Games have become more and more complex as time has gone on. Many high-profile studios push their games to have the highest-quality graphics, the best gameplay, and the most profound story. In their zeal to push the envelope of gaming, large developers often have to sacrifice performance for graphics or gameplay due to time constraints, leading to game-breaking bugs and low frame rates in the most recent titles (frame rates refer to the frames per second, or FPS, that a given gaming system can output, with higher FPS leading to smoother gameplay). This lack of polish can ruin what would otherwise be a fantastic game, requiring much effort on the developer’s end to repair both the game and their trust with their fans. However, in their incredible title Just Shapes & Beats, Berzerk Studio was able to sidestep all of these issues by sticking to the game’s title: using just shapes and beats.
In Just Shapes & Beats, the player controls either a blue square, a yellow triangle, a green pentagon, or an orange circle (depending on the number of players) and has two controls: movement and dashing. The player’s goal is equally simple: make it to the end of the level without dying. After this, however, the ease of the game significantly decreases. Just Shapes & Beats’ levels are all based around a portion of a song—usually some vein of EDM or VGM (video game music) from a lesser-known artist. To beat said level, the player has to dodge an enormous variety of pink shapes that appear in time to the beat without taking too much damage. The dash allows the player to move through pink shapes without taking any damage, which is essential since the shapes can be nearly impossible to dodge without dashing. Compared to most games, this is very simple; pages would be needed to describe the bare mechanics of a game like Elden Ring. However, the simplicity of Just Shapes & Beats is what makes it such a standout title.
The first aspect of Just Shapes & Beats’ design philosophy that makes it a fantastic game is its reliance on simple shapes for its gameplay and story. By having an easily understood control scheme and expectations of the player, Just Shapes & Beats is incredibly approachable for those less familiar with gaming. Through establishing hot pink as the “bad” color, the game easily explains to new users the core concepts of the game. The game also manages to tell a quite entertaining story despite only using shapes, sometimes with faces, to do so. By sticking to a simple design ethos, Berzerk Studio can do with nothing but shapes what many high-profile studios are currently unable to do.
However, without any beats to go with the shapes, Just Shapes & Beats would be a pretty dull game. Thankfully, the title’s sound design is where the game truly shines. All the songs chosen for the game are fantastic—many of which come from independent artists. Most of the time the songs are very high-energy and catchy, which is good because most players have to reattempt the levels multiple times before they can be cleared. In addition to the songs included in the base story, there are extras to be unlocked in a free-play mode, as well as a couple of crossover songs from other independent games: Shovel Knight and Undertale. Each song in the game feels perfectly placed, especially those used for boss fights. Players can easily see that Berzerk Studio put much time into curating the songs used in the game, which paid off and created a remarkable gaming experience. These characteristics also make the game incredibly polished, with no bugs present across the entire title. Rather than cram as much into the game as possible and leave it an unfinished mess, Berzerk Studio released a refined product that excels in its stated goals.
Overall, Just Shapes & Beats’ simple design philosophy sets it apart from many games of this generation. While many decide to chase after the most lifelike graphics or complex subsystems for their RPG, Berzerk Studio dared to be different, using about as basic of a concept as possible to create a truly great game that stands apart from the onslaught of incomplete titles currently being released.
Photos
Cover. H2x1_NSwitchDS_JustShapesAndBeats_image1600w by Nintendo-Europe. https://fs-prod-cdn.nintendo-europe.com/media/images/10_share_images/games_15/nintendo_switch_download_software_1/H2x1_NSwitchDS_JustShapesAndBeats_image1600w.jpg
Fig 1. Josiah Long. Chronos level.
Fig 2. Josiah Long. Creatures ov Deception level.