I think unbeatable is a beautiful game. It oozes character and style and life in a way that tells you the devs put their heart and soul into this game. The soundtrack is phenomenal, and the story unbeatable wants to tell is emotionally resonant. That said, while a beautiful game, it isn't a perfect game. There are quite a few rough patches that put a dampener on the experience. The most glaring issue, I think can be found in the rhythm sections. I really like the concept and physicality of beat jumping about stage beating up the various ghosts and cops that appear, but the camera jumping in and out made things a bit too chaotic at times. It added a lot of lovely energy, but in some stages there would be jumps that would make you lose sight of up down, left right and break your combo. There is a version that offers a less dynamic camera, perhaps playing with that makes it easier to get a grip on things, I can't say for certain.

On the topic of gameplay, some of the ‘mini-games’/side content felt a bit like you were just dropped into the deep end and you had to swim or sink without any idea if what you were doing was right or not. Chapter 2 and 4? Iirc. I think those sections would have been served with a bit more guidance. It’s not a game-ruining experience, you just gotta sort of push ahead.

I also mentioned before the story is emotionally resonant. Yeah, Beat's journey felt very familiar to me. It's a story that spoke to me personally, and I enjoyed it a lot because of that. I also recognise that the explanation regarding a main piece of the story is somewhat incomprehensible, and that there are people who might not like that. I won’t really get into the meat of it, but I think even without that clear understanding because the story's focus is on hitting your heart, it doesn’t really matter if it misses my mind.

I also noticed in other reviews, people have criticised the game for forcing you onward after a fail. At first I also thought this was the case, but really those people should just play the game a bit more. It’s certainly not the case for the majority of encounters.

Al Coda, for all its bumps and jumps, unbeatable is a game worth playing. Bear with the dirt, take it slow, and enjoy.