As a fan of music rhythm games, I’ve noticed that there’s very few available on the Playstation vita, especially in the UK, either physically or on PSN. Recent releases like Hatsune Miku Project Diva f and DJ Max Technika Tune have helped to fill this gap thus far, but now the popular mobile rhythm game, Cytus, is moving to the Vita to add some much needed competition and variety to the portable rhythm gaming scene.
Arriving via Sony’s Playstation Mobile service, Cytus Lambda should look familiar owners of the original mobile version as Lambda is essentially the same core game with several extras added exclusively for the PS Mobile release. While the current version of the original game contains around 60 songs, Lambda comes with over 70, 10 of which are part of an exclusive ‘prologue’ chapter containing songs not previously available in Cytus.
Since Cytus Lambda is based on mobile game, the game play is done exclusively with the touch screen, with no need for the buttons. During each song, you tap the note markers in time with the ‘active scan line’ constantly scrolling up and down the screen to keep in beat with the music.While successfully tapping, holding or dragging the notes in succession, you can build up your combo to help achieve a higher total score for the song.
If you have played other rhythm games before, the general difficulty of the game could be described as more similar to other touch based rhythm games like Osu!/Elite Beat Agents on the Nintendo DS or DJ Max Technika on arcade or Playstation Vita. Compared to these existing games, the general difficulty in Cytus seems more forgiving and doesn’t penalize you as much if you’re slightly off in your timing when hitting the notes in beat with the music and active scan line.
The full song selection available in Cytus Lambda covers a wide range of different genres and styles of music with a good mix of both slow, relaxing songs and fast paced, high tempo music. In the mood for Jazz? That’s in there. Have a craving for some drum ‘n’ bass or even dubstep? Ctyus has what you’re looking for.
When you first download the free game, the first chapter consisting of the first 10 songs in the game will be available to play. If you find yourself wanting more after speeding through the first set, the built in ‘pay wall’ message will appear, demanding a one-time in game purchase to unlock the rest of the game’s content. By this point, you should have a good idea whether you like the game play and music enough to pay for access to the other 60+ songs. Purchasing the full game also will give you access to future chapters and songs that Rayark say will be added to the game free of charge via future updates.
Review Summary
Cytus Lambda is a great addition to the Vita's PlayStation Mobile line-up and provides an entertaining rhythm game with a large library of songs for you to play anywhere. The informative tutorials and relatively forgiving difficulty even help to make the game more accessible to gamers who aren't as familiar with music rhythm games. As a free download to access the first 10 songs, Cytus Lambda is definitely recommended for anyone who likes music/rhythm games. Even if you aren't crazy about rhythm games but you're somewhat curious, you should give it a go and at least try out the tutorial.