Chime, Zoë Mode Game

Last weekend I was looking on Steam at upcoming releases and spotted what looked to be a fun platform game called Blade Kitten.  As always after adding it to my basket I checked what other people had been buying at the same time and spotted Chime.  It appeared to have all the ingredients I like for an impulse purchase - it was under £5.  It also looked like your a-typical casual game - fitting right in there with the likes of Bejeweled, Lumines and Magnestis.  The type of game you're meant to play for 5 or 10 minutes... and right now I'm addicted.

Chime is all about placing shapes on a grid to make music. You control a single shape at a time, and can move, rotate, and then place it on the grid. A beatline moves across the grid in time with the music, and sets off events when it hits placed shapes. Quads are created by placing shapes in solid blocks of 3×3 or more. When a quad is completed and the beat line hits, different musical samples are triggered dependent on its shape.

The gameplay may be simple, but it's incredibly captivating and it didn't take long for me to be totally hooked.  The added addition of global leaderboards so you can see how well you're doing and compete against everyone else who's been playing just increases the playability.

The soundtrack is also excellent, with tracks from Philip Glass, Moby, Paul Hartnoll, Markus Schulz, Fred Deakin, and my personal favourite (and exclusive to the Steam version of the game) a track by Jonathon Coulton from the game Portal.  As you're playing you'll find yourself bopping along to the ambient electronica (and when you stop you'll be humming it).  If I have one complaint it's that there are only 6 tracks.  I have my fingers crosses that at a later date there will be some DLC with new music and levels.  But for now I'll just have to get back to the 6 that I do have!

Oh, and I did play Blade Kitten a bit but not as much as I've played Chime.

As an aside, Chime is published by OneBigGame, the video game charity, a proportion of the proceeds from buying the game through Steam go to charity.