It may seem like developer Moonana came out of nowhere after the reveal of the extremely stylish turn-based RPG Keylocker was revealed. Still, the previous release, Virgo Versus The Zodiac, proved they knew how to craft a unique indie experience within genres and further enhance the quality with some amazing character designs. Now, Keylocker has received a new demo that showcases some of the updates that have been added to the game, as well as provides players with an introduction to the story. We had the chance to play the demo early, but you can access it now during Steam Next Fest.
Setting the Stage: A Cyberpunk World Outlawing Music
Keylocker is set in a cyberpunk world where singing, among other things, has been outlawed. In an act of defiance, Bobo hosts a concert event to sing, but she is then captured by law enforcement and given the death penalty. Luckily for her, an underground network of cyborgs gives her some pointers on how to escape. These events act as a springboard for the adventure, where Bobo finds herself mingling with hackers and other strange characters to take down the corrupt leaders and gain their freedom.
The narrative is a significant focal point of Keylocker. This can be found during interactions with NPCs, but the developers have also put time into the environments and allowed players to interact with objects for additional context. It makes the isometric environments act as tools to immerse the players in the world quickly and understand the rules of this futuristic setting. Later in the game, you gain control of a different character who also has special tools to get past doors.
Keylocker is set in a cyberpunk world where singing, among other things, has been outlawed.
I’m not sure if this will play a role in the game later on, but I like the idea that each character brings a special skill to the team so that they each play a role in advancing the narrative. However, what I also enjoyed is how, depending on the character, your responses and how NPCs react to you are completely different. These small touches add so much quality to the game that it’s hard to overlook what the team has put together here.
Diverse Characters and Unique Interactions
However, there is an added layer of combat, and this is where the experience gets rocky. Now, the foundation of the battle system isn’t the issue. There’s a unique equipment system and grid-like battlefields to strategize attacks, but the rhythm aspect can be fairly brutal. Typically, in a game, they’ll start you off with weaker enemies to allow you to learn a few of the nuances in battle, but here, they tell you the rules through a couple of text boxes, and then you’re on your own.
Issues arise as you gain new characters who have unique attacks, but it’s not clearly shown to you what the attacks do and which rhythm game you’ll need to play. Some attacks require you to press the action button at the correct time, quickly press directional keys, or dodge an attack; you get the idea. It just takes a few practice rounds to get used to the timing. Still, there’s also the enemy attacks you have to worry about. Luckily, there’s a way to dodge these attacks, but the window timing is very small, and again, you can’t practice these rhythm portions to get used to the timing.
These small touches add so much quality to the game that it’s hard to overlook what the team has put together here.
Rhythm-Based Combat and Its Challenges
All these means is that every battle comes with the growing pains of learning any new enemy attacks, mastering them, and surviving. Now, surviving is difficult because, typically, two to three hits will kill a character, so you have to dodge every time. This is the more annoying bit as you learn attacks because you simply restart the fight after a battle, so there were plenty of battles that only made it three moves as I practiced dodging the enemy’s attacks. Either give us a chance to know what’s coming to prepare or make these early encounters less brutal, so I don’t result in countless retries just to practice the timing portions.
Strategic Depth and Class Customization
Regardless, the combat is fun, and the layer of strategic depth that comes with it could get really interesting in the later hours. Each character can be given a class that unlocks specific loadout capabilities and abilities to be unlocked through leveling up. It’s said that these class choices do affect the story, so I’m interested to see how that plays out. I played on Normal difficulty, but there are two higher difficulties and an easy mode to fit your preferences. Given that music is a central topic of the game, I also enjoyed the soundtrack and how the team incorporated music into the game. I’m looking forward to meeting new characters and adding their skills to my strategy.
Anticipation and Future Updates
Keylocker is packed with cyberpunk style and some unique elements that allow its narrative beats and battle system to stand out. The world really pulls you in and holds onto you as you uncover more mysteries, but the high challenge of the rhythm-based battle system may weigh on players looking for a more balanced experience. This is going to be a game you’ll want to follow, but don’t worry because we’ll be here to keep you updated on its development.
Keylocker is coming to PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam in Summer 2024.
