Just Shapes & Beats Hands-On Impressions

By Kevin Mitchell Posted on March 16, 2017

A didn’t know what to expect from Just Shapes & Beats before sitting down for my presentation at PAX East. Crammed in a small area behind the booth myself and three others picked up our controllers and headsets and began our journey across a remarkable local multiplayer experience.

Just Shapes & Beats feels like a bullet-hell shooter crossed with a chaotic rhythm game. Players control four uniquely colored shapes, comprised of different pieces. Instead of attacking, you're tasked with dodging pink shapes of all sizes that will consume large and small sections of a level, moving to the beat of the music. A dashing mechanic lets you go through anything in your way, granted you land on an empty part of the screen. If players loses all their pieces, they will slowly float off-screen unless another player can reach them.

Without a doubt, Just Shapes & Beats is not an easy game, and after four attempts we failed to defeat the boss in the demo.