Viveport Review: Audio Arena

Archiact Interactive delights with their unique take on the rhythm genre.

By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content

I am a huge fan of simple and fun rhythm games. That’s why I was so excited about Audio Arena when I experienced it for the first time.  The verdict? Archiact Interactive’s excellent VR game offers a ton of replay value, great music, and simple yet addicting gameplay.

Right off the bat, the visuals look stunning. They are simple, colorful, and easy on the eyes—all positives when it comes to virtual reality. This made it very easy to get lost in the gameplay loop, which made it even easier to lose a few hours to the game.

Audio Arena’s basic setup is easy to get ahold of. The player is put into a circular area with a massive screen surrounding him or her. The gamer must then use their controllers to guide the cursor, which acts as a ship around enemies which spawn and move to the beat of the song playing in the background. There are various powerups around the level, and the player will need to hit these in tune with the beat to activate them.

It’s a simple premise that works wonders in VR, and the execution of the experience is well done. Of course, this means there isn’t a lot of immersion to offer, as the game always feels like you’re staring at an arcade machine’s screen. But, it still works really well, and you have a full 360-degree level that makes the experience that much more engaging and delightful.

Audio Arena might not offer much immersion, but the game is both graphically beautiful and mechanically sound. The simple but addictive gameplay loop makes it easy to get lost in the action for hours, and the ability to take part in a full 360-degree battle against enemies makes it fun to take on the toughest challenges the game has to offer.

The biggest negative in Audio Arena is the limited number of tracks, but the fact that enemies spawn different each time gives you an almost unlimited amount of replayability that lasts as long as you can stand to listen to the same songs repeatedly. While I want more content, what’s here is enough to keep you entertained for several hours, so slip on your Vive and groove to the beat!

Audio Arena is available on Viveport.