Rhythm Storm

Rhythm Storm is a roguelike bullet-heaven survival game built around music. You choose a vehicle, set its starting configuration and powers, then fight through each song and try to survive to the end. Your vehicle aims and fires automatically, though you can take control of twin-stick firing at any time; you control its movement and a special power.

The beat and the battle

Nearly everything in the world except your vehicle moves to the beat. Wave changes occur every 8 bars, while power-ups, the world and the UI pulse or move with the music. Many enemies move to the beat, and enemy spawning is synced as well. Your vehicle’s actions are not synced to the music, and success does not require musical ability or pressing buttons in time.

Vehicles and upgrades

Before a run, you configure your vehicle’s default upgrades, including its starting weapons, and choose 4 categories of upgrades called Upgrade Sets. During a run, you destroy enemies and collect XP. Each time you gather enough to upgrade, you choose between 2 sets, each containing 3 upgrades: two from the selected Upgrade Set category and a third that is more random. Unlocking the re-roll modifier, a semi-permanent meta-progression upgrade, provides more choices.

Worlds and visuals

The game has 3 main worlds, a boss and a bonus world, each with its own song and mix of enemies. Its visuals use untextured lines and polygons for the game world and UI, alongside a few fullscreen effects.