LOUD Review

Game: Loud
Genre: Arcade, Music
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam (Windows & macOS))
Developer|Publisher: Hyperstrange | QubicGames
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US E Teen
Price: US $11.99 | UK £10.79 | EU € 11,99
Release Date: July 15th, 2022

Review code provided with many thanks to Wire Tap Media.

Striking a Chord

Once upon a gaming time, there was a series called Rock Band and Guitar Hero which would leave a huge impact on the gaming landscape. Everyone and sometimes their grandparents were rocking out in their living room with a plastic instrument. As the series expanded more plastic instruments were added to the plastic tat around the TV.

But it really, really wouldn’t take long before these series just rapidly disappeared and those instruments would just take up space in the attic waiting for that day you might just show it some love again. Once again it’s left up to the indie developers to pick up the pieces and show some love to this often overlooked genre. LOUD is a music rhythm game that advertises itself as Guitar Hero meets Life is Strange. After playing the game I feel that it achieves one of those gameplay styles.

Rock the High Score

The gameplay is pretty simple to pick up and jam. Like a lot of music rhythm games, the formula will seem pretty familiar. Essentially pressing the correct button prompts racking up as high a score as possible. When you begin a level (or song in this case) you’re presented with six guitar frets on the right and left of the screen which corresponds to 3 d-pad buttons and the 3 face buttons. You hit the corresponding button when a star passes by, or hold it or mash it when prompted. It takes a little bit of getting used to. I often slipped up in moments when the notes came too quickly and I needed to remind myself where the buttons were on the Switch controller.

Chain Notes Together

I found playing handheld was actually a bit easier than TV, using a pro controller as the D-pad has separate buttons.  If you chain together notes without making mistakes you increase your multiplier and score further but make a mistake and the multiplier resets. Mess up a few times in a row and you will incur a nasty red cross at the top of the screen. Three of these and the track is over. Three difficulty modes are on offer from ‘chillin’ for the casual players to ‘grindin’ which is unlocked by scoring an S rank on the mid difficulty. Apart from the short moment to get acquainted with the button layouts the game is very much pick up and play for all music fans. 

With LOUD being an indie game it doesn’t feature licensed music so don’t expect a Guitar Hero style set list. All the tracks are instrumental only but the developers really did an immersive job with this soundtrack. Several of the tracks packed quite the punch and I did enjoy playing through them multiple times. My only minor niggle is the soundtrack doesn’t stray far from its electric guitar rock numbers. Most of the tracks are quite rapid and upbeat leaving no room for something a little slower or acoustic but this may be more a personal taste.

Teenage Kicks 

The story is presented at the beginning and end of the chapter in small cutscenes featuring full voice acting. From humble beginnings, you start with air-guitaring with a broom in your bedroom. A scenario most of us can probably relate to. From there you go busking in the subway, to starting your own band in a garage, to playing to a crowd in the bar. Then the game abruptly ends. The story mode features twelve songs and won’t take you more than a few hours to get through. I did feel the story segments of this game were pretty lacking. Segments of the plot are not really giving a lot of space to breathe. An example of this is at the end of one chapter the main character has a falling out with her friends only for this issue to never really get resolved at all in the next chapter.

The game really only focuses on three years of the main character’s life, honing her skills on the electric guitar. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity not to follow the character more through her life with music and maybe feature varied guitar music such as solo acoustic guitar numbers. The guitar is a beautiful instrument and this could have been a game to celebrate that whilst following the main character through the challenges of adulthood. Instead, the focus is more on teenage rebellion, something which I honestly didn’t connect to.

Rock Chick

The graphics are just kinda okay. During a level you see your character rocking with the chosen guitar and appropriately moving towards the notes you need to hit. You rock out in one of four environments which all feel pretty lifeless. This is especially noted in later chapters where you’re playing with a band but there are no NPCs playing on the drum kit or keyboard clearly present in the background. The last venue in the bar doesn’t even feature an audience to cheer you on. It’s not a big deal but could have just added a bit more flair.

Content-wise you can unlock four outfits and guitars which you can customize between songs. When the game is over you can play an additional song in the free play mode. You can of course return to previous songs to rack up a higher score. There is no multiplayer or online ranking system, it’s just you and the music. It’s a bit light on the content but you do get an album’s worth of songs for a price that is cheaper than a music CD if you are one of those types that still buy those as I do. 

LOUD and Proud 

LOUD is a bit lacking when it comes to the story but strums the right notes when it comes to its gameplay and soundtrack. It’s a short experience, that’s for sure, but a pretty good one that is accessible for all gaming audiences. If you want to rock out with some good tunes while trying to aim for a high score, be sure to check out LOUD. I certainly hope the developers come back with another music game in the future because this still feels like a genre lacking in the gaming sphere. Maybe just tone the teenage angst back a little next time.

Final Verdict: I Like it