Headbangers: Rhythm Royale Review – Listen… Play! (PS5)

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is a battle royale with a rhythm-action twist. And pigeons. I promise they are pigeons. Developed by French studio Glee Cheese and published by Team 17, Headbangers: Rhythm Royale sees you and 29 birds battle it out in online multiplayer, competing in a series of player versus player mini-games. Replicate rhythms, identify sounds or perform in operas in order to earn the title of Master Headbanger. 

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is bopping on PlayStation for £15.99, Steam and Nintendo Switch for £19.99 ($19.99). Headbangers is also available on Xbox, and is included with Game Pass. 

Story – Pigeon in Action

Seeing as Headbangers is a musical take on the battle royale genre where you try to prove you are a peck above the rest, there is no linear narrative or hard-hitting plot twists waiting to be uncovered. However, that doesn’t stop these feathered musicians from displaying their plucky personalities. The minigames are hosted by bird brained presenters, whose traits are displayed through their chosen attire and surroundings. You will meet prestigious opera conductors, robed monarchs and gym instructors who will show you the beak of avian physique. Most importantly, Headbangers: Rhythm Royale provides undeniable evidence that pigeons are in fact secret government agents. 

Guess the composer in this top secret government mission.

Gameplay – Let’s Get This Bread

Moving swiftly on, Headbangers: Rhythm Royale has friendly and approachable controls, all 23 mini-games using the face buttons. There is little gaming skill needed, albeit you will benefit from knowing which button is where. The majority of the challenge will test your musical ear and sense of rhythm, as well as your ability to cope under pressure. However, overall success relies on you out-performing 29 competitors in a series of qualifying rounds, placing first overall to prove who really rules the roost. Cross-platform can be enabled, but if you are unable to connect to a game then bird bots will swoop in to populate the server.

The flock will then migrate to the tournament, which consists of 4 randomly selected rounds, where there are 23 possibilities. These mostly consist of standard rhythm games, the player needing to replicate the given melodies as they appear on the screen or remembering a sequence of button presses. Often the visual prompts will disappear, so it is important to tune in to the audio cues when possible. There are also a few varieties of Simon Says, where you need to mimic the movements of the commanding pigeon, and thrown into the mix are a guess the instrument rounds, where a musical ear will provide a definite advantage. 

During this intense talent show, power-ups flutter past overhead to be grabbed with R2/L2. These were a distraction at first, causing me to miss notes in an attempt to be the lucky bird to receive the perk. Power-ups come in different forms depending on the round; some reveal answers, others send distractions to opposing player’s screens or add a multiplier to your score. There is a disadvantage up for grabs too, which will obscure the answers or distort the notes, causing an inconvenience for yourself.  

Mini-games will test your sense of rhythm, memory and patience.

Oh, Crumbs

The last types of power-ups to be found are exp bonuses or bread crumbs, which are the currency of Headbangers and are awarded at the end of each tournament too. Crumbs are used in the in-game store, to purchase new clothing or quips which can be chirped with a press of L3. Accessories are also unlocked when leveling up, and can then be swapped around to create new outfits in the customisation tab. The ‘battle pass’ style reward system is capped at level 50, however it looks as though this will reset on a seasonal basis.  

You can unlock full outfits by completing Challenge Cards, which can be found in their own tab on the home screen. Hovering over the miniature pigeon outlines on these cards reveals their objectives, most of which will be completed by simply playing and out-performing your opponents. While Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is fun for a few hours or in short bursts, the 23 rounds quickly become repetitive; hopefully this will be countered with future updates to keep gameplay fresh.

As you are participating in the musical mayhem, every so often a prompt will pop-up in the bottom corner encouraging you to spin a thumbstick which will spin your pigeons neck. Fitting with the game’s cartoon style, this is more comical than grotesque, and contributes towards the bonus round meter. When full, this admits you entrance to a quick bonus round in between the tournament. Here there is more variety of games, including head-butting watermelons or rapidly copying a code to accumulate a score and get more bread.

Active power-ups are displayed in the bottom right-hand corner.

Audio and Graphics – To The Sky

If you hadn’t guessed from the game’s title or from the numerous mentions from myself, the key element of Headbangers is the music and sound, so headphones are recommended to really find your groove. The opera mini-game has a variety of classical music for you to ‘sing’ along to, and there are original bops such as To The Sky. The Headbangers‘ store sometimes offers different stretch sounds to be purchased, so you can switch from the elastic twang your pigeon comes equipped with. Sound has been incorporated into wait screens too, each face button emitting a different sound depending on the game that’s loading. 

Just as important as the audio are graphics, and Headbangers: Rhythm Royale‘s eye-catching visual design brings justice to the innovative concept. Colourful and organised chaos is delivered in cartoon style, the sky blue plumage of the headbanging pigeons able to be dressed with a fly-in wardrobe’s worth of silly costumes ready to unlock. Although not boasting hyper-realistic graphics, there are nice touches of detail, a personal highlight being the transition from the black and white ‘Run Pigeon Run’ to the colourised ‘Run Pigeon Run 2.’ These details aren’t essential, but add a sense of depth to the unexplored world of pigeons. 

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale was reviewed on PS5 with a key provided by Team 17.