Beat Hazard Arcade

Beat Hazard Arcade is built on an idea that sounds simple and turns out to be quite striking: the music decides what happens in the game. It is a twin-stick shooter in which weapons flare at the peaks of a song, enemies surge with the bass and the screen fills with colour that is synced to every beat. Because every song is different, every battle is different too.

The choice of music is yours. You can play songs from your own device library, which means that your favourite tracks become the soundtrack and the engine of the game. If you prefer, over three hours of built-in tracks are included free. This is the feature that gives the game its identity. A quiet, slow song produces a very different fight from a fast, heavy one, and many players enjoy trying out different genres to see what happens.

The gameplay itself is intense. As a twin-stick shooter, it has you steering your ship with one thumb and aiming and firing with the other. The action is fast, and the music-reactive effects mean that moments of calm and chaos follow the structure of the song. That creates an effect similar to a light show, with the visuals and gameplay following the beat.

The listing describes the game as coming from the console world. It states that the same gameplay was rated 4.7 out of 5 on PlayStation and that it has now been optimised for touchscreen. We cannot verify the console rating ourselves, so we mention it only as the developer's own claim. What is clear is that the game is an adaptation of an established title, so it is more than a quick port.

Progression comes through ships and upgrades. You can unlock powerful ships, and the weapons are tied to the music, so your choices affect how you play. For players who like to try different builds and see how they perform with different songs, there is a good deal of room to experiment.

A note for sensitive players: the game contains rapid flashing effects and a lot of colour and movement, as the music-driven visuals suggest. If you are sensitive to flashing lights, check the store page for any warnings and take care.

Beat Hazard Arcade suits fans of arcade shooters, music lovers and anyone who enjoys games that respond to sound. It may not suit those who prefer slow or relaxed play.

The game is published by Cold Beam Games. It shows a rating of 4.1 and more than 10,000 installs at the time we listed it.

A quick note on downloads: we do not store any game files. The button above takes you to the official store page for Beat Hazard Arcade. If anything here looks out of date, write to us from the contact page and we will check it.