From the casual rhythm game to a more intensive one, VIVID/STASIS looks like it’d play like Sound Voltex, but instead of being 6 key, it’s described by the developers as a “4 over 2 key game”. There is also a surprisingly compelling story with some particularly unique ARG elements and mysteries that have had my partner and I engrossed for the last couple weeks.
First up, the gameplay. Similar to Etterna, this game features notes falling in 4 columns, and expects you to press 4 different buttons to hit those notes. What’s new however is the game’s unique “bumper” notes, which are wide notes covering either both left or both right lanes. If you’re like me, my partner, or my other friend playing this game, you might immediately expect this to be similar to Sound Voltex, where orange wide notes are mapped to 2 additional buttons. That isn’t what’s happening here though, in VIVID/STASIS, the bumper notes can be hit by either of the two buttons on that side.
This leads to some engaging puzzle solving while you’re reading the charts, especially at higher levels, to figure out exactly which button to press for any given stream or bumper note.
The game also has 4 lifebar difficulties, called “decryption types”, which each grant higher rewards. BASIC is no lifebar, useful for practicing more difficult charts without immediately being kicked off, PERFORM/CHARGE are the first lifebar mode, they provide a challenge but aren’t unmanageable. There are two because they optimise for the games two internal currencies. HARMONY rewards both, but the lifebar is strict enough that you will fail if you miss 6 notes at once; and ULTIMATE is your full-combo mode. Basically, you either full combo the song, or you fail, there is no in-between.
On the topic of currencies: VIVID/STASIS has two currencies, which are entirely internal, mostly set aside from the main game, and cannot be sidestepped or purchased with real money microtransactions.
- Points are the shop currency. In PERFORM mode you can expect about 150-200 points per play, and each song costs between 200 and 2000 points to unlock. Once you have unlocked all the songs, there is no other use for points, they’re mostly to help pace the difficulty curve by gating harder song unlocks behind having some playtime. You still start with access to 2/3 of the difficulty curve though for players experienced with other rhythm games.
- Battery is the story mode currency. In CHARGE mode, you can expect about 40-60 bat per play, and each node in the story mode screen costs around 10-50 bat, though a couple of important nodes can cost up to 300 bat. This is mostly to help pace the story with the gameplay, but you can also grind the whole tree before starting any story, then view the whole story at once.
In a preview tweet by the developer, it seems that the Chapter 0 update, which will be released around the end of the year will add an accessibility option to multiply all currency gain and reduce grinding.
Speaking of story, as of writing, VIVID/STASIS has two chapters of story, each with around 7 story nodes, something like 10 songs, and some connecting nodes to hold everything together. The story follows a girl named Saturday and her search for her missing sister Tsuki, and we get to watch as things get stranger and questions get asked with no answers in sight. You do have to watch the story to unlock all content, as chapter 2 songs cannot be unlocked before chapter 1 is completed, and each chapter contains a boss song that only unlocks while watching the story. Also the character design and art style is wonderful I love all these lil scrimblys (also don’t mind me dropping the queer inclusive tag on this one >_>)
Did I mention by the way that this game is free? Cuz uh, it’s free. Go play it. Do it now! Saturday needs you.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2093940 Free to play
Leave a Reply