Music to my ears.
I was a big fan of Chime on PC and then later Chime Super Deluxe on PS3. Every Saturday morning, I would end up waking my roommates up by blasting either Ooh Yeah by Moby or For Silence by Paul Hartnoll. It was a simple, fun, and addicting game with a pretty fantastic soundtrack. Now, years after Super Deluxe, we get a new Chime in the form of Chime Sharp. It’s good to be back.
For those that aren’t familiar with Chime, the game is a puzzle game where players create quads using shapes that appear on screen. The point of the game is to create quads that will then get deleted when a line passes by it going from left to right across the screen. The deleted quads will then change the background color in the shape of the quad. Trying to get 100% or more of the background changed is the main goal. Of course, getting a high score is also another incentive. The more coverage I got, the more the music would kick in. The stages are all based on a song. They start off simple with just a beat, and then fill in with chorus, and even lyrics.
Platforms: XB1, PS4, PC
MSRP: $9.99
Price I’d pay: $9.99
Creating quads will allow then to be extended for a short period of time by adding to their length and width. If I was good enough, I could get a quad to go clear across the board, which would really knock out a lot of the coverage percentage. This is all done to a time limit (in standard mode). Creating combos and bigger quads can also extend the time limit so players can keep going. That’s where the real zen moment comes in. When I was desperately trying to get more coverage with the countdown getting really low and the music in full force, there’s something really great about it all.
There are a few of other modes to try out with each song. The Sharp mode is all about making sure unused shapes are deleted. If left on the board for too long, they will disappear and the player will lose a life. They can regain lives by creating perfect quads, but those can be rather tricky to pull off. The Challenge mode is much like standard mode but with a different board making it harder to complete quads, while Strike mode is a fast paced mode where players have a short period of time to cover as much of the board as they can. While they all offer up a little something different, nothing really deviates from the formula.
What I loved about Super Deluxe was the multiplayer. It was legitimately a blast to play with friends. Unfortunately, Sharp is missing this mode. It’s a shame because what they did with the multiplayer in Super Deluxe was really clever and fun.
I do have to say if there was a misstep, it would be in the color schemes for some stages. There were some levels where the background color and the cleared color looked too much alike, and I was having a hard time navigating the area trying to match quads. It’s only in a few stages, but it was annoying at times when I was trying to clear out the background.
As far as the music selection goes, there are some really good tracks here. Sticking mainly to electronic and some chiptunes, it has a rather heightened feel to it, but it really works. I still feel that Super Deluxe had the more memorable soundtrack through. This one is no slouch, but some end up sounding a bit samey.
All in all, Chime Sharp is still a great puzzle game that is simple to play and fun to learn. Those in the zone moments are great, and the constant feel of “just one more try” is here and just as addicting as the previous games. Any puzzle fan out there should add this one to their library.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
