Rhythm Games Don’t Get Much Simpler And Sweeter Than Muse Dash
Kotaku
Introduction
First released in June 2018, Muse Dash is a famous rhythm game developed by PeroPeroGames. With the combined aspects of both action games and music games, as well as its anime art style in the form of a 2D side-scrolling game, Muse Dash has been at the top of the TapTap, App Store, and Steam rankings for a long time.
Check out more information from its homepage on Steam: Muse Dash on Steam
View a short gameplay demo from a well-known Youtuber below:
The Elemental Tetrad
Mechanics
Muse Dash has taken a number of mechanics from both action and rhythm games, and I’d like to list them below:
Main Gameplay System
In Muse Dash, players defeat enemies and avoid obstacles originating from the right side of the screen by pressing buttons or tapping the screen in accordance with the beat of the background song. The game has only two buttons, making it easily accessible. Difficulty settings exist for most songs, allowing the game to cater to multiple skill levels.
Character and Elfin System
The playable characters in Muse Dash are called Muses. Each Muse has her own maximum health and passive skill, depending on the selected costume. Players can also equip Elfins, companions to a Muse which give them additional abilities.
Collection and Achievement System
In Muse Dash, players earn experience points for each song they complete. The higher the level, the more songs and characters players can unlock. Players will also receive certain collections as they unlock different achievements. The collections mainly consist of special paintings and memes.
Aesthetic
Muse Dash has a really bright and light art style that caught my attention from the very beginning of the game. Its graphics and sounds are more like a mixture of both Japanese and American anime. This unique art style will really appeal to anime fans. Even if they are new to rhythm games, they are willing to give the game a try.
Even within the actual gameplay, the art remains at a high level. With a variety of backgrounds and monsters to match the different styles of the songs, Muse Dash helps the player to immerse themselves in the game as quickly as possible. Compared to the plain coloured backgrounds and monotonous falling notes in most hardcore rhythm games, Muse Dash‘s colourful and varied artwork has made the game a real success.
Story
Although story isn’t a major part of rhythm games, Muse Dash do have short background stories for each character and elfin. As well as a short in-game introduction, the developer has also created an Official Muse Dash Wiki with much more detailed information about the game‘s background stroy.
Technology
Muse Dash is a cross-platform game, meaning it can be played on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and even Nintendo Switch. So you can play the game anywhere, anytime, without worrying about the device or platform.
The Five Lenses
The Lense of Flow (#21)
In Muse Dash, like any other rhythm game, the goal is simple and clear – to achieve 100% accuracy, which means the player hits every note perfectly. To achieve this goal, players must practice the same song over and over again to memorise the notes correctly. In addition, since some of the notes are random in each run, the game also requires a bit of luck and quick reaction.
The Lense of Time (#27)
Players often get frustrated when games end too soon, or get bored when games end too early. But this won’t be a problem in Muse Dash because the length of the game is basically the same as the length of a song. So if you need some time to relax, rather than just listening to your favourite music, why not play the song at the same time?
The Lense of Competition (#43)
One of the things that makes people want to compete in Muse Dash is the ranking system. I mean, if you are playing a rhythm game, no one is unwilling to have their name on the leaderboard in order to give their friends a boost. That’s a big part of having fun and transcending yourself.
The Lense of Reward (#46)
In most rhythm games, the reward is often the sense of accomplishment of reaching the top of the leaderboard. In Muse Dash, however, there are rewards for beginners, namely the collection systems mentioned before. After completing a number of songs, players are rewarded with a number of well-painted wallpapers, such as the one below. For anime lovers, this could be the best gift of all.
The Lense of Beauty (#71)
In Muse Dash, beauty comes from both sight and sound. It is a feast for the eyes and ears when you listen to pop music and slay monsters at the same time. Just take a look at the screenshot below. The beautiful background photo, combined with the cute character and the elfin, already make the game worth playing.
Conclusion
There has been some criticism of Muse Dash from hardcore rhythm game fans, who feel that Muse Dash attracts anime game fans rather than rhythm game fans. It’s true that the influx of new players can bring a certain amount of chaos, but there’s no denying that the new players bring more energy and vitality. In this way, Muse Dash certainly opens a door for people to know and understand rhythm games and their charms. Furthermore, I hope that your guys who are currently reading my article would like to have a bite of this unique game.
