Cello has a sword that plays saxophone music every time she swings it. It’s called the SaXword, and it’s going to be doing quite a lot of work.
The world of Alpha Nomos has been overrun by corrupted puppets, music has all but disappeared, and Cello is trying to find out what happened to her friends. Getting through the creatures standing in her way means attacking, dodging, and putting together combos in time with the soundtrack, because swinging wildly isn’t going to get her very far.
RibCage Games‘ rhythm-action roguelite launches today on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, combining hack-and-slash combat with musical weapons and upgrades that change both how you fight and what you hear. If you can keep a beat, you’ll have a much easier time dealing with the puppets.
You’ve Got to Get Your Timing Right
Every attack in Alpha Nomos is built around the music playing in the background. You’ll need to time your strikes to the beat to deal more damage and build combos, but there’s more to it than hitting an enemy every time the music goes thump.
You can mix quick eighth notes into your attacks, leave rests between strikes, and use different combinations to put together longer sequences. Special attacks take multiple beats to perform, while dodging can be worked into your combos to keep you moving when enemies start fighting back. Those enemies aren’t going to stand around waiting for you to finish your performance either.
Incoming attacks are telegraphed, giving you a chance to spot what’s coming and dodge before getting hit. When several puppets are attacking at once, you’ll need to keep an eye on those warnings while making sure your own attacks are still landing on time. The better you get at keeping the rhythm, the more damage you can deal and the longer you can keep your combos going.
There’s even a timing offset option, letting you adjust the game to match your audio setup. Handy when being a fraction of a second late can make the difference between a good attack and getting smacked by a puppet.
Your Upgrades Change the Music Too
As you fight through each run, you’ll collect power-ups that change how your weapons behave. Those upgrades also change what your attacks sound like. They’re inspired by real audio effects, including Reverb, Flanger, and Delay, so collecting them can alter both your combat abilities and the music you’re making during a fight. Combine different effects and your attacks start producing their own mix alongside the soundtrack.
That means two runs with different upgrades won’t necessarily sound the same, even when you’re using the same weapon. The instruments used for the game’s weapons have also been recorded live rather than taken from a sample library, giving each one its own sound as you swing, dodge, and attack your way through the next room.
You’ll be making decisions about which upgrades work best for your build, but you’ll also be changing the music as you go.
By the time you’ve collected several effects and started putting together longer combos, Cello can be producing something very different from the simple saxophone notes she started with.
There’s a Whole World That Needs Its Music Back
The story follows Cello and her companions through a ruined world where a mysterious force known as Alpha Nomos has left music missing and the remaining puppets corrupted. You’ll fight through increasingly difficult arenas, moving between environments that include ruined cities and a corrupted circus. Each area brings more enemies to deal with, and clearing one room means another encounter waiting ahead.
Runs end when you fall, sending you back to try again with a better understanding of the combat and the combinations that work. There’s also a mystery to uncover as you travel through the world. Cello is searching for her missing friends and trying to understand what caused everything to fall apart. The environments respond to the music you create, with parts of the ruined world coming back to life as you progress.
The game’s original score comes from Totem Warriors, with the music providing both the soundtrack to your journey and the timing for nearly everything you do during combat.