Rotaeno, the latest musical musings from XD, pressed play today and after an early hands on, here’s why we think you need to try this revolutionary musical experience.
XD, the publisher behind the stunning Torchlight Infinite, gave us a sample of the upcoming rhythm Rotaeno recently, and this new take on a particularly formulaic genre is something you’ll want to watch out for if you’re tired of the same old systems and uninspired setup that permeate so may mobile musical adventures. Developed by Dream Engine Games, Rotaeno certainly takes plenty of aesthetic inspiration from titles like Arcae, yet it would be a mistake to write off this experience as just another anime inspired tapper, designed to sell Vocaloid covers.
While the beautiful opening anime art style and intuitive user interface certainly don’t appear genre breaking, this simplicity serves as an easy introduction to a game that ended up surprising me. The opening tutorial quickly pushes things forward without much exposition and unfolds across a familiar crawl into the distance. Along this neon tinged journey into the unknown, a series of symbols dart out from the center of the screen with the expectation that players will prod the touch screen at just the right moment as these icons intersect with two trigger points at the edge of the screen. Anybody familiar with the aforementioned musical titles won’t be surprised by this gameplay technique, but it doesn’t take long for this spin on the genre to tilt in a new direction. Looking a little like the PSVita’s Superbeat: Xonic this touch screen interface does not have the benefit of a dedicated set of hardware buttons to play with. Instead, Rotaeno mixes things up by using the gyroscope in each mobile phone, allowing players to rotate their handheld gaming device and move the two target points around the circumference of the game screen. What initially seems to be a cool control quirk quickly turns into an integral part of this experience, challenging players to turn the phone and catch symbols while tapping out for survival around the rest of the screen.
This all culminates in a series of twisting rotation maneuvers that quickly become Rotaeno’s signature on screen mechanic. The mix of quick taps, sliders, rotation, and flailing hairpin turns is different enough that not only does Rotaeno stand out from the competition, but it requires more nuance than you might expect. The decision where to place my stubby hand extensions during more intense and complex encounters was quickly compounded by the constant background calculation of how I was tilting my phone. With long winding swathes of holding notes and intermittent rushes to keep things on target, Rotaeno is as different and engaging as XD’s Muse Dash.
Getting to grips with this new style control system is slightly cumbersome at first, and thankfully thinngs are not too overbearing for newbies. Experienced DDR veterans might find themselves feeling slightly held back by the slow start and easy modes, but that won’t take too long to overcome. Initial song suites are divided up into three levels of difficulty. After level one is dispatched with adequate accuracy, the next level of difficulty will unlock and things generally escalate in complexity in this manner. Thankfully this means that exploring the whole range of musical accompaniments in Rotaeno is not designed to plunge players into a progressive more complex set of encounters. Instead, completing songs allow players to earn badges and level XP. With these, they can explore new musical interludes, but we generally found that this doesn’t mean that things get particularly more intense. Difficulty progression is mostly sequestered into each song’s different versions, giving us the freedom to pick our way through an already extensive library of games and interesting cover art.
While we only got to sample some of the Rotaeno library, you’ll find this is probably the most derivate aspect of this title. Playing through the main story campaign, XD’s new title progresses like many other musical free to plays. An array of electronic JPOP and Vocaloid esque experiences crop up, and while this fits fan expectations, I found that sometimes it could use a little more diversity. Despite that very minor quibble about a song selection that isn’t set in stone yet, the mix of electronica, ethereal beats, and auto tuned vocals isn’t all that is on offer.
Rotaeno, like AVICII Invector, Muse Dash, and even Superbeat: Xonic takea familiar concept and twists it in a new direction with its very own spin on things. The worlds first rotating rhythm game is a superbly honed, and well crafted musical adventure that hits all the expected notes, but when it really drops the bass you’ll find yourself flailing your arms like a startled goose and swinging those fingers across the screen in a gloriously panicked attempt to keep up with the electronic pop synth tracks that make up the majority of this title. If you are sick of playing just tap, then Rotaeno could revolutionize this genre.
Rotaeno is out today on iOS and Android. Check out more on the official website for more and to grab this free to play game.
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