[REVIEW] Sound Shapes

Mat Paget
(PlayStation 3 [REVIEWED], Vita [REVIEWED])

Music and platforming have gone hand-in-hand since 1985, when Mario ran through the Mushroom Kingdom to his now instantly-recognizable theme song. Since then, the likes of Donkey Kong, Sonic, Rayman, and Kirby have all been in platforming adventures accompanied by music that has gone down as some of the best in videogames. Most platforming savants–or you know, just people–would argue that music is an integral part to any great platformer. Of course, gameplay is still important, but music adds that charm, that magic, that every title needs. But here’s a platformer where you actually make that magic. And hey, it’s a game for the Vita!

Sound Shapes is a game that blends platforming and music together into one nice, little package. If you’ve ever seen a Disney movie, or just the intro to Rayman Origins, you’ll know that there is a lot of charm in music being created through normal occurrences (like snoring). That is the entirety of this game. You control a shape, attempting to collect all of the notes, while other objects in the level make additional music — such as a group of rockets acting as a bassline. The first time I ever saw the aforementioned example, I let out a laugh; not because it was cheesy, but because I was overwhelmed with joy at what I was seeing. This game definitely has a charm that is hard to resist.

The gameplay itself is your average platformer, resembling the Tales from Space series. It’s hardly demanding, but there are parts that require a bit more finesse and skill to get through with all the notes. And the cool thing about the notes is that it not only encourages you to collect them all for the sake of completion, but to hear the entire piece of music. Missing even one note puts a damper on the sound, but thankfully, none of the notes are painstakingly hard to collect. Along with that, there are some light puzzles to solve, but none of them evolve past pushing a block from one spot to another. The game does a great job at being engaging, but at the same time allowing you to see the entirety of it without overexerting yourself.

The campaign consists of five albums that contain three to five levels each. Each album is composed, and designed, by different artists. These artists include: deadmau5, Beck, and Jim Guthrie of Superbrothers fame. After you’ve completed the campaign, Death Mode unlocks, which turns the levels into one screen romps where you’ll have to collect a set number of notes before time runs out. It’s much more difficult, and it doesn’t hold the same magic that the campaign does, but it still delivers a challenging, yet fun experience. But these aren’t the only things that the game offers, as there is also a lot of fun to be had with user-created levels, as well as composing your own.

The Community works sort of like a social network for the game, posting all of your activity on an easy-to-access wall. You’ll also be able to follow users, enabling you to keep up-to-date on levels they create. And the Community has immense creativity, as the selection of levels is already great. Unfortunately, there aren’t many ways to easily find levels; the only two categories are top and new levels. There is a search, but it’s only text, so it’s not exactly easy to find a good group to choose from; a more advanced search would have been appreciated. But all in all, the Community has created some excellent levels, and will thrive beautifully if it continues.

The actual creation of the levels is a whole other thing, putting you in complete control of the Editor, and letting your imagination run wild. Also, every completed level of the Campaign gives you more tools to play around with, as well as new pieces of scenery for decoration. The Vita’s front and back screens allow you to manipulate the stages exactly the way you want them, and the options are seemingly endless. And the best thing about the Editor is definitely the Beat School. Unlocked from completing the Campaign, the Beat School gives you a beat to listen to, and asks you to recreate it. This mode is an awesome addition to an already awesome game, and should not be tossed aside as a mere tutorial.

Now that I’ve talked about the game, I guess it’s time to talk about the differences between the two versions: PlayStation 3 and Vita. Well, I think you’re in for some good news, because if you buy the game on one platform, you get the other for free. And although it does seem to perform better on the Vita in spots, both versions are just as great as each other — aside from different menu layouts, the versions are near identical. Also, you’ll be able to play the exact same save file on both platforms, through the use of Cloud Sync. This kind of cross-compatibility is awesome, especially when you get both versions for the price of one; it’s easy to say that it would be nice to have this adorned by every game that hosts the feature.

In the end, Sound Shapes is a really impressive game that conjures the perfect blend of visuals, sound, and gameplay. Each piece works together in a way that is absolutely phenomenal, and it has a ton of content that you’ll definitely want to see twice. Not to be outdone, the Editor is remarkably intuitive, and adds something to be loved by anyone who is even sort of interested in creating music. Add on its undying charm, and you have something that will cause most people to fall in love. Play it on either console, and it’s fantastic. But if you own both, then you’ll definitely get the most out of this musically-infused platformer.