare for an ADHD sufferer like myself.

The gameplay loop features you playing two games simultaneously, and finding the harmonious balance between them is the real challenge unlike the actual gameplay itself.

On the right side of your screen is the protagonist, a Bard in a fantasy realm encountering monsters and dangers a-plenty. There are 9 zones that your character can be in, and you have to strategically move her around to interact with the obstacles and enemies on the board, while the musical magic you control on the other half of the screen is how she attacks. This is where the arcade and retro, pixel art style of Sound Caster shines with its simple art style and character movements, it fits the trope its aiming for. The dual style of gameplay is what makes it unique.

On the left is the actual rhythm portion of the game. With three tracks and coloured buttons to tap the beats to, it feels very reminiscent of original Guitar Hero. The quality of the stirring music keeps the rhythm aspect of the game consistently engaging.

What struck me most about Sound Caster is how unique a challenge this double game is. The rhythm section and the hero moving about the screen are played at the same time. You have to tap the beats to charge up her attacks, whilst moving her around the other side of the screen to make sure she occupies the right spot at the right time. 

Both halves of the game deeply matter. Missing too many notes on the rhythm section of the game causes the game to time out, leaving the character vulnerable to attack. Moving her around the board is important to dodge said attacks, because her HP is a relevant stat that constantly ticks down. 

I personally find the balance of two games to be tricky for me to control and handle, but I know that it would be a challenge that others would relish, so try the EGX demo version of Sound Caster at the following Link, and follow their socials here!

Picture by El Horton