Title: Sound Shapes
Genre: Platformer
Platform: PlayStation Vita
Developer: Queasy Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Release Date: August 15th 2012
As a musician, a gamer and a scholar (shut up I am, I have the dissertation to prove it), any game that claims to integrate music with gameplay in an interesting way immediately draws my attention. Give me the chance and I will talk your ear off about why L.A Noire had the best soundtrack of any game in 2011, why Nobuo Uematsu is gamings John Williams or why Flower is awesome and you’re a moron if you haven’t played it. Pro tip: do not give me that chance.
So when Sound Shapes, the debut title from Canadian developer Queasy Games, appeared on my radar last year, I was intrigued. The Vita seemed like the perfect fit for an experimental music game too; all those fancy new control methods would surely allow the developers to challenge not only the idea of pre-authored music in games, but also the ways in which the player interacted with it. At least that’s what I was expecting. I was not expecting one of the most beautiful, charming and genuinely challenging platformers of this generation so far and yet in Sound Shapes, in one way or another, I found all of the above.
It’s worth pointing out at this stage that as a music game Sound Shapes is fairly uninteresting. The idea is pretty simple; the player traverses each level collecting coins which trigger musical loops. There are other objects and characters in each level that can also be interacted with which add to the music, the goal being that the player will have successfully unlocked the entire song by the time they reach the goal. The levels are divided into worlds or ‘albums’ each containing music from a different composer (although I Am Robot is credited on two). Clearly, this concept lives or dies on the quality of the music in question and while Beck and I Am Robot deliver some quality musical moments, the soundtracks don’t generally impress as much as I’d hoped, a disappointment that culminates in a shockingly phoned-in contribution from everyones favourite pseudo-anthropomorphic Canadian, Deadmau5.
Thankfully there is another side to Sound Shapes that redeems its underwhelming score. The player controls a little…roller ball…thing. It’s never really explained what you’re playing as and if I’m honest I never figured it out. Not that it matters, the levels are so well designed, so gorgeous to look at and so genuinely challenging that you’ll hardly even think about it. In fact, the platforming in Sound Shapes is almost good enough to make up for the deficiencies in its score. Each track is divided into loops with admirable care and a lot of thought has gone into making you smile as you reveal the true identity of each piece. When I Am Robot and Beck really get time to shine, you’ll be smiling all the way to the goal.
In a strange twist of fate the very thing that disappointed me about Sound Shapes is also its saving grace. While it pushes no boundaries in regards to video game music, it takes a simple idea and does it well, reveling and thriving in its simplicity. By enlisting some talented composers and utilizing their music in some incredibly clever design, Queasy Games have created an entertaining, memorable, if somewhat ethereal experience. Just make sure Deadmau5 gets out of bed next time.
Good points:
Some great music
Fantastic visuals
Brilliant level design
Bad points:
Some boring music feels like a wasted opportunity.
Rating: 7/10
