Vectronom Review: The Doctor’s Assessment

Subjective:

Vectronom presents for review as a rhythm game but not just falling blocks or matching colors as they fly towards you. You must hop a little block to the beat across a finish line. Listening to the actual rhythm is crucial in your success.

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Objective:

Vectronom is a single player experience rhythm/puzzle game. The player is required to solve puzzles while staying on beat.

Assessment:

Rhythm games come in a variety of options. Of course there are the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises. Maybe you enjoy a more physical experience with a Dance Dance Revolution or the more recent Dance series on the Wii. Vectronom attempts to engage the user with simplistic visuals and an entrancing beat. It begins with the easy task of just moving your block from one side to another while avoiding gaps as they pulse with the music. Sound easy? Well, not quite!

You quickly learn not just the main ‘beat’ but the various loops will also cause changes to the course as well. At the end of the course you also receive a grade based on how ‘on beat’ you are while completing the stage. So aside from just trying to make it across the level, doing it on beat will earn you some extra flare. The feeling of accomplishment is unmatched once you decode the right sequence. Just like in any good music track, the beat is important but so are the additional sounds.

The controls are simple, but also allow a few options. You have the choice of using the C-buttons or face buttons (X,Y,A,B). These options allow for very precise control rather than using an analog stick or being restricted to one joycon. Because it is not a straight top-down view, it will take a little while to adjust to the 3/4 view, but it is a non-issue once you get started.

A small drawback of this game has to do with its audio. The music is somewhat faint; you will need headphones or another way to hear the music clearly. This minor drawback is mostly negligible as it is a great and engaging game. I tested the game on the Switch and hooking up headphones is fairly easy. I would not recommend using the built in speakers.