I haven't forgotten about my large library of Steam games, and my seemingly unending quest to play them all from A-Z. Today's game is Beat Hazard, a game I've owned for years, on the back of its similarity to Audiosurf.
Beat Hazard is a "bullet hell" shooter, with levels procedually generated based on the audio track that you feed to the game. I'm not normally a fan of topdown bullet hell shooters for a number of reasons - mainly because to me, there's way too much going on at once to gain an appreciation for what it is you're doing.
Other reasons will quickly become apparent as you continue to read this text, full of rambling.
Firstly, Beat Hazard is a very, very colourful game.
There's an option for more intense, dazzling visual effects than what I've captured on the screen. I think I got a headache playing through a few songs because of the intense flashing lights, explosions, and countless particle effects assaulting my corneas all at once.
And ... that is where I think games like Beat Hazard obtain their difficulty from. Not from having challenging game play mechanics, but by essentially throwing a stun grenade at their players. Good luck killing those 400 space ships if you're on the ground, curled up in a foetal position having a seizure (or wondering why you aren't).
You collect a multitude of powerups throughout each "stage" - governed by the song you're playing, and you build a multiplier which increases your score as you go. Between stages, you gain XP and Cash, which lets you unlock new features, more power, and better weapons as you go.
If you're into listening to music, imagining you're Starbuck from the modern reboot of Battlestar Galactica, and a shock-jock astronautical pilot dodging hordes and hordes of enemy vessels, then you'll enjoy something like Beat Hazard.
As with all games that are powered by "your music"; you get a strong sense that this game is only as good as your imagination, and your love / hate for the gameplay mechanics on offer. I personally, much prefer the mechanics (and less-likely to provide you with a seizure award) of Audiosurf, which leaves little to no place for Beat Hazard in my, or your Steam Library.
Good For
- Using in lieu of lights at a discotheque
- Inducing Epilepsy in those with no prior symptoms
- Experiencing music in new and exciting, epileptic ways
- Bottomless Bullet-Hell Space Shooter games
- The bottomline of headache medicine companies
Not so good for:
- Epileptics
- Your Eyes