If Disco Kitten ($0.99) teaches us anything about rhythm games, it’s that they don’t need any licensed music or any fancy gimmick controllers to be good. Instead of being the next “rhythm” game that gets lost in the shuffle, Disco Kitten is a game that focuses on the music as an enhancement more than being the core way to play the game.
Where Disco Kitten begins to shine is in the energy collecting, which happens to be what you’ll be doing for most of the game. You just tap where you want your cat to move, and he’ll collect the energy from an assortment of tanks as they fill up. This is where the challenge comes in, as your kitten will be killed if you are on a tank while it’s being filled.
Challenge may be a bit of a strong word because there really isn’t any way to die in Disco Kitten’s main “Classic” mode, so you could probably keep playing forever without failing a level if you felt like it, at least on the easier end of the difficulties. The real trial comes down to emptying the energy tanks before they explode, and from trying to obtain a high score. Still, there does seem to be a lack of testing moments, particularly for a game of this type.
Having music integrated in a puzzle game is essential, and Disco Kitten takes things one step further by incentivizing you to play along with the beat. If you listen carefully, you can tap along to the timing of the music which makes the whole experience more amusing, and is a great incentive to keep playing level after level. Once you really get the hang of the beats, you’ll find each new level to be a reward offering new music for you to play along to.
If you find yourself craving more levels, there are five difficulty levels to master and each of those has their own set of levels to complete. Survival mode also extends playtime to almost infinite heights by offering a mode where you can literally play forever if you’re good enough. Chances are you will fail eventually, but there are a few power-ups and utilities available for purchase if you’re struggling too much. Purchasing items does seem a bit of a strange add-on, considering you cannot use them in the classic mode at all.
Score sharing is always good, and you can use both Crystal and Game Center to share them with friends. Survival is where you’ll likely be using this feature the most, because it requires much more patience and skill than the classic mode to play. Disco Kitten is universal, although the larger screen of the iPad seemed to lend itself better to more accurate tapping.
It’s nice to see a refreshing take on a rhythm game these days, and it’s even greater that Disco Kitten doesn’t rely on gimmicks or licensed songs to throw smoke and mirrors over its action. Playing the game is a relaxing, yet engaging escapade that you’ll be tapping your feet to for quite some time.
