VOEZ is a rhythm game that holds the distinction of being the first touchscreen only game for the Nintendo Switch. TV Play and Controller play are not supported. All you need to enjoy VOEZ on the Switch is the touchscreen it’s self. While this may turn off some, the game is designed around touch screens and would be impossible to translate over to traditional control scheme.
Voez is one of those games that came out of nowhere for me. Within a 24-hour period I went from not knowing it exists, to finding out it was a Switch launch game in Europe and Japan, to realizing that it actually came out last year on mobile devices and was a pretty big hit, just three weeks after its debut on both iOS and android, more than 3 million downloads of the app with 900 thousand users playing daily.
One major difference in the Switch version over the app version, for the Switch, the game was made full-priced ($25), but with no in-game purchases, so every song in the game is unlocked from the start.
This version also removed the requirement to play online from the iOS/Android version.
The story of VOEZ, You follow the story of Chelsea and her high school classmates as they embark on a journey to start a band together. The diary in the game has a requirement for you to unlock ('complete two songs on hard difficulty', for example) which when completed fills in another piece of the story.
The most captivating thing about VOEZ is that it is an absolutely colorful and visually stunning little game.
The gameplay screen, while simple, is just a joy to look at. Seeing the musical notes moving around the screen and how everything interacts when you touch it just feels rewarding.
VOEZ features three difficulty levels, EASY, HARD, and Special.. you are able to select what difficulty level you want for any song, so you can enjoy the full game without having to worry about a song being too challenging for you.
Replay value for VOEZ is huge. This game is jam packed with over 100 songs in the library, which means tons of content in such a simple game. You will definitely find yourself going back and trying to beat your own high scores.
What makes VOEZ perfect is that it only uses the tablet for the Nintendo Switch, so it is as simple as playing a smart phone or tablet game.
Most importantly, VOEZ features some of the best indie composers from Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. The soundtrack, while normally not my type of music, eventually grew on to me.
Hidden away in the Nintendo Switch eShop, underneath the games that everyone is talking about such as Snipperclips, 1-2-Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild , VOEZ is definitely a simple, yet satisfying game that caught me completely by surprise.