Review: UNBEATABLE [white label]

Goutham Jayaraman

Ravencrow Game Review #7

 

UNBEATABLE [white label]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1290490/UNBEATABLE_white_label/

Genre	Rhythm
Platform	PC
Developer	D-CELL Games
Publisher	D-CELL Games
Playtime	2 hours
Date Completed	14/5/2021
Date Reviewed	14/5/2021
Overall Grade	A-

 

Unbeatable [white label] is what seems to be the first episode of the upcoming game Unbeatable. It is a free to play game on Steam and features fast-paced and fun rhythm gameplay with a touch of storytelling added on to it.

What I liked

-          Loved the sound tracks. They are excellently custom-made and very much jivey.

-          The graphics in the game gave it a good feel and style

-          Fun gameplay

-          Difficulty scales well

-          Story snippets are a nice touch

     What I disliked                                                             

-          K and F keys were awkward to use. Would have preferred keys that were positioned vertically (Up and Down or W and S for example)

-          Animations and visuals are distracting and make it harder to play (sometimes the animations feel like the key presses are not being responsive enough, which can easily cause loss in concentration)

-          Got stuck at the train station level, had no idea what to do next

-          UI can get a bit confusing, especially given the choice in keys

-          No key binding options

-          Not being able to review the story snippets

Gameplay 18/20	+ Fast paced and fun rhythm gameplay + Unique mechanic of dodging and having to contend with enemies approaching from both sides + Takes a while to get used to - Game has difficulty registering rapid key presses - Experiences lag at times - Tutorial is glitched
Game Design 13/20	+ Difficulty scales reasonably well + Health is healed with perfect strikes + Decent amount of leniency in making mistakes + Unique concept of using enemies and attacks rather than the usual usage of notes + Option to just listen to music tracks without having to play = Ability to choose from a few options for the controls, but still no key binding - Lack of option to review story snippets - Hard and especially unbeatable are somewhat… well… unbeatable - Some songs only available on unbeatable.
Graphics 20/20	+ Good art style + Good character designs - Flashy animations and visual effects are distracting and give the sensation that key presses are not responsive
Audio 24/25	+ Excellent custom-made soundtrack - Voice acting would have been great for the game’s immersion
Story 6/10	+ Presence of narrative + Story snippets appearing before and after certain song are a nice touch and give the songs more meaning + Some choices to affect the narrative - Not particularly immersive - Seems to be incomplete
Lore 0/0	- NA
Value 0/0	+ It’s free.
Overall Grade 14/20	A-
Score	78

 

Unbeatable is basically a free rhythm game that you should definitely try out. It is somewhat rough around the edges, especially where its game design is concerned, but seeing as this is just the first release of a series, nobody really knows what to expect from the rest of the game.

For now, just have fun.