Beat Slayer Review (PC)

It’s the laser beams that get me most of the time. I know there’s a color change that signals when they are about to fire but I often have my hands full with dozens of robot enemies, all ready to launch their own attacks. Often, I only spot the beam when the screen flashes because Mia, the character I’m controlling loses some of her precious health.

So I do my best to focus on the laser’s origin, a fixed emplacement that typically spawns with the second opponent wave. I dash around it, keeping to the beat as much as I can, to clear some space and then launch a flurry of kicks and axe attacks. I could also deliver an Ultimate but that feels like overkill considering that this is just one enemy. Once it’s down I turn and face the melee group that quickly closes on me.

Mia enters Tanzrausch while dealing with them, becoming a blur of robot-destroying attacks. Unfortunately, I whiff a dash and she’s out of the flow state, scrambling to move away from a series of area-of-effect attacks. I spot the launcher, bash it, and then kill a few stragglers. I get a defensive upgrade for my trouble and choose to go to a level where I can replenish health next.

Beat Slayer is developed by ByteRockers' Games and published by ByteRockers' Games and Paras Games. I played it on the PC, the only platform on which it is launched, via Steam. The title is a rhythm-driven combat game with a rogue-lite structure.

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The protagonist of this musically-driven adventure is Mia, a fan of cool music and the fight against oppressive regimes. She exists in a version of Berlin inspired by its freewheeling 90s period when arts and individual expression were encouraged but with a dystopian Artificial Intelligence in charge. Dietrich controls everyone by flooding their minds with his own custom-made music, which keeps them from revolting.

It also takes Mia’s brother, so she sets out to fight its mechanical henchmen. A crew of colorful characters, inspired by classic archetypes, join forces to help our heroine. All the talking happens in their underground base, and they react to her successes and failures. But the game doesn’t have the narrative depth of obvious model Hades and the game doesn’t fully explore the consequences of its strong mind-controlled Berlin premise.

Beat Slayer builds its mechanics on a scaffolding that combines rhythm-driven action and rogue-lite concepts. Mia, headphones always on and tuned to her favorite tracks, will enter arenas to fight enemies, before picking up an upgrade and heading for the exit. To deal with the enemy waves without taking hits, gamers need to always act on the beat.

The game’s heroine has a very powerful dash to avoid strikes. Her offensive options include a normal attack (the axe is the default and two more can be unlocked), a kick that pushes enemies away and stuns, as well as a chargeable Ultimate that can quickly eliminate groups. Mia is powerful but only as long as players keep the rhythm and prioritize avoiding incoming attacks.

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Staying on the beat allows the character to reach Tanzrausch, an empowered state that boosts her abilities. Slayed robots will also drop power-ups, of which the double damage is the most useful, especially if Mia is in flow. She can also gain a shield, extremely useful when a level is filled with enemies that launch ranged and area of effects strikes.

As she moves through levels, players need to decide what run-specific rewards they want to aim for. They can push for combat upgrades, extra experience, health refills, and more. The system makes it pretty easy to create a version of Mia that suits a particular play style. And more permanent upgrades are acquired using experience back in the underground lair.

Initially, the priority is to get the kick and Ultimate improvements and then it’s safe to pump up health. Don’t forget to also pick up a drink at the bar. These classic rogue-lite elements work well but there’s no attempt to innovate. Beat Slayer would have benefited from ways to tweak how Mia reacts to the beat or more ways to tweak her kick or Ultimate attack.

But, even with these conservative design choices, fighting robots to the beat always feels great. I had to constantly pay attention to my dashing and choice of attack, while simultaneously tracking and reacting to enemy moves. It’s a little overwhelming and always exciting as long as players like the protagonist and emphasize with her quest. For newcomers, the Options menu offers ways to add assists and make progress easier.

Beat Slayer has style but not a lot of variety. Mia and her companion's sport looks that combine 90s trends with cyberpunk influences, designed to quickly inform players about their roles and personalities. The level of coolness diminishes when players get into the action, with some pretty standard robot enemies. Mia’s animations are fast and snappy.

The game needs to be commended for how well it communicates, visually, where and how enemies will attack. The visuals also mesh well with the music, which is very important given that everything happens on the beat. The soundtrack evokes Berlin and its unique musical scene well, with techno-inspired tracks with a clearly defined beat. Weirdly, the songs are cool enough that I sometimes started listening closely enough to actually miss combat moves.

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The Good

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