Game Reviews

Deemo

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iOS
| Deemo
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Deemo
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iOS
| Deemo

Deemo is an accomplished pianist - stop sniggering at the back - a strangely sinister figure with elongated limbs who dwells alone, perfecting his craft.

Until, one day, a mysterious girl falls through his window and onto his instrument - I said stop sniggering! - beginning the narrative of this eponymously titled game.

The plot may be hackneyed, but it's just an excuse for this well-executed and charismatic rhythm-action game. Notes slide gracefully down the screen, and you have to strike them with perfect timing as they hit a bar at the bottom.

Occasionally you'll have to slide across the bar rather than tap, but that's pretty much the sum total of the gameplay. But if it sounds boring, well, you've obviously never wished for ten fingers on each hand as you attempt to keep time with an unstoppable waterfall of music.

You and your baby grand

Thankfully for ten-thumb klutzes there's a choice of difficulty modes for each song, controlling how many notes the game throws at you. There's also a speed setting to dictate how fast they come. It should add up to plenty of challenge, even for veterans of the genre.

It's beautifully presented, full of still images evoking wonder and whimsy. But it's a music game, and it's the music that matters. While all the material is appropriately piano-based, the flavour varies wildly from pseudo-classical dreamscapes to funky vocal pop.

Some of it is sublime, some of it isn't to my taste, but all of it is competently composed and produced.

Occasionally the timing seems a little off. The criteria for getting a "charming" note, indicative of perfect timing, felt especially capricious. But so charming is the game itself that I rarely cared as I swept Deemo and his mysterious muse through each track, hoping to be good enough to unlock the next.

Deemo

Often simplistic but rarely simple, this rhythm-action game nails what it sets out to do with enormous style and panache
Score
Matt Thrower
Matt Thrower
Matt is a freelance arranger of words concerning boardgames and video games. He's appeared on IGN, PC Gamer, Gamezebo, and others.