PAX East 2025 had tons to offer, and while most attention was focused on gaming’s future (with a plethora of upcoming titles for attendees to get their hands on), few games caught my eye as much as 2018’s Just Shapes & Beats by Berzerk Studio.
It was the second day of the event, and the convention floor was packed with fans from all across the gaming cosmos—video gamers, cosplayers, table-top dungeon masters, card collectors, and more. Most booths were showcasing their newest creations: Namco Bandai had Elden Ring: NightReign; Devolver Digital featured Mycopunk, etc. Crowds of eager gamers packed each booth, but most onlookers observed with mere fascination; they were enjoying themselves, yes, but you couldn’t always tell that they were having fun just by looking at them.
It was while passing the aforementioned Devolver Digital booth that I heard heavy techno beats coming from nearby, and then a sudden cheer erupt from a crowd. I looked, expecting to see the latest tournament fighter, or perhaps a futuristic first-person shooter with the flashiest of graphics and biggest of booms. Imagine my surprise when all I saw were some simple shapes on a screen, and one of the largest audiences I had encountered at the con thus far.
Just Shapes & Beats is exactly as its name implies. Up to four players each control a small shape (a square, triangle, pentagon, or circle) as they avoid hazardous pink shapes that appear and move to the rhythm of the game’s electronica soundtrack.
The premise is deceivingly simple, but as the songs get more complex, the rhythm gets faster, and the bass gets louder, players are quickly made aware of just how challenging it can be.
The simplicity of its game play and its visuals is really what makes it so approachable. Indeed, within just seconds of seeing it play out on the screen, I knew exactly what this game was about, and was ready to jump in for myself. The crowd was really into it, too: young gamers, old gamers, men and women, families and those flying solo were all huddled en masse around the large screen TV, gasping when one of the players perished, and clapping and cheering in unison when the players triumphed. Many were grooving to the tunes. Everyone had smiles on their faces. There was no doubt that all involved were having a blast.
It floored me when I learned that this game originally hit digital storefronts seven years ago. Just Shapes & Beats has the potential to be a bona fide hit across all platforms, as it taps into that magical energy exerted from both the rhythm game genre and bullet hell shoot ‘em ups; both are thrilling to watch, require loads of skill to master, yet anyone can understand the objective with just a glance, and have fun attempting to tackle their challenges.
The next time you’re in the market for a fun party game to enjoy with a group of friends, consider nabbing Just Shapes & Beats on the platform of your choice; it first arrived on Windows and Switch in 2018, then Mac, Linux, and PS4 in 2019, and finally the Xbox family of consoles in 2022. Take it from this experienced gamer that if you boot this up at your next gathering, you could potentially have the whole neighborhood grooving to your moves.
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