I don’t think my ‘vibe’ of game is as pronounced as it is for some other people. There are plenty of editors at TheGamer for whom it is easy to pick out upcoming games and feel they are very ‘them’ coded. Whether something in the trailer’s tone, the character aesthetics, or the niche genre, there’s an obvious branch. These branches are less obvious for me. I’m not sure if that’s a reflection of my broad tastes or my inherent dullness.
It probably doesn’t help that a lot of games I have considered to suit my own personal vibe have ended up being fairly disappointing in recent years. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, which styled itself for years as a spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio, simply didn’t have the sauce. Goodbye Volcano High, with its musically infused nostalgic nihilism, fizzled at launch and failed to commit to its harshest ideas. Stray Gods wasted its unique genre blend by being too keen to hug you and failing to properly explore its cast’s stories. And now, there is Unbeatable.
Unbeatable Is A Blend Of All The Games I Wanted To Love
I have a good feeling about Unbeatable. It’s not any different to the feeling I had about Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Goodbye Volcano High, or Stray Gods, but… y’know. It’s still good. What gives me a bit more faith in Unbeatable is that it seems to merge the vibes of these three games together, and with that cocktail is able to create something better. Something with more spice, more salt, more sugar. A game that, where so many others just didn’t have enough, seems to have more.
We see the rail-grinding and counterculture vibes of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, but the gameplay looks more unique than a Jet Set copycat and the punk tone is grounded in the lyrics “You treat me like a criminal/So why shouldn’t I treat you like you’re a cop” we hear in the trailer. The rhythmic gameplay seems more action-driven than in Goodbye Volcano High, its characters less soft around the edges and its angst less naively cliche. Its songs sound good, which… look. I really wanted to like you, Stray Gods.
It is one of the best feelings when a game comes out of nowhere and ends up being one of the best experiences you had that year – I felt it with Balatro, with Slay the Princess, and with A Space for the Unbound. But it can be an even better feeling when a game comes out of nowhere for other people and ends up being one of the best experiences they had that year, and you get to say ‘yeah, I had my eye on that one for a while…’
Unbeatable Is My Game To Bet On In 2025
Bragging rights aside, when you find a game early in its development and get to watch it grow, that can be hugely fulfilling. I’m hoping Bye Sweet Carole can deliver a return on my emotional investment in it this year, for example. I’m not actually that early for Unbeatable – I wasn’t aware of its Kickstarter, nor of its demo/proof of concept Unbeatable: White Label, and I didn’t even board the hype train seven months ago when it was revealed.
But that train has moved slowly, and with a huff and a puff and an almighty sprint, I can catch up and hop aboard. I have a feeling it will soon be morphing from an old steam locomotive into a bullet train, and I want to be a part of that adventure. Unbeatable just makes me want to root for it. I’m hoping that feeling at least pays off for me, with a game I love, but I hope that verve is enough to make it one of 2025’s big indie success stories.
I can’t quite pin Unbeatable down. Other ‘me’ coded games might be Despelote, because I like football, or the aforementioned Bye Sweet Carole, because I like Disney. Which, sure. I am looking forward to those games. I can’t point to a specific thing in Unbeatable like that, it just feels made for me. After being let down before, I really hope it is.
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