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Hands-on with Incandescence: an experimental rhythm game for finger drummers

Tap the magic crystal

Hands-on with Incandescence: an experimental rhythm game for finger drummers

Incandescence is a game for people like me, and probably people like you, too. It's coming out for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone on October 16th.

Unable to work without music, I find myself finger drumming on my desk every other minute of my waking life. A song comes on, and there I am, drumming away.

This is probably why Incandescence seems very easy to me.

It's an experimental game that adds a scoring system to incentivise your finger tapping.

Basically, you tap out a beat along to electronic music on a magic crystal with up to four fingers. The rhythm and stamina of your finger tapping adds to your score.

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The game encourages you to go faster but it's up to you to provide the style. Shove in some paradiddles and fancy finger moves, and see how it goes.

It's a fun little exercise but it feels bare bones.

Of course, I appreciate that Incandescence is designed to give you the freedom of finger tapping as you wish. It's supposed to be played passively while you're doing something else, really.

However, I'm interested in giving it all my attention, too. So having specific challenges to pursue would encourage me to play it for longer. Even a different song would be good.

Right now, it's a game that you can share your highest score with friends, but it doesn't mean anything - there's no show of skill here.

As it is, Incandescence might feel a little like a 'free mode' without the rest of the game attached.

Incandescence

Its design makes sense when you consider that developer Guerilla Tea came up with the idea while trying to find inspiration by rolling their fingers across the desk.

The game was designed out of this idle activity, but there isn't enough on top of that in Incandescence. I'd rather drum away on my desk knowing that I won't suddenly be hit with a Game Over screen.

That said, if you're a finger drummer, you may want to check out Incandescence when it comes out next week.

It'll be free to download and is supported by non-intrusive ads, so it's worth at least a look.

Chris Priestman
Chris Priestman
Anything eccentric, macabre, or just plain weird, is what Chris is all about. He turns the spotlight on the games that fly under the radar.