BPM dev ditches FPS action for new top-down dungeon crawler spinoff

Over the years, games like Metal: Hellsinger, Crypt of the NecroDancer, and Hi-Fi Rush have proved the value of mixing rhythm action mechanics with other genres. There's also BPM: Bullets Per Minute, a part-FPS, part-rhythm game roguelike, which launched to some glowing reviews in 2020. As part of a recent Gamescom showcase, we've now learned that BPM creator Awe Interactive has been hard at work on a new spinoff called BPM Bitcrush, which looks a lot like BPM mashed up with pixel art shooters Enter the Gungeon and Nuclear Throne.

BPM Bitcrushed is a top-down shooter and rhythm game hybrid with roguelike trappings. It's set in a world where the Norse apocalypse Ragnarok is fast approaching, and you're tasked with stopping its arrival by finding the Azure Ember, which the game's Steam page calls "the universe's rhythmic pulse." Naturally, enemies stand in the way of this goal, taking the form of monsters dispatched by the ruler of Helheim, Hel.

Fighting back against Hel requires you to learn how to perform actions like shooting and dodging in time to Bitcrushed's soundtrack. As a roguelike, there are also upgrades to discover and characters to unlock that persist across runs. You can also customize the game with your own music, or stick to an original soundtrack while running procedurally generated dungeons and daily challenges.

BPM Bitcrushed doesn't have a launch date just yet. You can still wishlist the game or find further details on its Steam page, though, by clicking right here.

While you're waiting for more news, you can find plenty of options like BPM Bitcrushed among our picks of the best roguelike games and best indie games out now on PC.

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