At PAX West, I played Keylocker, a retro-style cyberpunk RPG set in a world where music is banned. You take on the role of Bobo, a musician fighting against an oppressive regime of robots. Sound familiar? The theme reminded me a bit of All Systems Dance.
The first thing that caught my eye was the art style. I love the pixelated look, which features vibrant reds and blues—very cyberpunk. Even with its pixelated design, the characters' animations conveyed a lot of emotion, which I appreciated.
The battle system took inspiration from the Mega Man Battle Network series. However, instead of the side-to-side perspective like in Battle Network, Keylocker uses an isometric viewpoint, which adds an extra layer of depth to combat. I wasn’t just thinking about character alignment—I had to consider the room’s layout and how its depth affected my character’s positioning. This made me think more strategically about where to move to set up an effective attack.
The devs warned me about how difficult the combat is, and they weren’t joking. The combat is rhythm-based, meaning that to pull off specific attacks or buffs, I had to first complete rhythm-based minigames. And it wasn’t just the attacks that required precision—I also had to use rhythm mechanics to dodge. Watching the opponent’s movements and visual cues was crucial. The enemy would flash just before attacking, and I had to hit the right button in time to dodge. I wasn’t always successful and ended up taking a fair bit of damage. While part of the challenge came from the game itself, the sticky controller buttons—probably due to the heavy PAX West traffic—made things even trickier.
Unfortunately, my time with the demo came to an abrupt end as my session ran out. I was eager to keep playing and felt like I had only scratched the surface of what Keylocker has to offer. I can’t wait to explore more of its world, the story, and the battle mechanics when the full game releases.
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