Beat the Game (2017)

Developer: Worm Animation
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Xbox One
Genres: Music, Adventure, Indie
Rating: 3.5 of 5, 3 player ratings
Completionist: about 35 minutes
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

You explore a strange desert world, hunting for sounds to build music and unravel a cinematic story at a relaxed pace.

surrealexplorativeinventivewhimsicalstory-drivenatmosphericquirkyeasygoing

About

Beat the Game is a surreal adventure game where you find your way by collecting items and discovering sounds. Sounds you find introduce cinematic cutscenes as the story unfolds. You can combine a soda can with a drumstick to unlock hi-hat sounds or search the hidden corners of the world and you might run across a character who will share a bassline with you. You’re equipped with a Sound Scanner to help you track down sounds. Rapidly hunt the desert for hidden objects by remote controlled “Roboball” with its first person camera. You create new combinations of sounds with your portable holographic music mixer complete with volume faders and effects. After collecting all the sounds, you will perform a live show. If the audience likes it enough, you can advance to the next level.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.