While I am not usually a person to go out of my way to play a free-to-play game with mediocre reviews, I always love to try and give a new game the chance it deserves. Like many Free-to-Play games that arrive on Steam I hoped LoveBeat would succeed — that it wouldn’t be another money-grab… Luckily, that was the case here. The paid features never interrupted the gameplay.
LoveBeat – What is it?
Lovebeat is a free-to-play rhythm game which surfaced on Steam on the 14th of January 2016. Whilst I had previously seen it on the “Coming Soon” page I had swiftly forgotten about it only to find it again a week after it came out. Currently the reviews sit at a “Mixed” 66%. I will go over some of the good and bad points of the game and discuss whether it really deserves this rating.
LoveBeat – Pros & Cons
Pros
- Free-to-Play – No money wasted.
- Encourages social interaction – Families, Marriage.
- Quite a lot of customization.
Cons
- No graphics options
- Look is fairly simple – No extra effects.
- UI could be more intuitive.
- Pay to interact with people in certain ways.
- Gameplay is “OK” at best.
LoveBeat – Explanation of Pros & Cons
One of the immediate pros of LoveBeat is that it is free. This allows anyone to pick up the game and give it a try — which I suggest.
While being social within video games may not be everyone’s “cup of tea,” the community seems to be very nice and accepting. There are players of all skill levels that play and — to date — I have not seen any hatred or swearing of any kind. (This even goes for when I screwed us over in team mode.)
When you login for the first time, you are given the option to create a character. Do not fret, you can continue to customize your character throughout the entirety of your time in game. In the lobby you can quickly and easily change a piece of clothing, and while the UI is a little clunky in places even I could navigate there.
Now on to the cons
During the entire duration of my playtime I have not found a way to change the resolution or graphics options within the game. However, you may be able to in a config somewhere that I’ve missed.
The game has a very basic look to it, there are no special effects within the game, everything that you see is being created by the map and the lighting in the world.
The UI just feels “clunky.” It could be greatly improved and certainly looks dated.
On the Steam page there was a review which said “Pay $5 for a fedora.” Within the game you have to pay for certain bits of customization or interaction and this sucks, especially for the price.
While this game can stand on its own, the gameplay just doesn’t feel as smooth as other games. You do not have much time to react to the button promps on the screen, and the space bar reaction time is horrible. It’s almost impossible to hit it 100%. Usually you’ll average 80 to 90%. Getting anything other than 100% breaks a streak so when a spacebar appears you have to expect the worst.
All-in-all I would have to rate this game a 6.5/10. “Clunky” is the best way to describe it. That said, definitely give it a try. It has a really nice community and is free. The gameplay and UI just need a bit of love from the modern era.
