Despite being a rhythm game, VOEZ didn’t arrive to much fanfare. It was originally a mobile game released in May 2016 for iOS, arriving on Android a week later in June of that same year. It then saw a Japanese release for the Nintendo Switch in February 2017, and a worldwide release in March 2017.
The gameplay loop is typical of most rhythm games; a ‘metronome’-like function that you react to in-time with the music to build score and harmonize with the song, though VOEZ added a bit of extra flair with things like adjustable difficulty and the notes altering in color and thickness as they fall.
VOEZ features nearly 300 songs to play, from across many genres; trance, EDM, synthpop, even eurodance!
What also set VOEZ apart from the herd was its peculiar accessibility. VOEZ while free, had songs on rotation instead of a static library, with the option to purchase them and essentially keep them as long as you like. This was on top of avatars and gacha elements to keep the game running. Also adding to its charm were the diary entries, telling the stories of a group of friends and their lives, adding a layer of storytelling that’s otherwise unseen in most rhythm games.
As you play through VOEZ, you’ll learn about the stories of several people through diary entries in a quasi-visual novel style.
The Nintendo Switch version, however, changed things up, making it a one-and-done purchase with access to all songs, and all future updates would be free, including the recently-launched 1.11 update.
Fifty new songs were added to the listing, bringing the total to 290. The added songs can be looked over below.
– Snow Blossom / yuritoworks.
– FORSETY / Analog digitaL
– Beyond This World / Iris
– Drop / 篤志
– LOUDER MACHINE / NOMA
– POWERBOMB / tko
– Deep Lies / KEN(Le’Sens Vie)
– Draft / Paradigm [Eyes + August]
– Katakoi Syndrome / CLoTiVE (Feat. Lielle)
– NO LIFE, NO MUSIC / Ms.
– Un Sospiro / かねこちはる feat. AI
– sing thing feat.nortalync / Magao
– conflict / siromaru + cranky
– koiniochita kokuhaku / うつろ feat. 櫻樺
– After School -Mira Filia- / Dr.Laintrigger Demo
– maindish is my voice / originam
– shining world / charon feat. Nanase Rei
– Zhele / Feryquitous
– Hello and Again / Maozon
– Forbidden Souls / Nhato
– KAEDE / Ocelot
– Back to Basics / Scarfaith
– The Survivor / Taishi
– TEUMESSIA / LisicA
– starT_Today / tigerlily
– Double Helix / xi
– volcanic / DETRO a.k.a ルゼ
– Wintry Waltz / PTB10
– Beyond the Natura / Sound Souler
– Remain / ユアミトス
– ZEUS † 666 / ルゼ
– Rapture / V0iD
– Accelerator / Massive New Krew
– Äventyr/GrandThaw / Rigel Theatre
– Darling Staring… / technoplanet feat. はるの
– Doldrums / Paul Bazooka
–「妖怪録、我し来にけり。」/ TEZUKApo11o band ft.ランコ(豚乙女)+OFFICE萬田
– DEADLY;WEAPON / NOMA w/ Apo11o program ft.Uzumaki
– Enhanced Lights / Neutral Moon
– The Mayhem / Crayvxn
– MAXIMUM BURST / HyuN
– One World Overpowered / Neutral Moon
– Serotonin / Crayvxn
– Abiogenesis / Juggernaut.
– Am I delicious?/ Yamajet feat. Amane (COOL&CREATE) & Godspeed
– CydraL / Feryquitous
– Hypnos / xi
– Kaguya / BlackY
– Magnolia / M2U Vocal by Guriri
– Sairai / Shinichi Kobayashi
This update came in September 15, 2022.