God of Riffs Review: Guitar Axe Hero

Being a VR gamer is kinda funny — games that we’d probably never look at if launched on traditionally flat platforms (err… flatforms?) may suddenly catch our eye if they’re released in VR. While the reason is up for debate, I believe it has to do with the fact that there’s simply a dearth of VR games in comparison to flat titles. In fact, a quick look at Steam’s numbers show that VR titles make up less than a tenth of the of 50,000+ total games currently available (4,568 as of Feburary 11, 2023). So unless you want to let your VR headset collect dust (or be doomed to play only Beat Saber or VRChat until the end of time), your taste in games has to be a little less… discerning, per se, when it comes to VR titles.

All of this to say that the heavy metal rhythm/hack-n-slash crossover God of Riffs may look and feel a little unpolished despite its year-ish in Steam Early Access and subsequent release in September of 2022, but considering not only what’s currently on offer for VR gamers but its friendly $15 USD pricetag, we could definitely do a lot worse.

Simply put, God of Riffs imbues players with the power of heavy metal as they smite the undead by dualwielding axes (get it?). Skeletons and flying skulls will charge from the big boss in the distance, so players will need to smash the ones with blue eyes to pieces with their left hand and crush the bones of the ones with red eyes with their right hand. Set to the beat of glorious heavy metal tracks (and featuring the occasional video game soundtrack) with the possibility of a custom playlist to boot, God of Riffs fuses that hack-n-slash feel together with the standards of the rhythm genre in an energizing — even electrifying — manner.

At first, God of Riffs stood out to me initially as the lovechild between Beat Saber and Ragnarock. Beat Saber players will immediately recogize the left/right color patterning, while Ragnarock aficionados will feel right at home with this metal Valhalla vibe. Where God of Riffs is mostly able to set itself apart from either, however, is in its ability to sit squarely in the middle of both. There will be moments where you feel like you’re playing either Beat Saber or Ragnarock, but that moment passes pretty quickly as something usually snaps you back into God of Riffs. As for me? That something was usually the timing.

As someone who was rhythmically raised on Dance Dance Revolution, I don’t understand why more rhythm games don’t take a page out of the series — specifically with one of their more brilliant, yet subtle, contributions to the genre. As DDR arrows whizz upwards, anything on the beat is color-coded in a different pattern than anything on a half-beat, fourth-beat, etc. This small detail blesses players with a brief moment to read patterns quickly and plan accordingly — sometimes with only a split second to spare.

My gripe with God of Riffs is a gripe I have with most rhythm games in that this wonderful cue is missing, but it’s compounded with the fact that, at least in other rhythm games, I can at least see those off-beats, even if I don’t register them as such. Since the beats in God of Riffs are actual enemies, and they tend to form a tight-knit line on harder, faster levels, half the battle is even being able to see the same sized enemies after felling the ones directly in front of them. This makes for a lot of missed enemies in a straight row simply because they’re blocked from view.

Should God of Riffs employ some sort of color-coding to indicate off-beat enemies (like helmet color) or, in the very least, employ different enemy sizes (or different enemies completely), I can see God of Riffs becoming more addicting than it already is. Despite my gripes, swinging the axes at baddies actually feels pretty good — cathartic even — one you get the timing down. It’s pretty cool to see said enemies being sent forth from the big baddie in the back, so defeating their little minions really feels like you’re doing something with purpose. And that soundtrack? There are some serious head-bangers thrown into the mix that should leave both heavy metal fans and newcomers alike satisfied.

Although the aforementioned issues are a little annoying, I feel like it’s easier to forgive them considering God of Riffs’ pricetag. $15 USD for a title with potentially endless gameplay that gets you up and moving is a veritable steal, and that’s even more true if you nab it while on sale. After all — God of Riffs is still one of the relatively few VR games available (in comparison to, say, what I can play on my Steam Deck). If you’re itching to add more games to your VR library and already own the likes of Beat Saber and Ragnarock, you might as well pick up God of Riffs too.

God of Riffs probably could have used more time in the oven; the enemies are far from diverse and its story mode is set to release sometime this year. With that being said, it’s still a pretty good rhythm game that makes you want to hack-n-slash the demons charging at you, so in that sense it accomplishes its task. If you’re on the hunt for a new rhythm game for your VR headset — something kinda like Beat Saber and Ragnarock but at the same time its own thing — God of Riffs has two axes with your name on them.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Available on: PC (Reviewed); Publisher: VYERSOFT Corp.; Developer: Boss Music Games; Players: 1; Released: September 20, 2022; MSRP: $14.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of God of Riffs provided by the publisher.