It’s not often that I sink a lot of time into demos nowadays, with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and World Championship Snooker being the only two memorable ones in my life. Then, along came Mr Records. Damn you Mr Records.
Reminding me a little of Thank Goodness You’re Here in its bold, cartoon presentation, it’s a looker. Donning the underpants of George, an elderly record store owner, you’ll jump, kick, slide and slip through level after level of rhythm game goodness, hitting enemies to the beat whilst humming along to some really quite catchy tunes.
Power of Imagination is the first record you’ll be playing through, a Beatles-esque ditty set in a world of bright colours, legally distinct Piranha Plants and cliff-edge drops. As expected, you’ll lose points for missing the beat but, on these earlier stages at least, things don’t get too taxing. Finish the level perfectly and you’ll be able to open up a tougher version to bop your way through. Simple. Effective. Moreish.
The plot point of these jaunts (yes, there’s a plot), is so that George knows the records before he sells them in his record store below his charming little bedsit. Once a level has been completed, George will slap on a price sticker and add it to the collection to sell. Higher level completion means higher prices, incentivising repeat plays to get all gold stars.
The other half of this game has you completing simple puzzles for customers that visit your store. They’ll describe a record, maybe by colour of LP sleeve or by band members and you’ll have to serve up exactly what they’re after. A simple task in this preview with only a few records but I can see how this might get more taxing in later levels.
For any fans of slightly surreal comedy, this is giving off big The Mighty Boosh and Flight of the Concords vibes. It’s hard to put my finger on exactly why but there’s a sense of playfulness that you can’t help but smile at. It’s the infectious happiness that I really wasn’t expecting. Every level is a joy to play through and even messing up the final part of a level has never made me rage in ways that Guitar Hero or Rock Band has. It’s simply an excuse to play it all over again.
Things do get more taxing as you work your way through the catalogue of LPs. Enemies stack up and need to be knocked down and kicked multiple times. The world rotates to the beat and even shrinks on-screen making timing more reliant on feeling the beat rather than just aiming for a dot on-screen. On higher difficulty levels, beats are more syncopated and will test your sense of rhythm. There a lot of ideas on show even at this early stage and I’ll be delighted to see what other crazy obstacles we’ll face in the full game.
Hanging out in the record store just listening to the lo-fi tunes. Playing through The Sausage Blues or Get the Funk Up! Petting your best boy, Buzz as he drifts off to sleep in his bed at night. You owe it to yourself to give Mr Records a go, even if you’re not usually a fan of the genre.
With a demo available right now on Steam, there’s no excuse not to try out what might be the most joyous game I’ve played this year.
Mr Records is coming to PC, but has no current release date.
