Keylocker [Review]
Keylocker is a rhythm combat JRPG without rhythm.
Keylocker. (Credit: Moonana / Serenity Forge)
Keylocker is a cyberpunk JRPG from Brazilian studio Moonana (Virgo Versus the Zodiac). You play as singer and songwriter B0B0, battling on the planet Saturn with the power of your music to rebel against the authorities of the ruling church who have banned music. It’s a promising game that falls flat because of its execution.
From the developer:
B0B0 is one of the Doppelgangers, twins born as perfect human beings fit to obey the purpose of the caste they were assigned to. Her purpose is to serve in the lowest caste for the prosperity of Saturn, but B0B0 doesn't quite agree to that. Amidst a revolution against the Saturnian Satellites, the ultimate form of law, B0B0 hears news of a newfound music robot that'll fit right in her illegal band as a drummer. Rebelling against the corrupt system using music is the only thing she knows how to do well and she only needed a drummer to join her pack of misfits. With every piece in place, she's out to break some laws, and discover the truth behind the essence of music, the Keylocker.
Keylocker. (Credit: Moonana / Serenity Forge)
The game is narrative-driven, and its battle system is inspired by Nintendo's Mario & Luigi RPG series. There are no random battles, though enemies respawn if you leave an area. Battles take place on a honeycomb grid where positioning matters for your attacks. Every attack is active and executed in real time, requiring you to time one or more button presses to maximize damage; likewise, it’s essential to correctly time a button press to reduce or negate damage you take from enemies. Battles quickly started feeling grindy, and I found myself avoiding enemy encounters as often as possible. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but the battle timing felt inconsistent and frustrating compared to the game’s Mario & Luigi inspiration. I couldn’t find a rhythm to it. At least you can restart a battle from the beginning if you lose instead of having to load a save, but I often wondered why I should even bother.
There are four classes, two offensive and two defensive, each with its own skill tree and combat style. Characters have LP and EP (life points and electric points), and different classes and weapon types will focus on attack and defense for each. For example, you might have a weapon that focuses on draining enemy EP.
Keylocker. (Credit: Moonana / Serenity Forge)
You’ll do quests for and befriend NPCs as you explore and make choices affecting the story, which has multiple endings. You’ll want to try to interact with everything because the game has an impressive number of unique responses for checking out objects all over the world. Still, the game doesn’t offer many coherent explanations. You’re thrown in and learn everything through dialogue and interaction, with minimal exposition. I’m usually on board with that approach, but so many names and terms were thrown at me that it made me feel like maybe there was another game I needed to play ahead of this one. It led to me becoming disconnected from the story and characters and losing interest. The developers clearly put a lot of thought into the game’s world, but the quality of the writing makes it a waste.
The game is 2D, with pixel art graphics viewed from an isometric perspective. Character and enemy designs are inventive and look great when animated. The world, however, is rendered too flatly despite being isometric, with textures and details that all kind of blend together without adequate shading. I particularly disliked the game’s color palette. It uses pinks and teals, which I would usually like, but the shades are dull and muddy. Nothing pops.
Keylocker. (Credit: Moonana / Serenity Forge)
Keylocker was a disappointment for me. From what I read after its announcement, I was excited about it, but after playing the demo at PAX West 2024, I began to suspect that the game would fall flat, and I’m sad that I turned out to be right. It’s an ambitious game of scale that’s betrayed by the quality of its execution.
Keylocker is available now on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Overall Score: 4/10
Played on: PS5
