Available on: PC, Mac OS, Linux (Steam)
Release Date: May 26th 2015
Genre: Puzzle, Rhythm
I put a lot of time into the first Audiosurf game, one which combines ingenuity with a straight up fun factor to make a really enjoyable game where you play along to whatever music is on your hard drive. I always felt it was missing some important features to make it a truly great game with an unlimited replay factor however, but much like not adding co-op in State of Decay or… practically anything in the Star Wars Battlefront reboot, that’s what sequels are for.
Audiosurf 2 does a reasonably good job of adding features that should have been present in the first game. There is still no Spotify integration which I think would have made Audiosurf 2 one of the top selling games of 2015, but at least you no longer need to have any music you want to play on strictly on your hard drive. SoundCloud integration has been added which is a huge step in the right direction, meaning you can stream a ton of tracks rather than relying on your own paltry collection of CD’s and MP3’s, or indeed pirated music. Last.FM integration is also still a feature, although as the game is still in early access it’s currently a bit of a faff getting it working. These are both features that are strongly in Audiosurf 2’s favour.
The gameplay has been hugely improved too, or at least the Mono mode has which is pretty much the only game mode I have any interest in and have played up to this point. The idea behind Mono mode is to gather coloured blocks while avoiding other obstacles based on whatever ‘skin’ you’re using – which is again another very cool feature which utilises the Steam Workshop for downloading fan-made graphics – such as spikes, rocks or as you’ll see in the video below, vehicles on a motorway setting.
Alan and Pete Play 