Fresh Tracks

Fresh Tracks is something as unusual as the combination of a music game (even with a story) mixed with roguelite elements. The fresh combination isn't the only thing Fresh Tracks has to offer, as we also get one of the best soundtracks of the year here, a pretty important element in a music game, of course.

Fresh Tracks takes place in the fictional Nordic world of Norwyn. You take on the role of Skaii, who, by gathering a group of gods called "Mythics", must defeat Mar, the "Queen of Terror", in order to get the country's population to once again tell each other stories about their exploits through so-called "Story Songs". The story is not particularly compelling or moving, but it's told quite nicely through dialogue before the levels and also in the song lyrics along the way.

The most important thing in a music game is, of course, the soundtrack. Fresh Tracks has just under 30 tracks, all of which are original songs made for the game, and it's an excellent soundtrack! There are several different genres, ranging from hip-hop and indie rock to various types of heavy metal and also very catchy pop songs. The pop songs in particular, complete with catchy vocals, are really good, but in general the soundtrack here is of a very high standard.

You take on the role of Skaii, who embarks on a perilous journey on skis through Norwyn. You can jump, double jump, lean to the right and left, and duck to avoid obstacles in the environment, and these can be trees, rocks, and other things. You jump from ski track to ski track, duck and jump, all in time to the music. Oh yes, and you are equipped with a huge magic sword.

Since the sword is a magic sword, it should not only be used to chop down enemies, activate switches, or remove obstacles (all in time to the music), it must also be used to collect energy, and when the sword is fully charged, Skaii can channel the energy from the sword to himself so that he can survive a little longer. Later on, you gain access to other swords that also have different magical properties.

Fresh Tracks is a roguelite, but not one of the deepest kinds. The goal is to complete 11 levels in one run, and of course that sounds much easier than it is. Naturally, you will die many times here, as the difficulty level is high. Before each level, you are assigned a "Charm", which can be, for example, the opportunity to try a level again if you die, to make the window for a "perfect hit" bigger, giving you an extra jump (i.e. triple jump), and many other things.

You can also continuously buy different properties and abilities, and the different types of skis also give different perks. As you unlock the different gods, the game is also modified with various adjustments that can make it harder or easier, depending on which god you choose to bring with you. So even though it's not the deepest roguelite out there, there are several elements from the genre that the developers have nicely incorporated into the music game.

Now, a music/rhythm game and a roguelite are two genres that can generally come with high difficulty levels, and Fresh Tracks is also quite difficult, even on the lower difficulty levels. The game simply requires you to put in a lot of hard work to learn the mechanics and how it all fits together, and I would say that the first 2-3 hours were about to break me, because I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. But suddenly it clicks (not that it becomes easy, because it never does), but you start to feel momentum and then everything gets better.

The visual aspect of Fresh Tracks is a bit of a mixed bag. However, these screenshots don't do the game justice, because it all looks much better when everything is moving and things are dropping onto the screen in time with the music. The visual aspect can, however, become very "busy" and downright messy at times, making it difficult to see what's going on. Again, understanding the visual aspect requires effort on the part of the player.

As I said, it took me 2-3 hours before Fresh Tracks really clicked with me. There's a lot going on, the difficulty level is high, but the combination of a roguelite-light (can you say that?) works surprisingly well.

If you're into rhythm games (and you're usually good at them), then you should take a look at Fresh Tracks, because it shakes up the genre a bit and the result is captivating, and before you know it, you've spent an evening in the company of the game. But the game demands it, because nothing comes easy here, and in return, it spoils us with one of the best soundtracks of the year so far.

Fresh Tracks is out now on PlayStation 5 and PC, and the Xbox Series X/S version is coming this autumn.