Very few games bring the rhythm action zany chaos that the Parappa the Rapper universe did. With two games and Um Jammer Lammy in the middle, it set up a comedic world full of possibilities with great rhythm action fun to be had. Few rhythm action games have toyed with a comedic approach but I’ve finally found one that does so with style. Welcome to Boyce the Voice.
Whilst Boyce the Voice is a rhythm game, there isn’t really music per se. Boyce accidently becomes a voice over artist for radio and tv jingles and adverts and so while there is music, the groove doesn’t come from it. Instead its about emulating cheesy radio inserts, using reverb for impact and trying to speed through all the legal jargon at the end of a TV ad. It is unique and absolute comedy gold if you find sending up these media staples funny. There is an overarching plot of epic proportions that I won’t spoil but comedy, absurdity and craziness hangs off every sentence. Boyce the Voice is beautifully unhinged.
The rhythm gameplay is familiar with a slight twist. As directional and face symbol prompts come in to the screen, you must press them as they hit your speak zone. The spin on the genre here is that there are two lanes and you must switch between them using a bumper button press. As the game progresses and the theme of finding your own voice comes to the fore, button prompts fade away at times before you can trigger them and so having a decent short term memory is useful too. Thankfully, Boyce has five difficulty levels and so if you think memory plus dexterity and timing may be too much, you can adjust the game to your skill level. Story mode is a no fail mode whereas easy and normal modes give you lives and replenishing health. Hard mode allows five prompt failures per level and nightmare mode is a one hit death mode. The charts do not change between the difficulty modes and you can’t change difficulty mid game so choose wisely.
Between each of the levels is a fully voice acted FMV cartoon cutscene. It uses lots of free images but oddly everything hangs together like its meant to belong in the same universe. This, alongside a harsh scoring system that demands perfection for a strong score, pads out the game runtime. Like the original Parappa, there are only six stages in the game. This means you can breeze through it in half an hour. Changing difficulties will bring many hours more searching for perfection but you’ll know the stages inside and out by the time you succeed. I found it a tad too short but the humour and diversity it crams into those six stages is well worth the price of entry. Add on timing menus to adjust your latency and you’ve got a cult classic ready to be embraced,
I had a giant grin on my face across my entire playtime so far with Boyce the Voice. It is a rhythm action challenge on the hard and nightmare modes but it is a comedic joyride for those wanting some silly escapism akin to early 2000 web comic humour. It was also a game that my partner ended up watching me play as they were engrossed in it too. I hope Boyce the Voice achieves a cult classic status as it richly deserves it. it is all from a solo developer too – impressive.
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