God of Rock review – This is so cool, I wish I could see it

Guitar Hero had a monumental effect on gaming and popular culture that’s hard to state unless you lived through it. There were a bunch of spin-offs and other instruments who tried their own spin on the game, but there was one series that everyone knew. There have been countless evolutions in the rhythm genre since its inception in the 1970s, with different games celebrating the joy of keeping the beat.

God of Rock is the latest game to try its hand at the rhythm-based genre, mashing it together with the competitiveness and combos of fighting games. It’s definitely a unique combo, but one that will likely be enough to draw in players who are fans of both. This largely seems to work, with the beats in the game being lined up with moves that are pre-programmed into the song and level.

That being said, the game seems to have some basic design flaws that kind of take away the appeal that comes with most fighting games. Even a wide-ranging cast of characters and variety of music isn’t enough to make up it, either.

A cast of characters to make Street Fighter proud

To start, players shouldn’t come to God of Rock looking for the most exciting story they’ve ever played in a game, as the premise is pretty simple. All the characters have been pulled from their respective universes by the titular God of Rock, who wants to host a competition to prove who’s the best performer in all of time and space.

The characters range from typical caricatures that seem to draw heavily on inspiration from other fighting games and pop culture as well as some interesting new concepts. These range in complexity, with different combos to memorize. However, the unique range of styles is a nice touch that will produce some memorable fighters.

Before the start of each battle in the game’s Arcade mode, God of Rock provides a little bit of story it has. The characters all get some basic background and a look at their attitude before they get into a series of increasing challenges in a typical arcade-style fighting mode. This is the best mode to play as a single-player, with the main appeal of this game in the long-run feeling like it’s meant to be multiplayer.

The multiplayer mode seems to work well enough, with no serious connection issues, but this will be tested when the game fully releases. On the other hand, it’s hard to notice if the animation has any major issues due to the nature of the gameplay. Something that feels like should have been noticed from the start unless it was the intention.

Combat from your peripherals

This may be a subjective opinion, but one of the best parts of fighting games is the ability to see your combos in real time, with each hit and block showing the skill or visual flair of each fighter. In God of Rock, you will not be able to watch your fighter unless you record it to watch it back, which will likely make it a hit among the streaming communities.

For those who’ve played most rhythm-based games, God of Rock follows the trend in the genre where the notes will from one side of the screen to the other. Players will press the button when the note hits the prompt, which requires near-constant focus, even on the easier levels. What this means is that you are either focused on the bottom left or right of the screen instead of ever getting a look at the fighters.

To be fair, you may get a glimpse or two during the match, but you do so at the risk of missing a note due to your lack of focus. Instead, you’ll likely watch the two characters battle it out from your peripherals, which is just not an enjoyable way to play a fighting game with unique characters. This feels like a clear design oversight or like the game is only meant for those who have others watching.

There’s likely no real for it, either, outside of memorizing every song in the game in the hopes that it randomly gets chosen in a multiplayer match. This game will likely be a hit among content creators, but it will be genuinely surprising to see it land an audience in the fighting game scene beyond that.

Try Hard Guides was provided with a PC review copy of this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles in the Game Reviews section of our website! God of Rock is available on Steam.