Halfway through the year, and people are already declaring 2023 the year of fighting games. We have Street Fighter 6 coming out in June, Tekken 8 supposably coming out by the end of the year, and Mortal Kombat 12 that keeps trying to stay in the shadows but ended up being leaked by suits at a stock meeting. Three major franchises are taking arms to be the best fighting game in a year that doesn’t have a new Smash Bros character or game involved. But there are always some new types of fighting games that try to do something new in the genre to freshen things up instead of fine-tuning the fight mechanics for the pros. I say that because experimentation is good for gaming; we are able to tell what works and what doesn’t; with that said, a new kind of fighter appeared from Brazil that is a combination of Street Fighter and Guitar Hero, that being God of Rock.
The premise of God of Rock is familiar to those who have played nothing but fighting games. A collection of the universe’s best rock stars gather together for a battle over who is the best rock star in the universe. Think of it more as a musical version of Mortal Kombat or, for those who need sources cited, a musical version of Enter the Dragon. With that said, the gameplay is something that has been seen before mixed in with puzzle games like Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Puzzle & Dragons. I bring up the examples because while those games have some level of fun and stay true to their fighting roots. God of Rock is flawed, and I did not enjoy playing as both a former Guitar Hero player and a casual fighting game player.
The main issue that affected me personally and it may affect others with poor eyesight even after wearing glasses. The scaling of the game is just not good; it scales the character models and their creative designs, as that is what should take up most of the screen. While scaling down the music note chart below them, so when the game is wanting you to keep up with the rhythm and defeat your opponent, you have to squint because all of the flashy effects the characters are doing are distracting you from keeping the beat. That is a great transition to my other big issue, this might be coming off Hi-Fi Rush, but the rhythm in this rhythm game is terrible. I was able to adjust myself to how the game views rhythm, but that is still a massive drop-off.
But the game does have some great things going for it, without looking at the mess that is everything else. I like the character designs; they are unique and colorful. That and the spectator presentation is something out of an anime, just fast pace fighting that feels like it was ripped out of a Donnie Yen film, with all the fast punches and blocking happening every other second. But that can also be a negative because, to some people, this is epilepsy the game, and I can see why that can be a turn-off for some people. The game is telling you to keep an eye on the bar while ignoring the insane fight happening just above the music bar; even if you look at the fight for a second, you’ll be confused at what is going on. Even though the only thing you should focus on is the opponent’s health meter.
The last issue I have is probably the one that hurt me the most; the game is lacking in content. This is clearly structured as a multiplayer fighter, and they just put out what is expected in a game like this. The story mode was fine, and you do have your collection of training modes to get a handle of the game’s mechanics. But they are mainly here to get you ready for the multiplayer modes, which at the time of writing were nearly barren; I was able to get at least ten matches, and at that, only four finished without a lag out.
Now it does sound like I don’t like this game, I don’t but at the same time love that it is doing something different and experimenting with what fighting games are. As I said, not all experiments have to succeed; they are just showcases of what works and what doesn’t. I say that because I see the potential in this concept, especially after Hi-Fi Rush. But here, it just doesn’t work, I hope someone looks at this and goes, “What if we change this and this” and make something better. I hope it does one day because I would love to see this concept revisited in a better game.
Score: 4 out of 10
Reviewed on PS5