Audiosurf 2 Review

Audiosurf franchise is a classic. It had introduced us into music riding concept from which other similar games were born. This game however is an actual degradation of a first one and feels distinctly not finished.


Game feels like an early access title. User interface is not finished. Gameplay modes are not explained properly, game itself is inconsistent, sometimes it is too hard and sometimes it speeds up at random periods. Game has tacked on multiplayer aspect which is probably just playing against other people recordings. Gameplay itself is bizarre and seems to give inconsistent points through game modes which results in players scoring twice or more points than you without any explanations of how they can do that. Game feels like you are competing against cheaters and calm, relaxed music riding is gone in favour of competition.

Interface

• First thing that strikes you is a terrible interface which this game has. It does not feel finished. It is barely better than windows explorer until…it opens windows explorer for you. There is no actually useful functions like music scan, setting folder where your music is. The only thing which you have is setting your favourite songs one by one or looking from history. That is worst, developers are actually removing best bits of content from their game. Youtube was a single saving grace for this game and it got removed. Now you have to go through long workaround. What was the point of Audiosurf 2? What does it bring to the table which first game does not? Mod support? You mean, the only useful mod is the one feature you had removed and now we can use workshop to mod it back? It is the first game which I had seen where developers are acting like this and we need a restraining order to keep them from their games.
  
  Graphics
• Without new features, without a proper user interface, we are greeted to same old graphics. A lot of them are either quite bland or too flashy. I found myself constantly coming back to classic look. With a flashy new title you would expect an improvement in visual quality, however it is not here.
  
  Game Modes
• Then there are game modes. Game modes are explained by brief text window which leaves more questions than it had answered. Game modes are incomprehensible how you are supposed to play them and what to do. Game systems are incomprehensible. Does waiting for full bar to score is better than getting each point as soon as you can? Nobody knows. Nobody cares. Nobody explains how to play this game. It takes real talent to mess up such a simple game so badly that you have no clue how to play it.
  
  Multiplayer
• Multiplayer is busted. It is often forced upon you or more likely, you are forced to play against bots. They score immense amounts of points, sometimes several times more than you do. I’m not sure if you can find anyone playing this game besides song of a day, but even that is questionable as game always brings up players all the time. You will be competing against bots who on top of that, are hackers. Way to go Audiosurf 2. People who play rhythmic games want to compete in games where you need lighting reflexes and perfect execution. Developers have absolutely no clue what kind of players prefer such games.
  
  Early Access
• Then there is a distinct lack of polish. Everything seems unfinished. Menus feel bad. Starting intro feel bad. It is drawn out camera view of a mostly black screen. Graphics do not vow you and feel excessive or underwhelming depending on a setting. There is lack of various details like what happens when you land, when you capture a point. Those little animations and sounds which make game feel properly done, premium feeling is simply absent here. Game feels rough around the edges.
  
  Gameplay
• Gameplay algorithms are also bugged. They do not show dip in a song map or a track, but can accelerate your movement out of nowhere drastically. It does not even properly work from technical level. Some parts are incredibly hard or impossible. Game does not allow you to quickly dash to other lane to pick a point. There is a delay between your input and movement. This combined on top that some points are right after a blocker creates impossible scenarios.

Get the first game. It is nearly twice as popular and was recently updated where this misunderstanding was abandoned long ago

[h1]A pointless title[/h1] Audiosurf franchise is a classic. It had introduced us into music riding concept from which other similar games were born. This game however is an actual degradation of a first one and feels distinctly not finished. [h1]Issues[/h1] Game feels like an early access title. User interface is not finished. Gameplay modes are not explained properly, game itself is inconsistent, sometimes it is too hard and sometimes it speeds up at random periods. Game has tacked on multiplayer aspect which is probably just playing against other people recordings. Gameplay itself is bizarre and seems to give inconsistent points through game modes which results in players scoring twice or more points than you without any explanations of how they can do that. Game feels like you are competing against cheaters and calm, relaxed music riding is gone in favour of competition. [list] [b][i]Interface[/i][/b] [*]First thing that strikes you is a terrible interface which this game has. It does not feel finished. It is barely better than windows explorer until…it opens windows explorer for you. There is no actually useful functions like music scan, setting folder where your music is. The only thing which you have is setting your favourite songs one by one or looking from history. That is worst, developers are actually removing best bits of content from their game. Youtube was a single saving grace for this game and it got removed. Now you have to go through long workaround. What was the point of Audiosurf 2? What does it bring to the table which first game does not? Mod support? You mean, the only useful mod is the one feature you had removed and now we can use workshop to mod it back? It is the first game which I had seen where developers are acting like this and we need a restraining order to keep them from their games. Just take a look how horrible main interface is: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2669149749 [b][i]Graphics[/i][/b] [*]Without new features, without a proper user interface, we are greeted to same old graphics. A lot of them are either quite bland or too flashy. I found myself constantly coming back to classic look. With a flashy new title you would expect an improvement in visual quality, however it is not here. [b][i]Game Modes[/i][/b] [*]Then there are game modes. Game modes are explained by brief text window which leaves more questions than it had answered. Game modes are incomprehensible how you are supposed to play them and what to do. Game systems are incomprehensible. Does waiting for full bar to score is better than getting each point as soon as you can? Nobody knows. Nobody cares. Nobody explains how to play this game. It takes real talent to mess up such a simple game so badly that you have no clue how to play it. [b][i]Multiplayer[/i][/b] [*]Multiplayer is busted. It is often forced upon you or more likely, you are forced to play against bots. They score immense amounts of points, sometimes several times more than you do. I’m not sure if you can find anyone playing this game besides song of a day, but even that is questionable as game always brings up players all the time. You will be competing against bots who on top of that, are hackers. Way to go Audiosurf 2. People who play rhythmic games want to compete in games where you need lighting reflexes and perfect execution. Developers have absolutely no clue what kind of players prefer such games. [b][i]Early Access[/i][/b] [*]Then there is a distinct lack of polish. Everything seems unfinished. Menus feel bad. Starting intro feel bad. It is drawn out camera view of a mostly black screen. Graphics do not vow you and feel excessive or underwhelming depending on a setting. There is lack of various details like what happens when you land, when you capture a point. Those little animations and sounds which make game feel properly done, premium feeling is simply absent here. Game feels rough around the edges. [b][i]Gameplay[/i][/b] [*]Gameplay algorithms are also bugged. They do not show dip in a song map or a track, but can accelerate your movement out of nowhere drastically. It does not even properly work from technical level. Some parts are incredibly hard or impossible. Game does not allow you to quickly dash to other lane to pick a point. There is a delay between your input and movement. This combined on top that some points are right after a blocker creates impossible scenarios. [/list] [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Get the first game. It is nearly twice as popular and was recently updated where this misunderstanding was abandoned long ago.