God of Rock Preview

God of Rock doesn't release until the 28th of April, 2023, but I had the opportunity to check out the Beta release of the game and see what makes this rhythm game different from any of the other music titles I have played in the past.

As soon as the demo begins, you are asked if you want to play the tutorial. I always say yes, even if I think I know what I am getting into. Press the corresponding buttons on your side of the track at the correct time to hit your opponent. Whoever has more accurate timing and hits the right notes rocks the most and will win that round. The more precise you are, the harder your hits will be and the more you'll be able to avoid incoming attacks from your opponent. There is no set time for the match; it will continue going until one of the rockers emerges victorious, depleting their rival's health bar.

The tricky part is that the longer the song goes on, the harder it will become, meaning it won't take long to determine who the winner is. I've played many music rhythm-type games in the past. Still, I don't remember any that increased in difficulty the longer the song played. Each character has three special moves that will help the battle end faster. You will see three separate meters consisting of three bars that fill as you play; when full, you can input a combination of buttons to use that move. Each of these special attacks requires a more complicated button input than the last one. Specials will send extra white notes at the enemy that will cause damage, even if they manage to avoid them.

Six different characters are available to play in the demo: Rosetta, King, Hilde, Kosaku, Johann, Ziggy, and Tophat. Each has their own unique play style that make them stronger with either fighting or rhythm aspects of the match. While battling your opponent, you see the two characters fighting it in the background. It's tough to watch because if you take your eyes off your music track, you will surely miss the notes coming at you. If you watch someone else playing or set it for two computer characters to battle, you can enjoy the ensuing fight occurring while the music plays.

Along with your character, you also get to select a stage and which song you will play. The locations include Aurora Lake, Formless Void, Inferno, Mausoleum, Sky Theatre, TV Station, and Underwater. If you find it hard to pick, you can always choose Random. Each of these stages look nice and are totally different from each other, so you get a good variety of locations to battle. Each stage consists of nine different tracks that you use to rock out to, some being more intense than others. In the beginning I was selecting songs with a slower tempo, and that seemed less complicated than other tracks you could choose from.

If you still find the game pretty intense, you can set the CPU difficulty level when you select a song. The difficulty ranges from Easy to God of Rock — which is only for a master at rhythm games like this. After being thrown into the intense tutorial, where the computer was set to medium, I went to the easy mode. I definitely needed time to become accustomed to the speed of these notes coming at me. There is a practice mode available, along with tutorials that cover topics like Interface (the basic gameplay), Special Moves, Chargers, and Reversals to help you learn everything you need to know about playing the game.

The rock music sounds great, and there are more than 40 cool-sounding songs you probably have never heard before. So if you are a rock/heavy metal fan, you are sure to appreciate this music. If you're the creative sort, God of Rock offers a Level Editor where you select the stage and song you want to edit. You can add more notes, take existing ones out, and make it as easy or complex as you would like.

God of Rock offers local and online multiplayer to battle against your friends or other players. It also supports crossplay, which you can turn on if you want to find more opponents to face off against. You can play casual or ranked rounds, so no matter how serious you are, there is a type for you.

God of Rock is one of the most intense rhythm games I have played. It almost feels like you are thrown into the deep end and left to figure out what to do. I would have appreciated more practice with having to hit two notes simultaneously, as it is easy to get overwhelmed when they pop up in a song when you aren't expecting it. For me, I'll need to play some more practice rounds to get used to the proper timing and improve my reflexes when I'm hitting the buttons. From all my years of retro gaming, my muscle memory isn't as good with the newer console controllers. God of Rock lets you select the button prompts to match the controller that you are using to play between Xbox, Dual Stock, Dual Sense, or Nintendo Switch. Maybe if I use the Nintendo Switch Pro controller my reaction time will improve.

If you are a fan of rhythm-battle-type games, God of Rock is sure to be a title you will enjoy, especially if you want a challenge and are aiming to prove that you are the next God of Rock. So be sure to check this game out when it releases in April.