Anyone who makes or writes music knows that the path of a completed track is not a linear one. It is a process where instruments weave in and out of a composition at the whim of the person making it. And even when the vision is clear, and you know where you want the song to take you, whether it’s behind a drum set, keyboard, loop track, or even a computer, things can get in the way. Are. RightMouse, the first non-mobile game from developer Floppy Club, captures that spirit. It uses riddles to extract the joy, growth, triumphs and trials of making music, and it does so with great success.
The game begins with a non-descript universe thrown into disarray and tasks you with repairing each planetary system, which is made up of 18 puzzles. After completing the puzzles, each of the seven astral bodies is sent back into orbit. It’s a simple setup, and the colorful, spacey, lo-fi visuals give Rytmos’ art style a certain warmth that extends into the rest of the experience. Floppy Club builds each puzzle on the same foundation – use the mouse or analog stick (on Switch) to move red-orange discs through pillars lined up on a track. Each column represents a different aspect of the song you’re making your way through these puzzles, and to complete a puzzle, you must move the disc through each column and back to the starting point, making a loop. Needed
That loop is the first of six loops you’ll make to make the song. The puzzles start off easy but keep increasing in challenge at an engaging pace. Floppy Club throws in various obstacles to tease the brain, such as snowflakes that keep moving until they hit a wall, warp portals, origami-like rocks that move along your disc, and So many. What I love most about these puzzles is that, like the rest of the game, they’re more about the feeling of creating something than about the obstacles getting in the way of your end goal. There was a challenge to be had, and one particular puzzle kept me stuck for about 15 minutes, but the puzzle-wary need not fear what Rytmos has within a few hours of play.
I loved hearing each track come to life as I completed the puzzles, and learning more about each system’s specific musical style taught me new things, such as how to play an instrument, a given culture in a style space, and much more. One System’s music is inspired by traditional mbira music from Zimbabwe. There’s another that uses 1980s Japanese environmental music, which the game taught me was used back then to fill ambient spaces like grocery stores. I particularly liked the system, inspired by the Ethiopian jazz of the 1960s and 70s, and on top of these styles not often highlighted in games, each set of puzzles gives you the primary instrument you’ll use to create a track. rewards.
Using the game’s built-in loop record system, you can play that instrument to create your own beats. As someone familiar with building real loop systems and beats, Rytmos’ recording process isn’t as in-depth as I would have liked, but it’s a good introduction to how loop tracks can work.
People who are not interested in making their own beats will still find enjoyment in playing with the instruments. And there’s also an excellent selection of musical instruments. Commoners, such as guitars, are present, but Floppy Club shows great respect for the art of music by incorporating instruments from various cultures around the world.
Ritmos is short and sweet, and its minimalist visuals and zen-like beats made me feel warm. Its puzzles match everything else the game is doing, and it all works well together to highlight the music, its inspirations’ place in history, and the instruments that created it. Floppy Club’s audiophile pedigree shines through in Rytmos, and it seems to be specifically designed with musicians and music enthusiasts in mind, but puzzle enthusiasts will also find a chilly afternoon of challenges to play here.