Tag: Cytus 2

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The best music games for Switch and mobile – take notes

Ever since the days of Parappa the Rapper back on the original PlayStation and dance mats in arcades, I’ve absolutely loved great music games. Thankfully so do many developers, who are carrying the torch to deliver some exciting games with incredible soundtracks on modern devices.

So, what are the best music games for Switch and mobile? Well, there are a lot of fun tools for music creation here, as well as some rhythm games, or games that just work alongside a stellar soundtrack. Not every title needs to be a rhythm game to be a good music game, and sometimes it’s about just getting lost in the music of the world. With some great indie picks as well as bigger releases, this is a great selection of titles.

If you’re a big music game fan, then make sure you also check out our guide to the best Switch rhythm games for some similar picks. Are we missing your favourite music game on this list? Let us know and we’ll do our best to update this list in the future.

Here is our guide to the best music games on Switch and mobile.

The best music games on Switch and mobile

Best music games: a pastel scene shows a small bardPlay Now

Wandersong – Switch

A whimsical, musical, puzzle adventure game. Wandersong is a music-themed game starring The Bard, where you go on an exciting quest to gather the many pieces of a sign that could save the world from destruction. It’s an endearing and earnest game that wears its heart on its sleeve. It also has fun musical puzzle elements where you control the song that The Bard sings, using it to solve many tricky situations. A great game for younger players and anyone with a song in their heart.

Best music games: a virtual synthesizer is shownPlay Now

Korg Gadget for Nintendo Switch – Switch

Are you a synthesiser nut, and love the idea of fiddling with knobs and adjusting wavelengths? Well, legendary manufacturer Korg has made software specifically for the Nintendo Switch that emulates some of its most iconic sounds. Playing around with synths on the touch screen is very intuitive, and you can sequence and compose songs all within the app. It’s a little bit limited compared to a real synth so you won’t find any MIDI functionality, but it’s still a great toy for the synth nerds out there (it’s me, I love you Korg).

Best music games: a game of tetris is being played while wild visuals flurry aroundPlay Now

Tetris Effect: Connected – Switch

Every time you think you could be sick of Tetris, it turns out the formula is so perfect that even a slight shake-up is enough to bring you back in. Tetris Effect: Connected is a classic Tetris game at its core, but it’s all about the presentation. Each level features interactive music and visuals, that react when you clear lines.

The matching of gameplay to the soundtrack is borderline euphoric, especially on the later levels where things get truly tricky. There are relaxing chill-out modes if you just want to unwind, and a few interesting multiplayer modes for local and online multiplayer. If you’ve ever played Tetris just to relax, this is the perfect game for you. Check out our full Tetris Effect: Connected review for more.

Best music games: a DJ plays music to a crowdPlay Now

Fuser – Switch

We might not have DJ Hero anymore, but Fuser is the next best thing. With a library jam-packed full of great licensed tracks that everyone will recognise, Fuser is part DJ game and part festival simulator, as you see how the crowd reacts to your mixes, while trying to rise up the ranks to become a superstar DJ.

The actual matching is great, as songs are broken up into four different stems, so you can play the drums from one track into the vocals of another, and mix everything in between. It’s a great toy if nothing else, but luckily, the game around the core concept is pretty great as well.

Best music games: several characters from Kingdom Hearts jump over music notesPlay Now

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory – Switch

A little bit more niche, but I’ve been assured that this is a great entry if you’re a fan of the world’s most confusing video game series. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a rhythm game where players control Sora, Goofy, and Donald along a track and must attack and react in time with the music.

The series is known for its stellar soundtrack, so a musical interpretation is very welcome. It might be light on the lore, but like most entries, Melody of Memory still stakes its place somewhere on the continuing Kingdom Hearts timeline. Check out our Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory review for more.

Best music games: a screenshot shows a trippy metallic rhythm gamePlay Now

Thumper – Switch and mobile

An intense action rhythm game with a pumping soundtrack, succinctly, Thumper absolutely slaps. It’s an on-rails rhythm game where players must react to obstacles on the track with lightning speed, and things gradually get more intense and complicated. The trippy visuals add a sense of foreboding, adding some extra punch to the already energetic score. It gets seriously tricky as things go on, and luckily you can play this title on just about any platform you can imagine.

Best music games: a screenshot shows a mobile rhythm game

Cytus II – mobile

From Rayark Games, the creator of DEEMO, VOEZ, and the original Cytus comes the exciting sequel. Using a unique gameplay element called the ‘active judgement line’ Cytus II is a demanding music game that features a huge library of great tracks from across the world. There are over 800 different charts to play through in fact, so you can get your rhythm fix for dozens of hours.

Download Cytus II now for iOS devices or on the Google Play store now.

Right, beat it. That’s it for our guide to the best music games on Switch and mobile but check back for updates in the future. If you need something else to play, be sure to check out our guide to the best Switch games next.

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In the quiet isolation of the pandemic, Cytus 2 gave me sound

With the recent exceptions of Thumper and Sayonara Wild Hearts, I’m not someone who plays a lot of rhythm games. This is partially because I have a love/hate relationship with them. As soon as I start playing I find myself falling down the rhythm game rabbit hole of addiction and trying to max out scores before I eventually manage to pull myself away. Because of this, I’ve never found a rhythm game that fits into my day-to-day life. That was until I found Cytus 2.

I discovered Rayark’s 2018 mobile rhythm game at the perfect time, really. Lockdown had just begun due to COVID-19 and I suddenly found myself in an especially quiet world. Just like everyone else, I was isolated in my home, with few people to talk to, no films to go and see, or live music to watch. For many people, I think, this year has felt like stasis – waiting for something to end, and for life to begin again.

But this is when Cytus 2 blasted its way into my consciousness, with its over-the-top characters, frantic rhythm play, and its very human stories told through sound.

Cytus 2 is set in future version of earth, where humans have reached a pinnacle of internet connectivity, allowing them to exist in both reality and cyTus: a virtual space. The main plot focuses around uncovering the identity of a mysterious DJ known as Aesir, who is responsible for wiping the memories of thousands during a music festival. But the plot becomes far more complex, and various side-stories reveal themselves as the game goes on.

Cytus stood out to me partially because it was the first rhythm game I’d played on mobile, and I never realised how well suited this platform is for music play. You just take your phone out of your pocket, lay it on a table, and you have a platform to tap out a quick song or two. But what really stuck with me about Cytus 2 is the way it interweaves music, narrative, and character.

Neko doing a rock 'n roll hand sign

I’d never really considered that a rhythm game could be narrative in a non-linear sense. Look at Sayonara Wild Hearts and you see a game with a great story, but it’s fixed, only able to show you a single perspective running through the game. What Cytus 2 does instead is build a narrative through its many characters, each of whom have their own particular set of songs and musical style.

These characters are streamers, idols, bass players, bands, and classical musicians, and playing through their songs unlocks new information about each one. These details could be small scenes that you read, videos, or diary entries, but they each offer backstories for the characters, and help you begin to see how they fit in the grand scheme of things. These scenes also unlock new songs, which are themed specifically around these events. A character might find a stray cat and take it home, for example, and so the song you unlock is about that.

Aroma's character screen in Cytus 2

It’s an amazing narrative system that allows you to hop between characters, unlocking narrative as you go. Each character menu is also wonderful, and shows a little scene on repeat of them working at a computer, or lying on their bed, or looking out across the city. These menus really remind me of the lo-fi hip hop channels you find on YouTube, like ChilledCow, which play music as a character in the video just hangs out – it really fits with game’s art style and anime aesthetic.

But as time went on, I started to realise there was another reason I was playing Cytus 2 everyday. Though set in a post-apocalyptic future, at its heart, Cytus is about people trying to rationalize human struggles through sound. Whether it’s dealing with your parent’s expectations, a break up, or recovering from an accident, the struggles in Cytus still feel human in spite of its futuristic setting. What’s more, these characters create music because of what they’re going through, and being able to play those songs in the game makes you feel like you’re part of those stories, too.

Nora's character screen in Cytus 2

Cytus 2 is melodramatic at times, and I think that’s partly because its translation isn’t always consistent, which is perhaps understandable in a game with this much text. I also have some issues with its monetisation, where it’s cheap to buy, but extra characters cost a lot more. But I found I didn’t really care about these things in the end. During the quiet, static isolation of 2020’s pandemic, Cytus 2 gave me sound. It gave me dramatic stories of people trying their best to deal with the messiness of life. It reminded me that in spite of 2020, life will find a way to continue. And that’s valuable.