In April 2020, indie developer Dan Da Rocha posted a short video on Twitter with an interesting shooter concept in which you have to shoot at a certain rhythm to the music. The video turned out to be quite popular, even noticed by Cliff Blesinski himself , the father of the Unreal and Gears series , who called the enthusiast’s idea the most innovative in the FPS genre since SUPERHOT . Dan decided to bring his idea to life and began to develop the Gun Jam project , but what was his surprise when, literally a month later, another game in the same style was announced – BPM: Bullets Per Minute , and a little later another – Metal: Hellsinger… Despite the fact that Gun Jam was announced earlier, it was BPM that managed to hit the jackpot and shoot the very first.
BPM developers from Awe Interactive wanted not only to create a rhythm shooter, but also to cross it with roguelike elements. As a result, in a genre where it is now very difficult to compete, BPM has managed to stand out both in mechanics and in its original appearance.
BPM: Bullets Per Minute is a rhythmic shooter that looks unusual and at the same time expressive, which may even scare some players away. The screen here is filled with acid colors, and the stylization is made in the spirit of the ancient representatives of the FPS genre.
Despite the sometimes unhurried beat of the melody (90 beats per minute), BPM: Bullets Per Minute is quite dynamic, and sometimes it is difficult to perceive clearly what is happening on the screen. And concentration here is the most important thing, because you need not only to be in time, but also to keep the bar without getting lost.
And to the music you have to not only shoot accurately, but even reload, make jerks and use abilities. The project has many types of weapons, and they all reload in their own way. Not hitting the beat, the player not only loses the accumulated combo points, but can also get into a hole when the shot is not counted. You will have to dodge without stopping.
The levels of the game are divided into randomly generated rooms, in each of which you will be met by a bunch of enemies who also move and shoot, obeying the will of the soundtrack. As you progress, the resistance becomes stronger, enemies appear that need to be killed in a special way, not to mention unique bosses. Not only different types of weapons, but also pumping help to overcome the latter. Almost in every room there are special altars that improve one of the characteristics of the hero for the currency dropped from enemies, or for the sacrificed health – from increased damage to the range of destruction. Plus, for clearing a room, they give out a chest, which can contain a weapon, an item of equipment or a bottle that restores health.
In order to at least slightly reduce the level of randomness in the game, you can also find a merchant – the Huge Bird, offering for money to choose from everything that can be found in chests and a little more.
Each playthrough, the player must adapt and select an effective build of equipment and skills in order to break through hordes of enemies and defeat the final boss. The bank room also comes to the rescue, where they give to download their entire wallet, which can be picked up in future races. Unfortunately, the balance of the game is far from perfect, some combinations of items and skills are too superior to others, so luck often plays a role in victory, as well as in most other roguelikes.
For greater variety, we are given a number of characters to choose from (many have to be unlocked for completing certain challenges) – each with its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, some heroes have powerful guns or magic from the very beginning, but they literally die with one poke.
All this merges into one of the most driving shooters, where not only the accuracy of the player and his competent movement, but also the sense of rhythm are put at the head. At first, catching a wave is sometimes quite difficult, but as soon as you succeed, you realize that BPM: Bullets Per Minute is a shooter practically unlike anything else in the genre. Although in one moment the elements of the roguelike go sideways to the project, and this concerns the main aspect – the music.
Total BPM: Bullets Per Minute, depending on the difficulty, there can be up to 9 zones. If over time it suddenly seems to you that on easy difficulty the game does not represent the desired challenge, then the difficult level will definitely reward it. Each zone is unique with its visual style and specific song. And this is the main problem – the soundtrack (by the way, excellent) begins to become very boring over time. Each new race starts with the same melody, and this sets the teeth on edge pretty quickly. This problem could have been solved by randomly selecting the soundtrack and a large set of songs, but the developers did not take such a step. Believe me, the opening “Into the Asgard” will sit in your head for a very long time, and it’s not exactly a compliment.
If we talk about the content of the game, then the developers have already given out enough from the start so that it is not boring to spend your evenings in pursuit of the long-awaited victory. Plus this year the OVERDRIVE update was released completely free of charge , bringing in a lot of content for those who needed a supplement. True, no more update is planned for.
Having managed to jump on the HYIP train in time for rhythm shooters, Awe Interactive was able not only not to lose face, but also to create a worthy competitor to its now imitators, who still cannot decide on release dates.
