First things first and a warning for people sensitive to unpolished games.
The game is very indie, has a fair amount of bugs and feels very rough to play due to a lack of experience from the devs on a technical level.
If that doesn't sound like something you can handle then I don't recommend the game.

Now this game just oozes soul. The art direction is beautiful, the voice acting is beyond charming and the music is brilliant!
I rarely laugh while playing games but I couldn't stop laughing and smiling throughout the entire story mode.
In a lot of ways the world and characters reminds me of Double Fine and how their games feel.
However this isn't really a platformer and more of a boss rush game so don't expect a huge world to explore or anything.

So No Straight Roads is a beat 'em up and feels a bit like a XB360/PS3 type game or something that would have come out in that era but the gimmick here is that the enemies move to the beat of the rhythm even though you're free to move without having to time button presses (outside of parries)
In that regard the game is very simple and honestly if you just play the normal mode and go straight for the end then you're gonna beat the game very quickly and without much difficulty.

My biggest issue with the game is honestly everything outside the normal main game.
Normal difficulty is way too easy and I think the crazy tracks are where the gameplay actually truly shines in terms of fun and difficulty.

But the parry mode and perfect parry modes are just ♥♥♥♥ for a lack of a better word.
While there is plenty of heals and freedom to how you play normally, parry mode limits you to only parries and this is when you will really feel how busted the timings can really be and sometimes right up off beat with the music which feels really bad and a lot of trial and error to figure out timings.
Perfect parry gives you 1 hp so you have to perfect the fight which is miserable cause of how buggy the game is and near impossible to play without exploits.
So I really recommend ignoring the parry mode stuff in the post game and just enjoying the game for what it is.

Overall despite a few bad side modes and how more or less pointless the whole skill tree and sticker system is, I really think the charming characters and world really makes this an experience worth experiencing!

music racism

I got this game on sale for $3 and immediately spent 1.5 hr on it. Although it was a very short gamin session, i can say that i had more fun in my first 1.5 hr of playing NSR than in my 1+ year of playing CS and opening cases. From the character design, art style, and story, this game brings a fresh rhythm game to not only rhythm game enjoyer but also cozy game enjoyer.

I would usually have a very hard time enjoying a cutscene with very long dialogue that can go as far as 10 minutes, but the stunning illustration makes it enjoyable to sit back and watch every character yapping without having to touch that skipping button. NSR also mixes 2D and 3D assets, which can increase immersion for players not only when triggering cut scenes but also when conversing with NPCs. The world-building was also very well made! Especially with Sayu being a vtuber in the game (ily sayu-chan).

I haven't listened to most of the soundtracks yet I still want to thank James Landino, I love the mixed version of rock and base! I bought this game hoping to have a lil adventure time around the city but instead, i got a VIP seat of an EDM x rock concert with a free game on the side. All of that aside, the camera is a bit wonky sometimes and it bothers me only when exploring the city. Nevertheless, the charm of NSR will always have a special place in my heart.

NSR wasn't bad by any means, but OH MAN did it REEEAAALLY miss a few things.

For context I played with keyboard and mouse, and I am aware that this was made for the PS4/PS5/ being played with a controller. Looking around the environment was AWFUL for mouse. It has mouse acceleration that you can't even disable in settings. I set my camera settings to 0 and at still was moving my camera at fast speeds. I tried with Controller, and it was better, but not really my preference (please take this with a side of salt). Not to mention, some of the key inputs weren't responding when you are at the sewers menu!-IF you are using keyboard and mouse that is. I would have to SPAM my enter key just for me to move on with the game!

Next is the game play: So there are some UPS and DOWNS to the game play in my experience.
There is a SINGLE PLAYER option, and a TWO PLAYER option. After playing the game all the way through, I now know that this game was INTENTIONALLY made for two players. Later within the game, you come across a boss who's fight is like a guitar hero lane-you avoid hazards by moving left to right. If you are playing single player, you have to play 2 SEPARATE LANES!!! AT THE SAME TIME!!! It was very discouraging and frustrating. Next, there are items in the game that you can pick up, but you physically have to touch them in order for you to collect it. The same goes for the "music notes" that you need for certain boss fights, they disappear in a matter of seconds once they pop up.


Next, the enemies. You come across environment hazards and enemies that just feel like a road block to make the game engaging, but its really stale in my opinion. The enemies you encounter too just kinda stand around, waiting for you to walk up to them and destroy them. Not saying that they weren't threats, because often they spam a move to were you can't reach them without taking a beating first. With this being mentioned, I'm going to follow up with the fighting of this game. All you really need is one healing ability, and one offensive ability. EVERYTHING ELSE, USELESS!!! And-AND! I must share how infuriating it is, when you are using an ultimate move that is able to destroy all surrounding enemies, but you have to be super close to those enemies in order for that too happen. I didn't even use any of the ults after I practiced a few of them. None of them were beneficial in the slightest.

There IS an upgrade where you don't receive ANY damage, but at the cost of your score at the end of the boss battle. I would selected this but I ain't no chicken ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Next is the Story (Feel free to skip this if you don't want any spoilers.)
Main story was REEEAAAALLLY boring. Once you play the first two bosses, every other boss feels empty right until the very LAST boss. But even so, as the story goes on, everything just seems predictable. I had a better time experiencing the side story of Zuke (the green guy) with his brother DK West about their misunderstanding of each other. BUT HIS BATTLE IS THE GUITAR HERO LANE BOSS MENTIONED EARLIER THAT IS DIFFICULT TO MULTI TASK!!! Zuke had more depth of a character than Mayday, which is really saddening because I WANT to like her, but they way that she is portrayed in the game makes me dislike her.

The voice acting and writing for this too was... "erm... awkward." in that exact cringe quirkiness. ESPECIALLY for Mayday.

Lets move onto the art and design choices: BEAUTIFUL! GORGEOUS! I LOVED EVERY LITTLE PIECE OF ART THAT WAS USED AND SEEN! SOOOO much creativity was stored in this game! Every character was proudly made with bright vibrant colors and interesting design choices! Unnatural skin tones, extra limbs, silhouettes, special abilities, the creative range that was put into this game is astounding! Which is such a real shame honestly, because I WANT to like this game, but I didn't really enjoy it other than the artwork that was created for this.

If you are wanting to buy this game I'll give you a few warnings: Play with a controller, continuously dodge every attack from bosses, jump slam every enemy and crate you come across, and play with a friend.

My rating: 6/10 This game was like a half-baked loaf of bread.

For all that it's very aggressively music-themed, there isn't a lot of rhythm game in here, so if that's what you're after this might not be the best pick. It's visually lovely, great art direction, charmingly written. Some bugs, as has been mentioned, but it really does have a lot of heart to it. Solid grab on sale.

this game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ rocks its so damn good, please play this game if you havent its so good

Music, Story, Art, Voice Acting

Malaysia Boleh!

short but great hack n slash
the rhythm game aspect isn't as pronounced as i'd hope it to be, but its noticeable
like, you can easily beat the game without following rhythm patterns, but that doesn't make the game bad in any way.

has a solid ost and good visual style. would recommend it on a discount because it's a very short game.