How many times have you frozen in indecision, unable to decide specifically whether you want to play an FPS, a roguelike, or a rhythm game? Well, I know how many times I have not. Here is a game that brings this disparate genre into an impure secret meeting, and its sweaty aftermath is as unsettling as it is fascinating. Let me explain.

I confess up front that for at least 10 minutes after I first started the game, I seriously thought I had run into a technical problem. Probably a bug or a compatibility issue with my graphics card. The saturation is intentionally turned up to a horrible level, and in the first area it gives the impression that someone has smeared syrup on my monitor when I'm not looking. This can be reduced in the menu, but not to "normal" graphics. I got used to it. Eventually.

The main hook is that both weapon firing and reloading actions are linked to a synth-like rock soundtrack. You must act in sync with the beat of the music. If you try to shoot out of sync, the gun will jam. If you try to reload outside of the beat (requiring multiple button taps), nothing happens. It makes sense that the enemy's attacks are also synchronized to the music. There is always a knife-edge dance going on between me and the monster.

This system takes some getting used to, but once you get yourself comfortable with it, it is a uniquely satisfying experience. With the clanging power chords and creaking guitar solos in the background, I funkily sprint through the dungeon like Bruno Mars on a hunt for the devil. Dun dun dun dun, the guitar murmurs. Pow-pow-pow, my gun roars, and I kill two bats and a worm. I automatically match the timing of tapping the dodge button to the music, even though I don't have to. It's strangely intoxicating.

But this blissful sense of synchronicity only lasts for about 15 minutes after I start running. The effects of the doom are obvious, and the more you run, the more apparent they become. Constant movement is essential (the BPM clearly tells you this), and the claustrophobic room is often crawling with enemies. The problem is that Doom has its own rhythm. It is an incessant, urgent rhythm that keeps you on edge until the danger passes. Squeeze this into the middle of a completely different rhythm dictated by the music, and it becomes confusing. Dissonance.

As a result, players are required to dance to two different internal beats simultaneously. This is certainly true in the second half of the piece, when the doom rhythm becomes louder and more important. For this reason, I feel guilty saying this, but the game only truly shines when the core of the rhythm mechanic is detached from the experience.

When I turn on the automatic rhythm, my weapons are unleashed from the soundtrack. Suddenly, I don't care that a little enemy (even on easy) can reduce my strength by 25% in a single blow. I can put my playstyle to the sound of Doom with all my might. Not only did I get better at it, I had more fun. You can appreciate the wide variety of weapons available. Boss fights became a challenge to look forward to, not a chore to fear.

Game modifiers that BPM has identified as a challenge can be unlocked. The one I happen to have access to is Full Auto, which really brings the game to life. The default difficulty level is hard, but all weapons are autofire, so you don't have to worry about the rhythm mechanics.

The roguelike design has a much stronger impact on the experience than the rhythmic shooting, which is partly why it doesn't work as well as one might expect. Oddly enough, there is no permanent advantage to be gained. No shortcuts, no new starting weapons, no increase in health, no increase in basic status. BPM, by the way, has a status. Factors such as range, damage, and movement speed can be increased by offering coins to statues randomly placed in each dungeon.

Coins can also be used to purchase weapons and items from two rather frightening shopkeepers, a good example of how BPM struggles with the concept of ordered chaos that is so integral to the roguelike experience. The only way to move between dungeons is with coins via a randomly generated bank. Both shopkeepers appear in each dungeon, but banks are much rarer. On rare occasions, one's pockets may be stuffed with gold, but then there are few banks.

Similarly, the distribution of weapons and abilities should be more orderly. There are some great things you can buy or find, such as miniguns, infinite ammo, poison trails, and teleports, but the best tend to be distributed on an all or nothing basis. There are also more dangerous variations on bosses. Let's just say that fighting two big bads at once with a basic pistol is not ideal.

Sometimes variations appear in the dungeon itself, but really this should be with the challenge. I don't mind being surprised by a low-gravity dungeon, but it seems unfair to suddenly be swamped by enemies who take or inflict additional damage. That should be a challenge of one's own choosing, not something one stumbles upon along the way.

Despite its flaws, there is much to like about BPM. There's a lot of rock-tastic fun to be had, but you have to dig deep to find it.