Wasting no time – much like this introduction – this rhythm-based roguelike presents its protagonist, premise and combat system within its opening. Cello, a puppet, lands with a bump in a strange world. When she comes to, she discovers a pair of carelessly discarded, rainbow-hued xylophone blades. They are among a few novel instrument-based weapons Cello must wield to defeat the nasties lurking in this mysterious realm as she searches for a way home.
It isn’t long before Cello discovers the friendlier folk who live here, with a small village serving as a hub after every failed run. A forgetful jack-in-the-box can teach Cello new attacks in return for tokens, while an elephant blacksmith can forge new weapons after being showered with gifts. Cello’s standing with the other villagers can also be increased through gifts, although these goodies are seldom found during runs. Gifts and tokens are the only items that unlock permanent upgrades and new dialogue scenes, so most village visits end with Cello returning empty-handed before venturing into the forest again just as she was before.
Success instead revolves around mastering the combat system, which has Cello attack enemies in time with the beat. Three buttons are used: one for melee attacks, one for special attacks and one for a dodge that has no cooldown. The rhythm mechanics are well considered, with several metronome options to choose from, including a pulsating frame and various lines and circles that can be moved freely around the screen. The aim is to string attacks together for increased damage by timing button presses one or two seconds apart. Button-bashing doesn’t work; it causes Cello to miss attacks amid a cacophony of clatter. Enemies’ attack radiuses are marked in red and also appear on the metronome, giving you a heads-up about when to dodge. Cello faces enemies automatically, and although she can jump, it is rarely necessary. Combat comes foremost, while platforming plays second fiddle. The music, meanwhile, is unexpectedly downbeat and grungy.
The forest comprises of small, truncated random sections that are heavily reused, albeit with the time of day shifting from sunrise to nightfall. Each section has Cello defeat a couple of enemy waves before receiving a reward, including power-ups and plug-ins that increase damage, boost health or grant minor perks such as stronger attacks after dodging. Junk can also be earned, alongside the aforementioned hard-to-find gifts and tokens. Junk can be traded for further temporary upgrades, including additional health, while a heroic teddy bear allows surplus health to be exchanged for increased damage and vice versa. Although base health can be doubled and damage greatly boosted, there is little scope for “wild builds” – Alpha Nomos is mechanically very lean.
It doesn’t take long to get into the swing of things, especially when so little changes from one run to the next and enemies even spawn in the same locations. Sadly, it also doesn’t take long to realise that the odds are stacked unfavourably. When my runs ended, I was often left cursing because my demise felt unavoidable. This frustration came down to a couple of recurring problems. At times, I had to face two or three “enraged” enemies simultaneously; they attacked with such ferocity that I needed to dodge three or four times in succession before I could deliver a paltry single blow. Because their attack radiuses overlapped, taking a hit felt inevitable. To put this in perspective, I could clear several “rooms” without taking damage and build combo chains of more than 50 hits, only for everything to fall apart against multiple enraged foes. Later, Cello must also face several large enemies with very wide attack radiuses. In a small battle arena, there can be no safe space to dodge into, even though these enemies deal significant damage. Back to the village I went, often without enough tokens to unlock anything new, simply hoping the next run did not feature similarly unfortunate enemy pairings.
When it isn’t frustrating, it is easy to appreciate how lean and focused Alpha Nomos is, only requesting a few hours of your time. Its soft visuals are also easy on the eye, with backdrops including rivers and waterfalls. Yet it feels oddly akin to a vertical slice of something once intended to be much grander, repeatedly placing poor Cello in the same forest areas and offering near-identical upgrade choices. The rhythm-based combat works well enough, and you might even find yourself turning the volume up a couple of notches, but many of the conventions we have come to expect from a roguelike are peculiarly absent, as is the lack of scope for exploration. It is certainly neat that Alpha Nomos tries to do something a little different. The problem is that not everything here works harmoniously.
Ribcage Games’ Alpha Nomos is out 12th October on PS5, Xbox Series and PC.