Rush Bros Review (PC)

fair
key review info
  • Game: Rush Bros
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: Yes  
  • Reviewed on:
Music driven

Rush Bros is about how cool it is to be a DJ, a game with a complex soundtrack and clear gameplay that makes those who spin records the equivalent of ninjas combined with adventurers and Special Forces soldiers.

The game is a platformer where music, created by the development team or imported by the player, influences the levels and it delivers on that promise.

The controls are simple and well implemented and once a scenario starts, players have to negotiate a series of traps, spikes and death rays in order to reach the finish line as quickly as possible, paying attention to the beat and coordinating their movement with it.

It’s an interesting idea that makes the 40 plus levels created by the team at Xyla Entertainment replayable and which will lead to gamers spending a lot of time thinking what particular track could give them a competitive edge in a level.

As with almost all platformers, memorization is key to a good time and I found that I needed to run through a level about three times before I could try to set a high score, depending on the music that was playing at the time.

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Bright move
Close to death
It’s a shame that most levels are over in less than the three minutes that a modern song usually runs for.

Those who feel they have exhausted what Rush Bros has to offer can choose to play a Remix, which means either Fast Forward or Survivalist at the moment.

Once a player is engaged with a level, he can also be challenged by others and a quick multiplayer event takes place.

Rush Bros is enjoyable in single player, but there’s a new dimension of fun when two gamers tackle the same level at once, watching each other move around and trying to activate the various traps that can impede progress or kill someone.

The only problem with the multiplayer, which can be local or Steam powered, is that the player with the best knowledge of the level and the played song tends to have a clear advantage.

Rush Bros is a good-looking experience and, more important given its genre, smooth at all times, with a cel-shading touch that will please indie fans.

The overall design of the levels can be a bit tricky and visual cues are sometimes not enough to guide the player around, but this is a game that thrives on repetition and it makes sense to create an experience that needs to be played more than once in order to be mastered.

The music in Rush Bros is very nice and I have often left the game running in the background while I was doing other things on my computer, just to listen to it.

There are solid electro tracks with quite a bit of variation and some cool drops, perfect for the modern audience and I might even be tempted to buy a full-on record from the artists who created it.

Rush Bros also allows players to take their own collection of music, in the two widely available formats of OGG and MP3, and then use them as a soundtrack if and when they become bored of the original tracks.

The core gameplay of Rush Bros is solid and the twist that makes music influential is interesting, but the game does not have the content or the mechanics needed to retain a player’s attention in the long term.

I might return to it when I’m looking for something to clear my head between matches of more demanding titles and the experience might serve as an introduction for those who are looking to get familiar with platforming titles.

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story 3
gameplay 7
concept 8
graphics 6
audio 8
multiplayer 7
final rating 6
Editor's review
fair
 
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