''Synth Riders'' is a

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

rhythm game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to pres ...

developed and published by Kluge Interactive. It involves players touching spheres ('notes'), tracing lines ('rails'), and avoiding obstacles that move towards them. Following an

early access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...

release in July 2018, the game was officially released for

Steam VR Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront by Valve. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 as a way for Valve to provide automatic updates for their games, and expanded to distributing and offering third ...

and

Meta Quest The Oculus Quest is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Oculus, a division of Meta, Inc., released on May 21, 2019. Similar to its predecessor, Oculus Go, it is a standalone device that can run games and software wirelessly under an ...

on May 21, 2019, and supports most

virtual reality headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR ...

s including

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...

Oculus Quest The Oculus Quest is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Oculus, a division of Meta, Inc., released on May 21, 2019. Similar to its predecessor, Oculus Go, it is a standalone device that can run games and software wirelessly under an ...

, Quest 2, Quest 3 and Quest Pro,

PlayStation VR The PlayStation VR (PS VR, known by its code name Project Morpheus during development) is a virtual reality headset developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, which was released in October 2016. It is fully functional with the PlayStation 4 an ...

PlayStation VR2 The PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2) is an upcoming virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5 home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment set to be released February 22, 2023. History Sony's first PlayStation VR was released ...

HTC Vive VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote appl ...

Pico 4 PICO 4 is a virtual reality headset developed by ByteDance. It is designed for virtual reality games and is only available in Europe and East Asia (China, South Korea, Japan and Singapore). It is currently not available in the United States. PIC ...

Valve Index The Valve Index is a consumer virtual reality headset created and manufactured by Valve. Announced on April 30, 2019, the headset was released on June 28 of the same year. The Index is a second-generation headset and the first to be manufacture ...

and

Apple Vision Pro Apple Vision Pro is an upcoming mixed-reality headset developed by Apple Inc. It was announced on June 5, 2023, at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, with availability scheduled for early 2024 in the United States and later that year in ...

Gameplay

The game is designed for

s and requires at least one

motion controller In video games and entertainment systems, a motion controller is a type of game controller that uses accelerometers or other sensors to track motion and provide input. History Motion controllers using accelerometers are used as controllers for ...

on all platforms except for

, which utilizes

hand tracking In the field of gesture recognition and image processing, finger tracking is a high-resolution technique developed in 1969 that is employed to know the consecutive position of the fingers of the user and hence represent objects in 3D. In addit ...

. Players have access to a selection of music tracks, each of which can be played at different difficulty levels. Additionally, players can choose from a range of virtual environments known as 'Stages', which can be paired with any song. Alternatively, they may opt for one of the 'Experiences'- visual animations inspired by and synchronized with specific songs. Upon selecting a song, notes and rails appear and move towards the player who must match the correct colored hand to the object. Aside of the regular objects there are also special sections attracting bonus points. These are either gold objects, which must be played with both hands, or green objects, where the player must use the hand first used to complete all objects in that section. Additionally, players need to navigate around obstacles that occasionally appear in the game, which can be accomplished through ducking or dodging to the sides.

Development

''Synth Riders''s development started in 2016, when Kluge Interactive began experimenting with VR technology. It was conceived by creative director Abraham Aguero, who collaborated with another developer, Jhean Ceballos, in designing and building the game. The concept took shape through a series of prototypes, and it made its debut on July 12, 2018 as an

title on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

. After the release, Aguero listened to community feedback as the game underwent successive updates. Reflecting on the initial years, he mentioned, "The first two years were pretty much me watching people play on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

for hours. I'd jump into their stream, hearing their feedback, asking them questions." The game left

and was released for

and

on May 21, 2019. In the following years, the game was expanded through the addition of new gameplay modes. Major updates included cross-platform multiplayer, Spin Mode, Spiral Mode, and

Mixed Reality Mixed reality (MR) is a term used to describe the merging of a real-world environment and a computer-generated one. Physical and virtual objects may co-exist in mixed reality environments and interact in real time. Mixed reality is largely synony ...

Mode. Aguero claims that part of the team's strategy involves porting ''Synth Riders'' "everywhere we can".

Mixed reality Mixed reality (MR) is a term used to describe the merging of a real-world environment and a computer-generated one. Physical and virtual objects may co-exist in mixed reality environments and interact in real time. Mixed reality is largely synony ...

features for visionOS became available through

Apple Arcade Apple Arcade is a video game subscription service offered by Apple Inc. It is available through a dedicated tab of the App Store on devices running iOS 13, tvOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina or later. The service launched on September 19 ...

with the release of the

headset on February 2, 2024.

Song packs

Base game

Paid DLC

Reception

''Synth Riders'' received "generally favorable" reviews according to

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. The game was featured by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' in their list of The Top 50 VR Games of 2019. In 2020, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' acknowledged the fitness aspect of the game, placing it among the top 10 VR fitness apps, calling it "Joyful, even if you look ridiculous to onlookers." ''

Push Square Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...

'' appreciated the ability to personalize gameplay according to one's preferences. As they noted, "The game is also a very malleable one, with an almost overwhelming number of modifiers and settings to play around with."

Awards

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://synthridersvr.com/ Virtual reality games Mixed reality games HTC Vive games Meta Quest games Oculus Rift games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation 5 games PlayStation VR games PlayStation VR2 games Valve Index games VisionOS games Windows games Rhythm games Single-player video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer games Apple Arcade games 2019 video games