AVICII Invector Review

Developed by Hello There Games, Avicii Invector is a beautifully created rhythm action experience. I have never been a huge fan of rhythm games, mainly because I am not very good at them, but as I’m fan of Avicii the soundtrack made it must a play. Plus, 25% of all the games royalties go directly to the Tim Bergling Foundation which advocates for the recognition of suicide as a global health emergency and promotes removing the stigma attached to the discussion of mental health issues. Even if you don’t enjoy his music, his influence in the music world doesn’t go unnoticed.

In single player there is a random story of a girl flying solo around the universe in a space ship, but this only serves as a transition between the level areas, which each have a different theme. Her ship is constantly breaking down and I feel it serves as a metaphor that thing can break down in life, but no matter what you should keep going as she always finds a way to repair it. She doesn’t want to return home and always wants to explore, another element of the fear of having to return to normality when you are having fun. She’s a little bit quirky and adds an enjoyable element to the game, but it’s a shame they didn’t build on this further as it would be good to have a deeper story. Instead the focus is very much on the gameplay and music within this game.

The gameplay is simple. You control a ship by tapping buttons to the beat of the music as you fly past notes on the screen. There are several different styles of button prompts during each level. At times, players will be pressing buttons on a traditional rhythm game layout, but then the level will transition to a triangular space where players will travel up the walls as they push buttons to the beat. However, that’s not all – the game then takes players through another layout where they’ll need to free fly their ship through pink circular goals, normally during a transition in the song. Normally you will have all three layouts in a song and it makes for some fun gameplay. You also have the boost option, where if you build up your combo enough you can activate a boost that will speed up your ship and double you combo counter, similar to the star power in Guitar Hero. Building combos and knowing when to active your boost is key to get top scores.

You have the standard three difficulties (easy, medium and hard). The difference between each is noticeable as it adds an extra button you will have to push during the song, with hard being all four standard buttons. You have to sometimes move you ship left or right. I found using the D-Pad to move the ship easier than the analogue stick and I am glad you can use both options. The LB move is also very common and you find yourself pushing that a lot

You can also play multiplayer with up to four people split screen. You all will have the same board and winning is about scoring the most points. In single player you need to unlock songs as you go along, but in multiplayer they allow you to pick any of the tracks from the start.
The graphics are colourful and on point. It is visually fantastic as you fly through space, hitting your button prompts. Each track is built to perfectly match the on-screen visuals. I never had any framerate issues and every world was beautiful.

There are 25 tracks to choose from and they are all some of Avicii’s best work. I did struggle in getting perfects, but I believe it’s down to my own skill (or lack of) and I still enjoyed playing the game. It is a fitting tribute to a brilliant DJ. Fingers crossed they can maybe do some DLC where they add more of his great songs like “Silhouettes” or “Seek Bromance”.

Conclusion

Avicii Invector’s visual style compliments the audio. I am not the greatest at rhythm games but I completely enjoyed this. If you’re a fan of the genre, this won’t disappoint. I love the music and I thank Tim Bergling for bringing it to the world and its ability to pick people up. Rest in Peace.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox One. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by the publisher.

If you’re struggling, there’s no need to do it alone. There is help available, whether it’s a friend or family member, or you’d rather speak to a stranger.
If you’re in the U.K, you can call – 116 123 to speak to the Samaritans.
If you’re in the U.S, you can call – 800-273-8255 to speak to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Click here for a pre-Googled search that should bring the most relevant result for you.