The gaming landscape is increasingly rich with titles where music plays a central role, moving beyond strictly rhythm-based games like Guitar Hero. Notable examples include Unbeatable, The Artful Escape, No Straight Roads, Stray Gods, and of course, the highly acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush and Sayonara Wildhearts.
Now, a new game is emerging on the horizon: People of Note. This role-playing game uniquely blends various musical genres with turn-based combat, adopting what could be called a ‘light RPG’ approach. If you appreciate straightforward RPG mechanics, the system functions quite effectively.
You step into the shoes of Cadence, a young woman who dreams of winning a major music competition in her hometown. However, after performing her original pop song at a public audition, she is dismissed by a judge who simply deems her not good enough. It soon becomes apparent that this very judge also manages Smolder, the world’s most popular boy band, who are on the cusp of winning the same music contest for the eighth consecutive time.
Cadence, however, refuses to accept this fate. She embarks on a journey to assemble a band that will broaden her musical horizons. Her quest takes her through several distinct, smaller worlds, each inspired by different musical styles. These include Durandis, embracing rock, punk, grunge, and metal, and Lumina, dedicated to electronic music. But as is often the case, unexpected events unfold; among them, four magical ‘Keys of Note’ statuettes become central to her adventure, naturally making everything far more complicated than Cadence had initially hoped.
Your expedition involves exploring these semi-linear, semi-open worlds, where you’ll encounter a variety of well-crafted puzzles to solve, chests to loot, and, inevitably, numerous turn-based battles against diverse musical adversaries. Combat largely adheres to established genre conventions: you can execute various attacks, utilize different abilities, and heal or empower your party members during your turn. To maximize your attacks, similar to games like Clair Obscur: Expédition 33, you are required to perform a series of timely button presses.
In line with the game’s pervasive musical theme, battles also feature several unique musical twists. Each band member is associated with a specific musical genre. When the combat music shifts to one of these associated genres, that member’s statistics are temporarily boosted for the duration of that musical style. Another innovative feature is the ‘mashup’ gauge shared by all party members; once filled, you can unleash a potent mashup attack, combining different musical genres into a single, devastating musical strike.
It’s also worth noting the inclusion of ‘puzzle battles’ that you might encounter. In these encounters, using a predefined set of attributes and weapons, you must defeat enemies in specific ways and within a set number of rounds. While not abundant, they are quite engaging and serve as an excellent way to familiarize yourself with your available weapons and abilities.
As stated earlier, I would classify People of Note as a ‘light RPG.’ This implies that while it functions as a complete role-playing game, it doesn’t delve into extreme depth, featuring a more streamlined set of statistics, attacks, or ability upgrades to manage. However, the existing mechanics are very well-implemented. A somewhat peculiar aspect is the almost complete absence of defensive options within the combat system, meaning you’ll often have to brace yourself when enemies decide it’s their turn to strike.
The narrative is driven by extensive dialogues between Cadence and the diverse characters she encounters on her journey. The voice acting is commendable, with a particularly standout performance from the old rock musician, Fret, whose portrayal is truly excellent. Beyond these dialogues, the story is also intermittently advanced through beautifully choreographed musical numbers and performances, which at times lend the game an almost musical theater quality and are genuinely impressive.
This brings us to the soundtrack, which, alongside the combat system, forms the very heart of People of Note. The game boasts a truly exceptional soundtrack, offering a remarkable variety of genres – a welcome departure from some similar music-centric titles. The music is of a very high standard, encompassing pop, rock, electronic, rap, and even country and western styles.
Finally, the visual presentation is colorful and appealing, with every design element thoughtfully crafted from a musical perspective. A prime example is the exterior of an elevator, which features a large fader, much like those found on a mixing console, moving up and down in sync with the elevator’s ascent and descent. This is just one illustration of the visual quality, a standard maintained even in the attractive user menus.
People of Note emerges as a well-designed, albeit compact, RPG. While it might appear to have a lighter approach to depth, its musical theme is far more than mere window dressing; it’s seamlessly integrated into the combat system, which is what makes People of Note truly compelling. While regular encounters might become somewhat repetitive over time, the boss battles are both challenging and exhilarating, with each boss featuring distinct musical abilities.
If you’re not a hardcore RPG enthusiast, People of Note offers an enjoyable and accessible experience. It creatively reinterprets traditional RPGs by weaving in unique musical abilities, and if you embrace this slightly simpler yet innovative approach, the game truly shines.