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The perspective in the game is roughly reverse of what you’d normally expect, with Kaito riding towards you as you move backwards. The action consists of having to avoid obstacles that come from all sides (when coming from the side or behind you there will be arrow prompts to warn you to move or jump), trying to collect stardust that will move from lane to lane, and then trying to tap or press specific buttons to the beats with 4 lanes of notes that will span the top of the screen from time to time. It can be difficult enough to manage the transitions between focus in some of the earlier stages where it will jump between these types of play but it is when they’re layered on top of each other in quick succession that the serious control problems and outright frustrations begin. The controller simply isn’t as intuitive for the notes quickly coming across the top of the screen and the touchscreen controls are clearly inferior for managing the action on the bottom of the screen. Since you’re unable to effectively use both modes of control at once, using the Switch’s unique combination of features to play the game optimally, you’re instead left to choose the lesser of two evils and that’s really a shame. The game’s additional mode, instead playing out as a series of shorter levels where you’ll control a robot named M.I.R.A.I trying to make his escape to Earth, is very similar just with different music and environments. Along the way you’ll unlock some minor visual upgrades that will allow you to customize your character’s headphones, hat, and shirt, but these don’t really do much and honestly the clumsy interface for managing them almost makes it not worth messing with. As a whole the game’s soundtrack has a strange set of classical music, some remixes, and appropriately romantic tunes and it all marries well with the visuals through the game’s 30+ stages. As an exploration of artistic expression Lost in Harmony is a gorgeous and fascinating feast for your senses, blending great music with visual flourishes throughout. I suppose you could find the story of Kaito and Aya to be a touching one but it’s also only used as a vehicle for driving Kaito’s dreams and not much more for the most part. If you’re someone who really wants to master levels and nail their execution, or even tend to get frustrated by unfair or sloppy sequences it’s the controls that will absolutely grate on your nerves. I appreciate what they’re trying to do but the controls simply don’t hold up to the action on the screen. You can work through it and progress but there’s no denying they’re aggravating. All of this makes Lost in Harmony tough to recommend over better-executed genre titles, though there’s nothing else quite like it on the system so that does make it novel.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.0]