Tunescape, developed by No Static Software, might be familiar to some of you out there. The addictive neon-symbol-collecting-to-light-piano game goes by the name Music Catch on the internet (made by a different company, Reflexive Entertainment). I first came across the game on Kongregate and thoroughly enjoyed it, even if there was only one song to play along with. Thankfully Tunescape adds to not only the gameplay but the music quantities.

As you can expect, the game is based around levels called ‘œTunescapes’. Each Tunescape is a musical nebula that pulses a different color and plays a different song. At each Tunescape you collect symbols to add to your score. These symbols also add to three different powers you can access to increase your score further.

Tunescape takes the great mechanics of Music Catch and builds upon it, while adding its own flair. Using your cursor, you pick up different shaped and colored pieces that emanate from the Tunescapes. Shapes come in two sizes, big and small, that determine how many points and power-ups you get. Green symbols add to your speed boost (activated with the A button), yellow ones power your shield to protect your from Meteors (activated with the Y button), and blue things charge up a vacuum that when activated (with the X button) suck all non-destructive symbols toward your position. These powers are represented by power bars within your cursor.

Destructive symbols are red Meteors that, upon collision with your…circle/ship, lower your score multiplier. The multiplier is represented by orange stars you can pick up like any other symbol. The more you have circling your ship, the bigger your score gets. The only other obstacle you have to watch out for is black holes. While these don’t actually harm your circle, they suck in all the symbols around them (even the Meteors). This can be beneficial or detrimental to your success, depending on how you use them. Again, this should all be familiar if you’ve played Music Catch, but it’s different enough to feel like a new game.

Speaking of different, the game adds some variation by giving you access to multiple songs and a couple game variations. The Tunescapes aren’t immediately available to you, though. Each Tunescape has three score goals to meet. Pass a certain score and a Tunescape spits out a jewel that instantly flies to you. Each Tunescape can net you up to three jewels, which are then used to unlock further Tunescapes. The songs provided run the gamut from light piano to jazzy piano and techno/industrial. There’s only eight (10 counting the credits and tutorial level) songs to choose from, but it’s a good mix of tunes.

A few Tunescapes change up the way the game is played ever so slightly. One such Tunescape tethers your circle to a smaller circle which you actually control. Thus you spend the entire song dragging and whipping your cursor around which can be a bit of a challenge. In fact, while I appreciate the change-up, that particular Tunescape isn’t fun to play compared to the others; it’s just really frustrating. The only other variation is one Tunescape that reduces your speed, but it’s not that noticeable of a change. I wish there were more variations than this, as the ones included aren’t that good.

Aside from the main game mode there’s a multiplayer mode and a mode that allows you to play with a Tunescape made up of your own music. Multiplayer lets you choose between co-op and competitive play with up to three friends. Choosing your own music to play with is my favorite part of the game. The game is very good at recognizing the music and setting up the Tunescape and symbols appropriately. This is, for me, the biggest draw of the game.

80 Microsoft points is all you have to loose by downloading this game. The gameplay is fantastic and the music is great (especially when you can use your own). It’s got some hiccups in the way of excess modes, and there could be more gameplay variants included. If you’re a fan of Music Catch, or any rhythm game in general, you’ll have a fun time in Tunescape.

(What does this score mean?)

Disclaimer: We received the review copy of this game from the developer No Static Software.