Synth Riders Review
Hands-Down, VR’s Best Rhythm Game.
Hands-Down, VR’s Best Rhythm Game.
When I first saw Synth Riders, I blew it off. After all, I already had Beat Saber, and that was my go-to virtual reality rhythm game. But, due to the slow nature of VR game releases, one day I saw Synth Riders on sale, and decided to take the plunge. After many hours of playing since, I believe picking it up was absolutely worth it, and I highly recommend it!
It helps that I’m already a big fan of the Synth genre of music, but I don’t think that’s going to matter for a lot of players because of how much fun it is to play. Starting out, you’ll feel a bit clumsy, and your movements will feel unnatural and restrictive as you strain to hit the notes to the beat of the music. But if you’re like me, all it takes is that first play session to see the vision. After that, I was hooked on wanting to come back to improve my skills and master my favorite songs.
As I became more aware of how I was moving and gained greater reflexes with subsequent play sessions, the game felt less restrictive, and started to feel more like I was out on that platform dancing to the beat of the music under the careful instruction of the developers. This is especially the case on Master difficulty, where every note punches to the beat, and every Synth delightfully slides across the tracks. When you’re truly in the groove, you can’t help but add in your own moves alongside it all, freestyle.
From the journey you make improving until you hit Master difficulty, to continuing beyond that point, and feeling like you can dance to any song without skipping a beat, Synth Riders is a blast to play. The fun I’m able to have in this game is done in a way I’d argue no other VR rhythm game will ever be able to surpass, period. The songs, mechanics, and everything else are indeed THAT well-designed and fun. I practically bought my VR headset for Beat Saber, so admitting Synth Riders is overall a better game, is a HUGE deal from me.
There are incredible songs in every pack to where you should be able to find a few favorites across the board, and I HIGHLY recommend the Electro Swing packs. I’d purchase those right at the time you purchase Synth Riders, because all of those tracks and their song maps are, in my opinion, the best in the game. I hope they continue to add more from that genre. This isn’t to mention the “Experiences”, where they have dynamic environments that transform and fly around you as you play the game in what feels something like a music visualizer in virtual reality. The MUSE Experience is one of my ALL-TIME favorite VR moments, so definitely give that a try, at the very least.
To top it all off, I’d say the skill ceiling is really quite high, and the game makes for a great work out.
Overall, while I think Synth Riders may feel a bit niche to recommend to many, mostly because of the track list and the aesthetic, I believe it’s well worth the dive, even if you think you’ve already found your favorite VR rhythm game. I highly recommend it.
Originally published at https://backloggd.com.