Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jun 25, 2014

  BIT.TRIP CORE is a rhythm game and is the second entry to the BIT.TRIP franchise also being my favorite. Note that I have played the Wii (and 3DS) version of this game a lot more then I have on the PC so I have a lot more hours in the game then it shows. [u]Gameplay[/u] The way CORE works is, you are playing at the + in middle of the screen. When a beat (square things) comes you have to take aim in one of the four directions and shoot the beats. The beats are in-time with the music and you will need to use the beat of the song to hit these accurately. A staple to the BIT.TRIP franchise is the zones. The higher the zone, the higher your multiplier will be, thus more score. You zone up by hitting a certain amount of beats while not missing too many. Staying in higher zones results in more score, but it is really easy to fail out of it. The higher the zone, the better the music gets which is another thing to keep you motivated to keep doing better. To fail a stage you will have to drop out of the Nether zone (the lowest zone) and there are no checkpoints. If you don't have experience then this game will be really hard at first. The difficulty curve is steep and the first level (Discovery) will be hard for first-timers. However once you get the hang of the game and mechanics, the next two levels will not be as hard. Personally, once I pick up a good rhythm game I will spend too much time in it and this game is no exception. I find it very addictive to try to improve my score more and more. Also, note that there are only the three 15 minute levels; Discovery, Exploration and Control. Playing through the game without failing will take just 45 minutes, but if you're motivated to get further improve your scores (like me), it shouldn't be a huge problem. [u]Music/Sound[/u] As a rhythm game, the game is partially dependent on the music, so is it good? Definitely, CORE probably has my favorite music of any of the BIT.TRIP games, though that is subject to opinion. Also as I said before, the higher zone you're in, the better the music gets. Exploration is my personal favorite. (*^▽^*) As far as sound effects go, they're solid and they do the job well. [u]Versions[/u] Between the three versions of the game (PC, Wii, 3DS) I feel that if you have the right controller (the Xbox 360's circular D-Pad design does not go well with CORE), PC is the best because of the increased resolution. Also, the challenges which flip the + 90 degrees are actually challenging on the PC cause you can't just flip the controller like you can on Wii. Don't bother with the 3DS version, it's basically broken as the music de-syncs after the first section of Exploration and Control. [u]Final Thoughts[/u] BIT.TRIP CORE is up there in my all-time favorite rhythm games. The great music and addictive gameplay keep me coming back to spend even more time in it. Despite the difficulty curve, this is a very solid game. If you are a fan of rhythm games, definitely consider picking CORE up, and check out the rest of the franchise for that matter. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll like this game as much as I do if you decide to pick it up!
• gamedeal user

  Aug 23, 2023

  This rhythmic game managed to capture my interest more than the other two titles in the BIT.TRIP series that I played earlier, namely BIT.TRIP RUNNER and BIT.TRIP BEAT. It's impressive to realise that this franchise is more expansive than my initial expectations. There are eight games in total, though I find myself puzzled as to why the distinctive black stick figure wasn't chosen as the main character. This inclusion, or lack thereof, raises questions about the decisions made within the franchise. On the whole, the game offers an enjoyable experience. It effectively challenges your hand-eye coordination, attention to detail, quick thinking, and ability to embrace its unique quirkiness. Your task is to eliminate moving bulletins and lasers before they cross your quadrant, all while being treated to a delightful musical backdrop. The fun factor is undeniable, and the experience is truly one-of-a-kind. This unique puzzle aspect sets it apart from other games, making it a must-play. However, I'd caution against purchasing it solely for its narrative, as there isn't much of one to speak of. The game features a single level in one game type, with escalating difficulty as dots spawn. It's a test of skill, but it's not laden with substantial content. Upon completion, there's a sense of finality—once you're done, you're genuinely finished. It's not even particularly enticing for those seeking to immerse themselves deeper into the franchise's flow. In a sense, this game could be seen as a standalone within the broader BIT.TRIP Consortium. Considering its price tag, I do find it a tad steep. The game doesn't boast an extensive array of offerings. All things considered, I'd rate it a 3 beats out of 5, acknowledging its strengths while recognising its limitations.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 30, 2017

  The controls on the PC version are some trash. Don't even mess.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 18, 2014

  This is, in essence, Asteroids without the thrust button. As such, it's as awkward and cumbersome as you would imagine. The usual stylish charm of BIT.TRIP franchise is still there, yet it's sadly overshadowed by the nagging feeling that you are constantly struggling against the contrived control constraint forced upon you. Some may call it a challenge, but for me it seemed awfully unfair, and ultimately, unfun. My least favorite entry in the series. Update: comments to this review inspired me to remap the input scheme to the "DDR method" (4 buttons), as opposed to the "Guitar Hero" method employed by the game proper. It improved the gameplay immensely. If you got this one on the cheap, and have suitable tool (I used Pinnacle Game Profiler), it's worth a shot. It transcends the game to a challenging and unique brain teaser, and you wouldn't have to fight with the interface anymore.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 14, 2018

  I've seen most of the complaints about this being difficult or just a bad port from the Wii. To be fair, it's not THAT bad of a port. It sucks on a keyboard, and I highly recommend you get a controller if you decide to play this game. The controller makes this game easier on your hands and makes the Challenges much easier as well. Like BEAT, this takes practice if you want to succeed. The same difficulty scaling applies in CORE as it does in BEAT and all the other BIT.TRIP games. The music and sounds are great, as always, when firing to the rhythm of the music (with Control as the best music in-game). If you're iffy about this version, wait for a sale or get it on another platform of your choice (WiiWare expires next year, so this specific platform, not counting COMPLETE, may not apply in the future).
• gamedeal user

  Feb 7, 2017

  I get that games don't get ported from Wii to PC a whole lot, but this port is so bad the whole game is literally unplayable - you choose between input lag with V-Sync or turn it off for graphical glitches that murder your eyes and a timing accuracy so fine the whole game becomes impossible to beat. Buy it on the Wii. It's a fantastic game, ruined by lazy devs.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 9, 2012

  This game is like Guitar Hero, except that the notes are flying all over the screen in different directions and it's hard to tell when you're supposed to hit them. But if you zone out to the awesome music and the crazy visuals, you'll figure it out. It's a game about pattern recognition, memorization, and trusting the rhythm when everything's trying to distract you and overwhelm you. It's the game that got me into this series, and probably my favorite rhythm game to date.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 14, 2021

  The second game in the series. This time you used D-Pad to aim your laser in one of the four direction and press the button to shoot laser for a second, to hit any incoming square that go in various patterns and may even circle around and so on. I actually felt the sense of rhythm and started to enjoy it this one. However, it still felt a bit that I was wasting time... and my fingers did not appreciate the challenge with this control scheme. The patterns also felt like they were trying to confuse you and gotcha the first walkthrough players too much instead of putting them into trance.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 15, 2022

  If you like extremely challenging rhythm games, this might be up your alley, but I don't personally find the gameplay to be fun - the entire game is played with a single mechanic of directing your arrow in one of four cardinal directions, and then hitting an activation ("strum") button like the space bar to "hit" the musical note blocks that are coming across the bars of each direction. It's sort of like if you were trying to play guitar hero, but with the tabulature mixed up like the windows pipe screen saver. Notes cross back and forth across the bars, or change directions, or speed up and slow down without warning. It's an interesting challenge but the game is extremely unforgiving, and does not have a challenge mode. Additionally, it's visually confusing, with very flashy, cartoon-like background elements that make it very hard to focus on the game pieces. If you do badly enough, you end up in "negative mode" which is all black and white, and you have to score better to get back out of negative mode and keep progressing, but I'd rather just play the whole game in negative mode, it's so hard to see what's going on sometimes with all the neon and stuff.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 26, 2018

  Tags: Casual - Brickbreak & Pinball Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library TLDR: Due to rarely used WASD+space control scheme the muscle memory and skills wont translate to being better in other games. Low entertainment. This is an odd game in which you use a D pad or the keyboard to spawn long bars of light to catch bullets that fly by. Margins are very tight and it is easy to just get completely overwhlemed. It might be possible to train your muscle memory and get in the zone and do gradually better until you can ace the game, probably relying on memorizing patterns of bullets due to the difficulty at play. The audiovisuals do not really motivate you to do better just to enjoy a richer experience due to its low fidelity limited nature either. Conclusion: An odd, possibly fun title in the right hands, but comes across as very niche and ultimately not one I would prioritize over more conventional, more engrossing games that rely on established control schemes and encounter design. The fact that the light bars stay lit for such a small period of time is really grueling at times, and makes you feel like they are misfiring.