Musical Vibes RX Review (Xbox, PlayStation, Switch & PC)

Musical Vibes’ easy-to-dominate, concert hall rhythm infrastructure touches on a firm but often overlooked alternative to heavier-punching dance franchises à la Just Dance and Dance Central. Equipped with as little as a smartphone-operated camera system and a track list that allows for quick and seamless integration, it essentially fills a void that other major sagas have often left behind. Although considered a much, much smaller world with roughly half the assets and frills of a big-budget dance studio, Musical Vibes does achieve exactly what it initially set out to accomplish: to find and deliver a comprehensible dancing experience that doesn’t require a lot of hardware or lofty components to keep you sweating bullets and bridging cohesive rhythms whilst simultaneously earning a few points and shedding a handful of calories.

Behind its schematic that looks an awful lot like your traditional Just Dance doppelgänger, Musical Vibes fosters a lightweight feel that allows for seamless flow and navigation. Armed with a generous collection of routines and satisfyingly progressive themes, it gives you the breathing room to transform your own lounge into a booming stage. And the best part is, you don’t need much more than a smartphone to participate. The only caveat here, sadly, is that you do need a modern Android or iOS device with certain technical capabilities—Samsung Galaxy S9 or iPhone 6S, respectively—to be able to install the in-house tool and play Musical Vibes RX. It isn’t a dealbreaker, but it is something that we ought to mention.

Suffice it to say, if you do have the tech and the power to transform your own living room into a spacious dance studio, then you more or less have the luxury of being able to turn Musical Vibes RX into your own personal gateway into the fitness sphere. And, to be honest, it’s a rather large sphere, too. In addition to its sizable library of ever-expanding tracks and routines, RX also accommodates a multiplayer setting that allows for up to six players to thrash it out in its online lobby or with one additional player in a local co-op mode. What’s more, it features a classic rhythm mode, which essentially acts as an alternate version for players who’d rather use controls to execute prompts than break a sweat in a, well, traditional manner. So, quite a lot of bang for your buck, all things considered.

The general objective of Musical Vibes RX remains the same as most other routine-centric games on the market: mirror the actions on the screen, earn points, and compete against other players via a multiplayer mode to unlock additional tracks and routines. It’s a simple setup that doesn’t require much more than a good amount of wriggle room and a camera that can document your progress, nothing more, nothing less. And no, you don’t need to be a fitness fanatic or a dance expert to be able to unlock the full benefits of the game. You do, however, need quite a lot of space to work with, as several of the in-game routines do require you to swagger your flexibility skills just a tad. You don’t need a stage, but you might just struggle to breathe if you’re choosing to flail your arms around in a cupboard, if you catch my drift.

Alongside its decent collection of upbeat tracks and seemingly stylish dance routines, Musical Vibes RX also works well as a quality fitness tool, too. With a built in calorie tracker function that chronicles your progress as you move with the beat, the game doesn’t just focus on your abilities, but your well-being, too. And frankly, that’s something that you don’t often see in a dance game. It might be a simple addition that doesn’t add a great deal to the overall gameplay experience, but it does add an extra incentive to keep you motivated and forever pushing forward with the next steps. That’s worth the price of admission alone, to be honest.

Again, while you could argue that the likes of Just Dance has more to offer, with a larger library of music and a wider fan base to fuel its stage, I have to admit that, for a game that keeps ahold of a lot of the same instrumental elements and still finds a way to appeal to a wider demographic, Musical Vibes RX has a lot going for it. It might but the underdog in this story, but it’s definitely one that deserves to be celebrated all the same.

Verdict

Musical Vibes RX delivers a lightweight imitation of your traditional rhythm-dancing saga in an attempt to capture all of the same studio elements and homely performances with a price tag that’s half the cost of your big-budget blockbuster routine. It might lack the thrills and frills and lofty visual effects of a classically good-looking franchise, but thanks to its seamless UI and basic smartphone-operated infrastructure, it does make for a solid substitute that can allow for quick and reliable access to the dance floor at the touch of a button. And the that’s all that you need from a game like Musical Vibes RX: an affordable dancing app that provides all of the same functionality and benefits as a traditional series, but with the added convenience of being able to slip in and out with as little as an iPhone or Android.

If you’re growing weary of the usual flamboyant frills of a textbook Just Dance routine, then take it from us: Musical Vibes RX is a great alternative that you might want to consider the next time you’re itching to break a sweat and explore a wide range of musical styles. It might not boast the same level of technical complexity as Just Dance, and it might not provide enough perks to keep you coming back for a second, third, or fourth stint on the dance floor. That being said, with a rich multiplayer counterpart and a button-based rhythm mode that allows for varied gameplay options, it ought to give you enough to keep you mindlessly busting moves and shedding calories for a handful of hours or more.