Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
It's time to take the next step in the Gunvolt series, Gunvolt Records Cychronicle! Coming in with a spin-off game we take a step away from the action adventure style to dip our toes into a rhythm game! Featuring a selection of tracks from the games from different in-game singers, it's time to take a look at what Cychronicle has to offer.
So, first up I should let ya know there is no plot going on here, it's just rhythm game. Second, you should be playing this game with a controller. You'll have a list of tracks to choose from and various difficulties, and then you hit buttons and move thumbsticks to the beat. If you haven't played a rhythm game before, essentially what happens is buttons and "command prompts" flow down the screen and you have to match the timing. In this instance, buttons correspond to buttons on either side of the controller (I used the shoulder buttons), with some being held buttons, and thumbstick commands, where you point the thumbsticks in a direction indicated, and then rotate them in time with the command prompt, or flick them in the direction indicated.
The Gunvolt series has always had really good music, so it's nice to see a sort of compilation of some of the tracks from the series. That being said, there are only 15 tracks in the base game, making it feel a little lacking in content. Furthermore, the controls can feel a little off at times. While the timing is good, the thumbstick commands can be a little sensitive to your directional input. The speed at which you rotate is also unknown unless you've played the song before, meaning sometimes you miss the timing just because you don't know how fast the rotate will go.
While you're playing through the song tracks there are two different background scenes that can play: action from the games, or a sort of 3D concert featuring whatever "muse" the song is being sung by. This is more of a personal thing, but I found the gameplay snippets from the other gunvolt games could be a little distracting at first, whereas the 3D model concerts took away my attention less.
Overall, Cychronicle is incredibly basic in what it offers. There is a concert mode where you play the songs, and a music player mode where you can listen to the tracks. One cool note is that while the song is playing, you can see the lyrics highlighted as the song plays, kind of like a karaoke mode but where the lyrics are still sung. Honestly, for a 20$ Canadian game, 15$ American it's...maybe a little disappointing. That being said, you could probably buy the official soundtrack and have it end up costing around the same price, so it is what it is, I suppose.
Gunvolt Records Cychronicle is a fun title, but one that is very niche in it's implementation. With only 15 tracks in the base game, although the DLC will add more, and a rather restricted amount of available game modes, Cychronicle will probably only appeal to a rather narrow audience. That being said, if you're a fan of the Gunvolt series, or just looking for a new rhythm title, then Gunvolt Records Cychronicle may just be the title for you.
Score: 7.5 / 10
