Jump To The Rhythm

Developer Glee-Cheese Studio has established itself as a unique rhythm and music game creator. Its debut game, A Musical Story, follows a musician in the ’70s as they battle drug addiction in a dialogue-free narrative. It was a somber but effective way to tell a story that featured challenging rhythm sequences. Glee-Cheese’s follow-up, Headbangers: Rhythm Royale, went in a very different direction. Inspired by games like Fall Guys, Headbangers is a multiplayer game where a large group of pigeons competes in various rhythm games until one pigeon is left standing. Mr. Records lives closer to the A Musical Story end of Glee-Cheese Studio’s broad spectrum, but (at least so far) seems to have a more upbeat tone.

In Mr. Records, you play as George, an older man who has decided to open a record shop. He loves music and loses himself in the records he listens to. Mechanically, this manifests as a rhythm platforming game. George moves from left to right through abstract levels themed around the music he is listening to – original tracks from the game’s composers and designers, Charles Bardin and Valentin Ducloux.

The gameplay will be familiar to players of games like Bit.Trip Runner, HarmoKnight (a 3DS game from the creators of Pokémon that deserves a Switch 2 port), or Rayman Legends’ wonderful rhythm levels. George leaps over gaps, kicks through obstacles, and slides up and down, all in time with the music. The final game will apparently include 45 songs, and the tracks made available are impressive in quality and diversity.