Audiosurf was actually released on Steam last month. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it, and so, I was curious and bought it. I rarely buy games on impulse but I was feeling like taking a risk at the time.

Man, what a great choice. Audiosurf is an absolutely astounding game. Allow me to educate you about what it’s about.

The premise behind it is that you can pick a song (whether mp3, m4a, ogg, etc, it’s compatible with a lot of formats), and it will create a track out of it. The road is bumpier based on the beat behind the song, and goes higher the calmer the song is. If it’s a downward spiral, the song is intense and fast.

What you do on these tracks is collect coloured blocks and try to make ‘clusters’ (groups of 3 or more coloured blocks) out of them. At the end of a song it calculates your score and places it on a scoreboard with other people who played the same song.

It’s somewhat complicated on paper, but in action, you take to it quickly. There are different “characters” (or ships) that have different abilities that mix up the game types a little. Mono, for example, changes the game to two types of blocks: grey blocks (which you are to avoid) and coloured blocks(they’re all one colour, which changes as the song plays).

The game can be psychedelic at times (especially on tracks that are associated with drugs), and it gives you something to do with your hands while listening to music.

The graphics in the game simply blow me away. They’re extremely customizable, and when playing the frame rate is smooth. The game is full of subtle effects that you never really notice at first. For example, your ship changes colour based on what’s happening in the song at the time. It’s the small things like this that make you think about how much time the developer put into making the game.

The sound in the game is notable in that, considering it uses your music, it has the greatest soundtrack any game has ever offered. The sound effects in the game are subtle yet can get in the way if you play the game to listen to your music loudly. The game does offer the ability to turn off sound effects though, and it’s not hidden at all.

The gameplay is smooth and addicting. You’ll always be looking through your catalogue of music, considering, “What kind of track will this song make?”. The normal mode of play is a decent puzzle game, while the Mono mode is good for your reflexes. It’s a varied game, and it can please many types of gamers.

This game will last you a very, very long time, and is an excellent deal for the price point (which is only $10). I’d suggest you download the demo, and if you like it, give it a purchase. You won’t regret it.