DETUNED
ApeHardware · 2023 · Roguelike, Rhythm, Horror, Procedural Generation, Hidden Object
PC
Positive82% · 17
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Screenshots
About DETUNED
The festival is here. The music is everywhere, and it only gets louder as the main event approaches.
Too bad it hurts you.
You are tired of this. You have decided to seek a way out. However, it won’t be easy...
Playable misophonia
DETUNED is a bizarre game based on personal experiences with sensitivity to noise. It turns classic rhythm gameplay on its head: rather than hitting the notes of a song according to its beat, you need to avoid a randomly generated series of notes.
However, running around trying to avoid pain is not a socially accepted way of life in this town. You have a job as a pearl collector. Every time you arrive in an area, a pearl might be hiding in the scenery. Attention and constant movement will be the keys to your survival.
Twisted remixes
Every session of DETUNED is different. The songs will be remixed with gameplay changes every once in a while. Sometimes you’ll get to choose how to suffer, other times it will be up to a dice roll. You might be able to obtain items to increase your chances of survival… but only if you have collected enough pearls. Even if you make to the festival’s main event, there are 8 different endings depending on which special items you managed to get.
Audiovisual insanity
DETUNED’s graphics combine photographed doodles with pre-rendered lighting to create dreamlike images to look at while you succumb to stress. The songs haunting you are not the kind of music you know, but rather distorted recordings of random everyday noises.
Cacophonic controls
DETUNED can either be played with the mouse, the keypad or the keyboard numbers. Pick the option that makes your fingers hurt less… because your ears are going to suffer in both cases..
Bonus beats
Tired of the procedural generation? Reach at least 6 endings to unlock the song editor and produce your own creations of pure acoustic torture.
Want more items in the store? Having the save files of previous entries on the "ApeHardware’s Playable Freakshow" bundle will unlock a bonus item for each game.
Too bad it hurts you.
You are tired of this. You have decided to seek a way out. However, it won’t be easy...
Playable misophonia
DETUNED is a bizarre game based on personal experiences with sensitivity to noise. It turns classic rhythm gameplay on its head: rather than hitting the notes of a song according to its beat, you need to avoid a randomly generated series of notes.
However, running around trying to avoid pain is not a socially accepted way of life in this town. You have a job as a pearl collector. Every time you arrive in an area, a pearl might be hiding in the scenery. Attention and constant movement will be the keys to your survival.
Twisted remixes
Every session of DETUNED is different. The songs will be remixed with gameplay changes every once in a while. Sometimes you’ll get to choose how to suffer, other times it will be up to a dice roll. You might be able to obtain items to increase your chances of survival… but only if you have collected enough pearls. Even if you make to the festival’s main event, there are 8 different endings depending on which special items you managed to get.
Audiovisual insanity
DETUNED’s graphics combine photographed doodles with pre-rendered lighting to create dreamlike images to look at while you succumb to stress. The songs haunting you are not the kind of music you know, but rather distorted recordings of random everyday noises.
Cacophonic controls
DETUNED can either be played with the mouse, the keypad or the keyboard numbers. Pick the option that makes your fingers hurt less… because your ears are going to suffer in both cases..
Bonus beats
Tired of the procedural generation? Reach at least 6 endings to unlock the song editor and produce your own creations of pure acoustic torture.
Want more items in the store? Having the save files of previous entries on the "ApeHardware’s Playable Freakshow" bundle will unlock a bonus item for each game.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
UI is so janky that i just refuse to exploit this software, my time demands some respect, srry.4 found this helpful
Makes me happy, gives me vertigo, makes me scared. It's brilliant. Beautifully constructed piece that conveys all the feelings of existing in a space that causes you pain that most others can exist in without issue. The sense of pressure is like nothing else.1 found this helpful
Very cool concept, and has potential, but it was pretty confusing and needs more polish in terms of game play. If you think it looks fun should go for it, otherwise your probably better off finding a different game.1 found this helpful
The music gave me a migraine. In any other game I would consider that a flaw, but in a game where the music is intended to harm you, I think it counts as a feature.1 found this helpful
Ok so this game is really well made, and I really don't have any issues except for the price. + The gimmicks are really cool, both positive and negative DRASTICALLY change the game, from transparent fake notes to limited visibility. + The atmosphere is really eerie and cool. + awesome for a horror indie with no jumpscares + very unique game design, very well executed - The game is 1 hour long but costs 6$. if you want a unique indie horror game, i suggest keep looking instead because it is free https://store.steampowered.com/app/3293150/KEEP_LOOKING/ if you want a game similar to this in which you are constantly dodging entities...... also free https://store.steampowered.com/app/871720/Ultimate_Custom_Night/ and if you just want weird surrealism, this game is better priced https://store.steampowered.com/app/2198650/Surrealidade__Definitive_Edition/ Again, no qualms to the developer, this is a really solid game, it's just that this feels like it is a 3$ game max, as the alternatives are WAY cheaper.
DETUNED feels opposite from a rhythm game not just in its concept of avoidance, but in the absolute rejection of flow. Most rhythm games focus on the time after you adapt to their mechanics and feel as though your fingers have a mind of their own. In this game, your attention is constantly being demanded by several separate mechanics, and you have to manage more violent distractions as the run progresses. This works very well for its atmosphere; trying to find something which seems to appear and disappear at random while running from area to area to avoid an abstract concept is certainly disconcerting, moreso than the literal subject matter should be. In other words, by making the gameplay frantic, the developer turned a festival into a panic attack. Well done.
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