I recently spent some time playing the demo for Alpha Nomos on my ROG Ally, after the game caught my eye for its combination of both action roguelike and hack and slash elements with rhythm-based gameplay functions.

After spending some time with this demo, I came away pleasantly surprised at how fun I found the core gameplay loop and with the potential I can see in the full release. However, at the same time, there were a few rough edges that I experienced on the handheld, but this didn’t stop me from enjoying the demo, nonetheless.

One of the first things I noticed was constant vibration from the ROG Ally while playing, in short, metronome-like pulses. I personally found this to be immensely distracting and even off-putting, and it certainly didn’t help that when I put the device into sleep mode for a second, it then started vibrating nonstop whilst in sleep. Luckily, there is an option in the settings to turn vibration off, and doing so significantly improved the experience on handheld.

Keeping this in mind, I think it would perhaps make sense for this to be minimized or include a quick yes/no toggle for it at the beginning of a run, as it actually seemed to take away from the experience on handheld, while I imagine it is much more subtle on controller.

Now, once I had settled into the game, there was plenty to enjoy. Visually, the game is full of charm. Character designs are fantastic. Cello has a simple, yet unique design as the player hero/protagonist, and the other characters all carry that same whimsical, quirky vibe.

The artwork itself seems to take strong influences from cartoons and anime, creating a distinct style with expressive character portraits that really bring personality to the screen. I also quite enjoyed the writing, as while character interactions are fairly simple, they still managed to feel quirky and humorous. Moments such as the Nutcracker boss managed to give me a laugh, too, so that was a bonus.

Combos are very satisfying to experiment with, and the rhythm-based combat keeps you engaged throughout each run, letting you find a sense of timing flow between each flurry of attacks. Power-ups that you acquire along the way are fairly standard as far as roguelike elements go, but they still felt interesting, as they offer different ways to build around your preferred combat style and favorite combos.

Speaking of combos, one of my favorite little features was that with good timing of your combos, they would add extra melodies from Cello’s instrument-weapon on top of the background track, adding to the music.

What surprised me the most was how well the roguelike and rhythm combination works, as it is a combo that I haven’t seen all too often, or have really dived into. I enjoy both genres individually, so seeing them both fused through Alpha Nomos gameplay was very satisfying. I actually found myself playing for longer than I had anticipated.

Controls don’t feel clunky in the slightest, as far as ROG Ally layouts go, and I appreciated that there is a calibration system to ensure your button inputs are lining up to the music properly. This, of course, helped everything to feel smoother and more satisfying. The graphics utilize a lovely little style with bright pops of color and simple, but nice backgrounds.

Gameplay runs smoothly, for the most part, but I did stumble upon one pretty significant hiccup. From time to time, I noticed that the game would occasionally lag after going through one of the portals/gates to the next zone. This next entire section would lag significantly, both in general movement and combat. This sudden sluggishness was a surprise considering how nicely everything had been running until that moment, and strangely enough, the game went back to normal as soon as I progressed through the next portal/gate.

Overall, Alpha Nomos left a pretty positive impression. Even in just a demo, it’s clear that the game has a lot of heart, offering charming characters, witty dialogue, and an engaging combat loop that makes it feel worth returning to.

The errors I encountered aren’t too major, so I feel confident that the full release will manage to iron them out a bit. Plus, even though they did disrupt moments of gameplay, they didn’t overshadow the strengths that the demo had to offer. For fans of rhythm games or action roguelites, Alpha Nomos may very well be one to keep an eye on, taking a fun, whimsical approach to blending the two genres.

The Alpha Nomos demo is currently available to download and try now on Steam. Alpha Nomos can also be wishlisted via the platform.