Launched today, Infinite Guitars is a vibrant RPG adventure where rhythm games, turn-based battles, and character progression mechanics combine. Developed by Nikko Nikko and published by Humble Bundle, it joins a charming suite of games under the publisher’s belt.
You are JJ, a budding guitarist on a journey filled with many freshly reawakened evil mechs. Humanity’s last breath is in you and the party of guitarists you gradually ensemble. Only with gusto and your rockin’ tunes can you overcome the monolithic threat, bringing everyone to salvation.
In premise alone, Infinite Guitars is enticing. We’re now in a world where Hi-Fi RUSH exists. The rhythm genre is bursting, as is the appeal of the 2000s era of game design and art style. The latter of the bunch is the biggest notch thus far in Infinite Guitars’ favour. Featuring striking character design where each character is distinguished in their own way, you’re subjected to a cell-shaded world that is incredibly anime. Over-the-top action sequences and cutscenes are aplenty. Visual novel-style dialogue tells your story, with charming characters that I already find endearing and may become a driving factor for me to see through the game.
I’m still in the early days with Infinite Guitars myself. Half your time is spent exploring an overworld in each given chapter, navigating your way through simple puzzles and progressing the plot. Making up combat is random and scripted encounters and boss fights where you have a suite of moves to doll out to your foes. Depending on the type of move, these often boil down to hitting beats to a rhythm on a music highway à la Guitar Hero. Though on top of this, another move type requires hitting a single button prompt, trying to hit the sweet spot on a ticking meter.
Full disclosure, I already don’t love Infinite Guitars. It has some odd pacing even in its introduction and isn’t without audio and technical hiccups both in and out of cutscenes. The polish may not be there but it is an entirely earnest title where the heart is absolutely there, even if the execution isn’t perfect. That being said, it’s a fun enough mindless journey thus far. Having launched on Xbox Game Pass too is a plus – resulting in a low commitment.
Infinite Guitars is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC and the recent Xbox family of consoles. For a Game Pass pickup in-between big releases, you could do a lot worse and find some fun in its zaniness.
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
