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.
This is me playing along to a piece commonly called ‘Scene 51’ from the movie Casshern, and anyone who has played Audiosurf will notice that a lot of the notes in this video are much better sequenced than they are in the first game – you really are playing in time to your music rather than getting the feeling of collecting random colours while a song plays in the background. The mouse controls in particular are much more precise too, so at times it may appear I have the reflexes of a cat but a lot of that is down to the fantastic response the game allows my mouse to have.
With all that said Audiosurf 2 is an excellent game, and with it being in early access it should hopefully continue to improve with time. Spotify integration would make it the ultimate rhythm game, but as it is it’s a good enough game for any music fan to get many hours of enjoyment out of it.
Pros
Colourful graphics, user made skins and responsive controls
SoundCloud integration is a welcome feature for streaming songs to play
Improves in almost every way over the first Audiosurf game
Cons
Still no Spotify integration
User Interface is messy
Pete is part of the imaginatively titled Alan & Pete Play, and can be found on Twitter and YouTube. He once had an LSD trip and walked 15 miles along the M1 motorway collecting traffic cones, mistaking his experience for real life Audiosurf.
Alan and Pete Play 