Holodance Reviews

I don't have much time into this game, but after trying Beat Saber recently, my wife and I wanted something different. That game was really well done too however we wanted a more "dance" game not so much drums. As soon as we played our first song we knew this was the game we were looking for. The variety and MASSIVE library of songs it has makes it well worth the $20. I was a bit leary of the early access but reading into how much time and effort the Dev/s put into updating and polishing the game. Not only is the game a decent workout, it is also extremely fun listening to your favorite songs and artists. It is also really neat how the backgrounds and visuals look. It makes it that more immersive. All this and we haven't even tried the "story mode" I give this a 10/10.

This game is a mess of multiple unpolished features. There are multiple gameplay elements that you can find from other VR rhythm games, but that doesn't matter when there aren't any beatmaps to use those properly. Slapping huge pile of features on top of the osu! beatmaps results in a jerky and flowless gameplay. Maybe there is a way to setup the game so that gameplay is flowing and fun, but the UI is one of the jankiest I've ever seen. [strike]I don't know why would anybody want the whole user interface rotate at full field of view when switch to different panel. Sometimes the menu panels just randomly popup on top of each other, so you can't select anything. [/strike] UPDATE: interface rotation animation can now be disabled from the comfort settings and random menu glitches have been fixed in version 1.3.3. From starting the game and start of the first song can take about 5 to 10 minutes of fiddling with the settings and navigating different menus. Holodance would be a much better game if the developer focused only on few features and provided an easy way to make beatmaps with a good flow. Maybe that will happen in the future, but currently I can't recommend this game. P.S. What's up with the campaign mode? Why there are dragons??

Quite a satisfying rhythm game. Compared to Audioshield it doesn't allow you to load up your own music, but the advantage of this is that the orbs can be perfectly synchronised to whichever instrument you are playing, which feels extremely satisfying! The positioning of the orbs also feels a lot better than Audioshield, to the point where I felt like I was playing an instrument and dancing rather than just flailing my arms about randomly like I was in Audioshield. The game also doesn't care which hand (or head!) you use for which orb, which is for the best IMO as you can just concentrate on enjoying the music :-) The game isn't finished yet, and I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the tracks. Here's hoping for some Symphonic Power Metal (probably not, but I can dream) :-p Plus bonus points for fistbumping a dragon!

I just got my vive for christmas and wow, this game alone makes it totally worthwhile. So far, I have also tried BoxVR, Soundboxing and Audioshield but they all force me to use specific controllers to catch the orbs, and that is something that I find extremely limiting and annoying. Holodance on the other hand gives me the freedom to move and dance the way I like as long as I catch the orbs somehow. The others also don't let me catch the orbs with my head, which is a lot of fun especially in the easy maps of their story mode and even has its own achievement. And I just tried Holodance with my two vive trackers and catching orbs with my feet is a welcome variation even though I don't see myself trying this with the harder maps in their osu mode. There are a two things that I noticed that they really need to change in this game: 1. In Story Mode, the first song in the first level is much more difficult than the first track in level 2. In fact, the first track in level 2 seems like a perfect intro because it starts really easy and then gradually gets more difficult until the end of the song. That kind of progression would be a much better introduction to new players. I was really surprised they messed this part up after seeing how well thought out the rest of their story mode was. 2. The game has so many useful settings but it took me some time to find them. How should I know I need to press and hold the menu button to get into pause or the settings? How should I know I need to point at the lists and touch the touchpad and slowly move it up or down to scroll conveniently in the lists instead of the weird paging buttons or the scrollbar? This really needs a tutorial instead of letting players randomly stumble into those features after playing for hours. Some things I found that I think really stand out: The two modes the game has are so different it almost feels like getting two games in one. You even enter two different areas. Story mode with the dragons lets you play actual instrument tracks from the songs and you can really feel the music was created for the game. I hope they will add more content like that over time. We have a really large play area and the game makes you use it in a really nice way, even if currently only in one level: The third level of story mode. The grid in front of you where you need to catch the orbs slowly moves around so you have to follow it to not miss anything but this is slow enough that you can still do your moves. It's also fun to watch the dragons dance in front of you and move around you and makes catching the orbs coming from different directions quite challenging but not unfair. Psychedelic mode! I never switched it off since I found it. That bullet time effect and the strobes and colors add so much to the game because it is all controlled by how well you play. Wow, just wow! The music library in free mode is huge, and all the beatmaps I played so far were really good quality. This is where I found Soundboxing the worst in comparison because the challenges I played there so far were all just chaotic. BoxVR seems to do well with some songs but I also had some in the harder levels where it was very obvious that to them, the workout is more important than the rhythm. Not my cup of tea. Audioshield looks nice but the forced left/right catch-thing combined with the orbs coming out of rhythm and generally quite chaotic was just not fun at all. Holodance also lets you unlock environments and the environments I have seen so far were gorgeous and also quite varied, so I can pick environments depending on the mood I'm in which is really cool. There are still some other games I want to try but at the moment, Holodance is my favorite by far and whenever I think of trying another game I end up playing Holodance instead, especially after the underwhelming experiences with BoxVR, Soundboxing and Audioshield.

This review is based upon the state of the game in Early Access as of Jan 1, 2017. Not a traditional rhythm game, this game has a very limited selection of built in tracks, and plays primarily music from other sources. The sources are OSU files and the game does contain a link to a 3rd party website where you must obtain them for yourself. This game doesn't play your music library as its key selling point is accurate beat maps to the music. Thus you need the OSU files to be able to play anything beyond what's offered. It says it has a story mode, but as of right now it's just some static levels with some decently modeled dragons. Game progression is weak, making you play the same level 3-4 times in a row to different instruments to progress. Think of it like this, imagine that to unlock the next songs in Rock Band you had to play the same track as Guitar, Bass, Vocals and Drums in a row before you could play more. So that being said, what does this game offer? It has a free play mode that is solely designed to use with aforementioned OSU files. That is the real meat of this game, it's a VR representation of a Rhythm game interface that you can load 3rd party files into. I purchased this title for 9.99 and for using it as a VR OSU player so far it seems pretty cool. However, if I had paid 20 for this I'd be upset as I'd expect to have a decent amount of tracks to play included and not need 3rd party files for my gameplay past 30 minutes. I'm not against that as a game method, if you check my profile you'll see I have beat hazard and audiosurf. However, the store page for those games is very open about what they are. IF you are purchasing this on its episodic merits and story mode I'd suggest not purchasing the title, voice acting is ok, not great, and gameplay progression isn't fun. This is an early access title, something that I usually don't purchase after seeing too many games get dropped by developers as they wish to move on to something else. I've only ever made 3 exceptions, Minecraft, Subnautica, and this game currently. I like it as an OSU player and for that I feel it's worth $10 but I can't recommend it at a higher price than that as it is right now. Don't buy this if you are looking for a better working audio shield as it is not a beat generator, don't buy this if you are looking for VR Project Diva with a lot of great included music to start. Do buy this if you want to play primarily Japanese and electronic music and are willing to go to third party sites to get OSU files. If you go in knowing what you are purchasing I think you'll probably be a happy customer.

I can appreciate it for being one of the original VR dance/rhythm games, but it does not hold up to today when you have much better options. You have two options in the game, the original story mode, which is basically where dragons throw colored balls at you. The dragons are really pretty, but it all seems a bit random and out of place and I never really felt like I was "dancing". The second option is a free mode, in which they don't seem to have any songs of their own (the UI is also a confusing mess to navigate). It's more all player made maps, which means you might find something you like if you dig far enough but there seems to be no ranking, so you will have no idea if the map you pick is actually *good* or not. Even with some of the expert and expert + maps I played, I didn't really get that dance feeling like you do in something like Audio Trip, Beat Saber, or Synth Riders, unfortunately. I appreciate the fact that apparently it supports LIV mixed reality and foot trackers, but unfortunately I could get neither working with this particular game. The avatar in LIV would work, but then after a few seconds of being in the game it would be obscured by black screen. Holodance also could not pick up my foot trackers despite giving them roles in the Steam VR settings.

After seeing some gameplay videos on Youtube, I really wanted to like this game. But after playing Beat Saber for about 2 years and just getting into Synth Riders, I could not find this game enjoyable. This game probably could have done without the story mode, but it is an interesting idea and it was created before free play mode, which is the only thing that can remotely make anyone want to keep playing is if they like or have played osu. Pros: Has access to the osu library. Many many songs to choose from. You may like this game a lot if you play osu. The game has part of a story mode and I found the dragons charming. Plenty of environments that are nice to look at. Different ways to play, catching orbs, slashing orbs, shooting drones. Lots of options in the menus to customize your gameplay. Cons: Practically no tutorial. There is a box to read on the main menu, but it tells you almost nothing about the game. In all gameplay modes all of the notes can be hit with both hand interchangeably. Makes for dull gameplay. Lots of options in the menu to the point it was hard to navigate through them. It appears that you cannot fail songs. The story mode is unfinished. I found the very 1st level not beginner friendly at all. There is no difficulty to choose from in story mode, only in free play mode. There is an option to unlock later story mode levels automatically, and maybe it is just that this option is broken. I wanted to see if the story got more serious over time, so I picked this environment with burning trees. It seems like only the first 3 areas in the story actually have songs. Although somehow I got a song from the 11th area playing with the menu still open. It started fairly busy, but the notes weren't spaced out much and then later on only would have the occasional 2 notes at a time and was rather boring. Likely an unfinished song and not supposed to be there. This later environments wouldn't deload unless I quit the game. Very buggy. Maybe this only happened because I didn't play through the entire story and skipped ahead, but even so if the developer gives and option to unlock later level to skip ahead, it needs to be tested to make sure the game isn't breaking when it is used. Understanding that this game was the 1st VR rhythm game, it tries. But Beat Saber and Synth Riders do a much better job and if you want this because it has a shooting mode, get Pistol Whip instead. Only get this if you really like osu or have children who like dragons. You have to high five and fistbump the dragon to continue, it's kind of cute.

[h1]The good:[/h1] [list] [*]Automatic mapping. It's fantastic! It worked really well with everything I threw at at, and the layout of notes doesn't feel random. It's still quite a new feature, but it's seriously promising. [*]This game has the [i]largest[/i] manually-mapped library out there, at over 15,000 individual songs! Each song has between 1-10 difficulties, and they're all perfectly on-beat. This is largely due to osu! support, an insanely popular pancake rhythm game. It leans towards Japanese culture, but there's plenty of western music too! [*]Different playstyles! Jashan, the developer, is working on a few completely different ways to play the game. You'll find something to love. [*]The developer. Jashan is a fantastic, responsive developer who is clearly passionate about this game. You can easily chat directly with him through the game's Discord, or Twitter. Got a problem, or some feedback? Send it directly to him. Seems silly to praise, but it's critical to listen to feedback this early in VR. [*]Environments! There are many different areas in which you can play, and some of them even have interesting tweaks on gameplay that make the game more hectic or active. [*]Customisability. I have never played a game in VR that does this to the degree that Holodance does. Everything is adjustable, and whilst it's overwhelming to start with, it's something you appreciate once you've got it set up the way you like it. [/list] [h1]The bad:[/h1] [list] [*]Visual style. This is certainly subjective, however it's my belief that the game could use some love and care on the design side of things. This feedback is more aimed at the colour scheme and general feel of the game more than the designed environments. To support the sheer level of options that you have here, the menus can feel a bit labyrinthian. They blend into eachother, and it can take a short while to find the setting you're looking for. [*]Physical freedom. Again, a personal complaint. You have to be quite precise with your movements, and the plane in which you catch the orbs is thin. I feel like I can only really move during breaks, which takes me out of it a little. This precision however means that it it's quite easy to "learn" maps, so practicing one song several times actually feels like progression. Something that other VR rhythm games fail to deliver on. [/list] [h1]Feedback for the developer:[/h1] Jashan, you're a shining beacon in the world of VR developers. You listen to feedback, and act on it quickly. Somehow, even with such a small market right now, you're managing to do all of this and still be productive. It is crystal clear how much you care about this game. Please, continue polishing and improving this game. I want to see this become something amazing. If it means compromising, I hope you do it in a way that still preserves the spirit of what this game was at day one. [h1]All in all:[/h1] I highly recommend giving this game an open-minded chance. Go in with the expectation to spend some time perfecting it for your own personal experience. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how much depth this title has! The osu! library is flawlessly integrated and gives you many filters to use to find songs that fit your playstyle. You'll certainly find something you love to do in this game. If you played this game back when it first came out, play it again. It's vastly different now, and whilst the single player campaign is on hold, the free mode is just phenomenal. There's no such thing as off-beat mapping in this game.

I tried them all out: Audioshield, Soundboxing, Holodance, Beats Fever and Airtone. I directly need to say Audioshield was the worst of them. 1. Airtone (most expensive, great look and gameplay, limited songs) Highly recommended! 2. Holodance (really really great, nearby nr. 1 and by far nr. 2) Highly recommended! x (Soundboxing - can not recommand at this time as it is very buggy, uploading beatmaps does not work and virtual keyboard does not work for Oculus users) 3. Beats Fever 4. Audioshield Audioshield: it did not feel like a rhythm game at all and it had only a few sound-stages. The gameplay was not in sync with the music as the algorithm does not do that well. Every game with predefined beatmaps is far superior. You Tube integration does not help. Gameplay feels often chaotic and shallow. Soundboxing: Gameplay felt more serious as in Audioshield. It has user made beatmaps and a youtube integration. You can easily create beatmaps to your own favorite songs and share them. It has 12 different show-stages. -- Can not be recommanded atm as uploading beatmaps does not work and the virtual keyboard does not work for Oculus users -- Beats Fever: Good looking environments, 40 songs with predefined beatmaps. Songs are a bit generic, gameplay is okay but does not feel that organic. A bit chaotic at times. Holodance: with Osu! integration, great looking, fun gameplay, definitely one of the best. Through Osu integration nearby infinite gameplay. Highly recommended! Airtone: Best rhythm game out there, if you can life with Japanese pop. It has the best rhythm gameplay of all of them: you have to punch/slap the notes, just holding the stick in the direction is not enough; your punches/slaps make a sound when you hit so you hear the rhythm you are beating (not just a short vibration), the presentation is very beautiful, every song has three difficult levels, all in all very fun and addictive. 25 Tracks included. Highly recommended!

At 71 years old I'm quite certain most other players of this VR game are considerably younger than I am. I just started playing it yesterday. I've logged in 2.2 hours of play so far, gathered 10,200,000 points, and am enjoying it a lot. I exercise close to 3 hours a day, and this game will now add a bit more to that. Primarily arm exercise of course, but arms need exercise too. This game is different in that you are not just hitting targets flying at you, you have to use your brain too. You need to quickly determine what type of target is coming and where you need to hit it, and then move your arm in the correct direction to capture that orb and get the points for it. Plus you have very little time to make these determinations. Very much recommended for couch potatoes to help keep them from making permanent double indentations in the couch cushions. The more I use it, I'm sure the more I will understand. It's pretty user friendly though after you play a few songs. I'm still trying to find out if statistics can be saved for more than one person. Probably not, but it would be a nice feature. I've only been playing in the Free section so far, and primarily just racking up points in order to open up all the playing areas as soon as possible. Up till now I've been playing mostly AudioShield, Space Pirate Trainer, and PowerBeats. Along with them, I’m sure this game will soon become one of my favorites. Update -- today is August 2 and when I completed playing Holodance last night I had accumulated 40 million points. It's a bit addictive for me because I'm pretty competitive. I'm not concerned about competing with others, but I do compete with myself. At first I thought a million or two points a day would be OK, but now I don't feel like I'm done until I hit another 10 million point level in a day. Perhaps I'll even understand what "osu" means eventually. I do have a suggestion of how to get better and better with this game. Play a level of difficulty above what you are comfortable with. Don't play the easy levels just because you can win there without much effort. Maybe that will make you feel good, but that's all it will do. If you play above your present skill level, you will push yourself harder. Try not to let it bother you that your point levels are lower than when you are playing a less difficult level. Who cares? You will be getting more skilled at it at in a shorter period of time. Play for a couple of days at a harder level and then check and see how much easier you can raise your score on the easier level version. I'm so impressed with Jashan, the developer of this game. I presented him with several questions and a number of problems I was having while playing the game over the last week, and he answered back on every one of them. And he did so much quicker than I would ever have expected. I was starting to feel a bit guilty by being such a pest with all my questions, but then started to feel like I was actually participating in the further improvement/development of this game by pointing out these problems.