Game Over – A Musical RPG?? Review: A Groovy Ride With Minor Hiccups

Have you ever wondered what you would get if you took Guitar Hero, Mother or Undertale, a bunch of popular references, one of humanity’s primordial fears, and comedy, then threw it all into a blender? Well, Game Over – A Musical RPG?? comes to answer just that. While it may not bring life-changing innovations, it still manages to deliver a more than enjoyable experience from this unlikely mix.

Game Over – A Musical RPG?? will be available on Steam for $15 USD starting April 11, 2025.

Story – Crescendo of Chaos

Just as Jake Houston stated in Game Over – A Musical RPG?? game description, you get to see what happens after the credits roll. As is usual in most games, you’re the hero of this story—but returning home isn’t as glamorous as one might expect.

Have you ever wondered how your character’s actions might affect weapon sellers? How your neighbors’ perception of you could change? Or what new expectations people might have now?

With a long-unseen force returning to threaten your world and only vague guidance from the former hero who once faced this menace, it’s up to you to uncover the very secret that started this chaos.

You did it! You defeated the final boss and saved the princess… Now what?

Gameplay – Tempo and Tactics

The gameplay follows the structure of most RPGs, with the main exception being the musical battles called “duets”, which are reminiscent of Guitar Hero. However, the controls are easy to understand and learn. You can choose between playing with a keyboard or connecting an Xbox or PlayStation controller, which will greatly facilitate your journey if you’re not accustomed to using a keyboard.

While the puzzles are not particularly difficult in terms of logic, and the duets are quite fun if you enjoy a challenge, you’ll need a good level of skill with your keyboard or controller to overcome them and have a smooth gameplay experience. If you’re not that skilled but still want to experience the story, many challenges offer visual aids, shortcuts to skip specific rhythm puzzles, or the option to activate “Niegel Mode” to help you get past particularly difficult duets.

You can use either an Xbox or PlayStation controller if you’re not comfortable using the keyboard.

Game Over – A Musical RPG?? have three difficulty levels: Hard, Less Hard, and the aforementioned “Niegel Mode”. These easier modes might be a great way to prevent players from abandoning the game out of frustration, but they could also make the experience too easy and lead to boredom.

There’s also a choices and morality mechanic. This game has multiple endings, and the one you get depends on the decisions you make throughout your journey—almost from the very beginning. No matter how insignificant they may seem, your choices lead to different dialogue lines in the immediate, medium, or distant future.

This certainly brings back memories.

Graphics & Sound – The Beat of Pixels

The art is not particularly impressive, but it doesn’t try to be. Game Over – A Musical RPG?? fully embraces its pixelated appearance and even jokes about it, so if you come across a particularly hideous character, that’s intentional. The influence of Mother and, more recently, Undertale is immediately noticeable, especially in the main character’s design. The character designs are clearly and heavily themed based on the section of the map you’re currently in.

There were a few bugs throughout the gameplay, which isn’t much considering it’s a beta version, but it can be a bit difficult to identify when one is occurring.

Not impressive, but it’s what Jake was aiming for.

What’s more important for a musical game than its sound? Absolutely nothing. The entire game has an enrapturing background rhythm and themes—you won’t find yourself humming them later, but they serve as a fitting companion to the gameplay. Once again, the music is themed according to the section of the map, as well as the character “voices” and challenges.

Each challenge has its own unique song—you won’t find two with the same one—though you might recognize a few popular melodies and micro-plots.

There’s just one potential issue regarding the music and general sounds: they may become overwhelming or even annoying after long gaming sessions.

This game was reviewed on PC with key provided by The Indie XP.