One of the hallmarks of brilliant game design is that, in retrospect, it feels obvious. An idea is placed in front of you that makes you think, “how hasn’t anyone done this before?”. Fresh Tracks is a new rhythm game from the new Canadian studio Buffalo Buffalo that manages to accomplish that. It combines skiing, storytelling, music and rogue-lite mechanics into a unique and compelling package that I am struggling to put down.

In Fresh Tracks, you play as Skaii, a human living in the fantasy land of Norwyn. Norwyn was once a land of great stories, adventure and excitement, but its people have become sheltered and withdrawn out of fear of Mar, the Mythic of terror. Your quest is to find and defeat Mar to restore your home to its former glory. To do that, you’ll need to conquer the story-songs of Norwyn, find the other Mythics, and win them over to your side.

This story plays out over a series of runs, called Journeys. In each Journey, you’ll select which story song you want to tackle next from a branching path, and eventually fight through boss battle songs to progress. These runs are pretty short at first, but as you defeat bosses and unlock the progressive acts of the game, they become longer and longer. Your health is the most important resource you have to manage through a Journey – run out of health and you’ll be returned to the start in classic rogue-lite fashion.

The rhythm mechanics at play here are quite deep and tricky to wrap your head around at first. There are multiple tracks along the ground that you can jump between — these appear and disappear, sometimes with just a single track, sometimes with ten. You can hop between them to avoid obstacles and collect resources, as well as duck and jump to avoid hazards. You also have to lean left and right to avoid walls, sometimes while simultaneously ducking and switching tracks. Skiing immediately feels like a perfect fit for a rhythm game, rushing through the environment, sailing past hazards to the beat of the tracks.

The real star of the gameplay, though, is your sword. Controlled by flicking the right stick, you use it to cut down obstacles, defeat enemies, and deflect projectiles. At times, you can just slash any way you want, but you’ll often need to slice in a certain direction to avoid taking damage. As you slice, you’ll build up power to unlock your sword’s ability, which might be healing you or sending out waves of fire to destroy everything in your path.

The storytelling of Fresh Tracks also kept pulling me into my next run. Each song fleshes out the world of Norwyn, telling tales of mythical heroes or of the vibrant culture of the heavily Norse-inspired land. While there’s no strong central narrative, each song becomes a building block in the larger tale of this world. There’s so much storytelling happening in each moment, in the lyrics of the songs, in the locations you’re skiing through, and most of all in the narration. The songs themselves are fantastic as well, and they cover a wide array of genres. Fresh Tracks has 28 songs in total, spanning pop, metal, rock, and even music theatre-esque numbers for you to glide through.

When you defeat a boss for the first time, you impress another Mythic enough to join you on your quest. The Mythics act as your narrators for the journey, and they each have their own styles and spins on the stories told in each song. Plus, if you return to a boss fight after beating it, you’ll be treated to a completely new fable based on the level — and each Mythic has its own section of it to tell. There is an absolute ton of replayability here, and if you want to fully complete the story, you’ll need to beat the game with each Mythic.

With all of that said, there is a certain level of polish that is missing from Fresh Tracks. There are little things, like how the music hard-cuts from one song into the next instead of smoothly transitioning. There are also some issues with the clarity of the visual design, which can’t quite keep up with the most hectic moments that the game throws at you. The mid-run upgrades also feel a little bit underwhelming after a few runs, as they don’t change each Journey meaningfully enough to feel like they really matter.

But the charms of Fresh Tracks greatly outweigh these frustrations, and I never found myself dwelling on them as I played. The core gameplay loop, the music, and the design all combine into a thrilling and addictive package. Every now and then, we are blessed with a rhythm game that manages to feel fresh and exciting. Fresh Tracks has firmly established itself in that hall of fame.