Music is often wrapped up in the waging of war, but that’s even more true in Unbeatable. Here, music has been banned, following an unspecified calamity that’s rendered tunes, tracks and songs enemy number one.
What better place than here to find that you’re in a band? Your group is fronted by Beat, the main character and lead vocalist, while you’ve got Quaver on guitar, Treble on keys and Clef nailing down the tempo on drums. For a world that’s banned music, it sure is obsessed with giving everyone musical names, huh?
There’s a big bad here, and it comes in the form of Harmony and Resonance Management. This corporate monolith is run by Rest, with her lackeys Apoco and Poco appearing at inopportune moments to channel the spirt of Team Rocket with a splash of Ryan and Sharpey from High School Musical. The mysterious Sforzando lurks at the end of a phone line, and they’re set on hunting down Beat and the gang for musical crimes against humanity. Or, something like that.
Unbeatable looks insanely good. Fusing comic book aesthetics with anime overtures, Unbeatable catches your eye, shoves it in its pocket, and refuses to return it. I’ve not stopped thinking about playing this game since I first saw it, and when those visuals are combined with rhythm action combat, it feels like a game designed to keep me up at night.
This isn’t some easy-going rhythm action either, and while Unbeatable’s demo gives you a rundown on how combat and music work, it then makes sure to shove you on stage with very little further preparation.
You’d think that a two-button rhythm action system would be basic, but in practice, it’s difficult to build up a streak as Unbeatable plays fast and loose with its mechanics, twisting them into a hybrid beat ‘em up that’s surprising and unique.
One button sees you leap into the air to attack the beats that sit there, or to dodge oncoming barriers. Meanwhile, the other keeps you more grounded, dealing with the beats on the lower level. At times you have to engage them at the same time, other band mates stepping in to help out, or hold one while tapping the other. If you’re given a police officer to deal with, there are points where you can mash the attack button until they drop, but only if you’ve hit the previous beats.
Rhythm action and music bleed into every aspect of the game, and besides the authoritarian police state, this is a glorious post-apocalyptic segue through musical interludes, gorgeous artwork and intriguing characters.
It’s tough though, and failing a musical battle may or may not see the narrative grind to a halt. If it doesn’t continue – your failure seemingly fitting into the story – it spits you back at the band’s headquarters and forces you to run all the way back to where you were. Hopefully, the dev team will add a retry option for the full release as that… well, makes a bit more sense. You don’t always take it from the top at band practice, after all!
Given the mechanical setup, storytelling feels like it’s going to be an aside, or an excuse to take you to the next musical number, but it’s absolutely not. Through our time with the demo, Unbeatable is nailing personal drama, wider conflicts and societal commentary with a surety I wasn’t expecting. It’s just immediately engaging, and so far, it’s proven to be an unexpected delight.
Unbeatable is shaping up to be a unique and genre-defying rhythm action game, combining compelling storytelling and tough musically-led combat. I can’t wait to discover more when it releases later in 2025.