You would not necessarily think of skiing being a base for a rhythm game, but the team at Buffalo Buffalo have. The studio’s roguelike rhythm game Fresh Tracks takes up to the fictional location Norwyn, where you have been tasked by the Mythic Koda to reunite the rest of the Mythics to defeat Mar, the Mythic of Terror. To do that you need to complete the story songs of the Mythics, and defeat enemies while skiing to the rhythm.
Fresh Tracks has you skiing to the rhythm of the music, collecting whispers which are notes from the songs and also a currency to buy temporary charms. You also have to avoid the obstacles that crop up, meaning you need to switch from rail to rail, and you have to use your weapon to clear the path of enemies. Along with switching rails, you will also have to lean to avoid objects and hop to clear floor traps and gaps as well.
Each weapon has its own rhythmic power as well, but you start with Vygor which replenishes health when it is charged up. Other weapons are unlocked through completing story songs and getting more lore. Fresh Tracks has a good approach to its lore as it incorporates each of the Mythics into the tale. Mythics will accompany tell you stories of Norwyn, but each of the Mythics has new information for each lore. So, if you want the full picture you need to complete runs with each of the Mythics. Mythics also have their own boons that can help on a run, as well as their own favourite types of song. For example, Koda makes boss battles easier and prefers the more poppy songs. Mythics are only unlocked when you beat them in a boss battle.
As Fresh Tracks is a roguelike, you will be able to choose, the skis, weapon, and Mythic you equip. Skis offer different advantages from granting temporary invulnerability to discounts in the merchants store. Merchants are available during runs to buy temporary charms from, with these adding a bit more life or more charges to your weapon. Charms can also be picked up when you select which track to tackle on your run, but all charms disappear when a run ends. When your run does come to an end you will be sent to the start of the map, but shortcuts do get unlocked after you beat a boss, but these shortcuts are locked to the Mythic you had equipped when you defeated the boss. When you have unlocked a shortcut you will have to decide between taking that or visiting the merchant to get charms, so you may avoid a boss battle but you may also miss out on a charm that could prove to give you an advantage.
Fresh Tracks has original songs composed for it which cover a few genres including pop, dance, rock, rap, and even a bit of theatre. There are some bangers among the 28 tracks with Endlos, Ekkos, and Make Your Mark being my favourites. The first two could be in the charts, they are that catchy. As you go through the story you do not know which songs will be presented to you on the path, apart from the boss battles, and each one of these has a difficulty setting from easy all the way to having to be perfect. Again, on a run you do not know what difficulties you will face, though there are options which will remove either the easy or most difficult track difficulties.
Playing through Fresh Tracks is like playing through a story concept album, as the lyrics to the songs also link to the lore. The visuals of Fresh Tracks are decent with some levels looking fantastic, like Stille Mountain and The Kor. I did enjoy the voice acting too and the way each of the Mythics had their distinct styles while telling the stories that make up the lore, as well as each having their own music preferences.
While I do enjoy the music, some tracks show up a lot and that means the game can feel repetitive as the same levels keep appearing on runs. I’m sorry, but The Blizzard did start to wear out its welcome after a while. There also seemed to be some minor input delay on rare occasions, but it didn’t show up often.