Info about KALPA: Cosmic Symphony:

Official game description:
_Beautiful characters, a grand story, and an incredible soundtrack._
_A next-generation story-driven rhythm game where your performance dictates the fate of the world._
**■ A new experience where the story meets rhythm.**
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「KALPA: Cosmic Symphony」 is a next-generation rhythm game crafted with beautiful characters, a vast story, and a diverse range of music and ways to play them.
Jump in and experience the moment your performance changes the world.
**■ Charming Characters and an In-Depth Story**
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Meet a cast of beautiful and charming characters, each with their own unique personalities and backstories.
Full-fledged story chapters of exceptional quality.
Customize your own player avatar and more with characters featured in the story though the 「Companion」feature.
**■ A Massive Tracklist**
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Featuring original songs from renowned composers, exclusive to KALPA, alongside legendary fan-favorites that will be familiar to any rhythm game enthusiast.
Whether you're new to KALPA or a seasoned veteran, you'll find plenty to enjoy with rhythm game classics and hit songs like **'PUPA (Endorfin. Remix)', 'Brain Power', ‘Rainy Waltz’, 'L2 -Reminiscence-', 'Halcyon', ‘Altale’, '**Sound Chimera**’, ‘キミとボクへの葬送歌’, 'Giselle',** **'INFiNiTE ENERZY -Overdoze-'** .
Furthermore, numerous talented artists who have made their mark global rhythm game scene, such as \[TORIENA\], \[USAO\], \[ミツキヨ\], \[xi\], \[Nauts\] have contributed to provide an even richer musical experience.
**■ A Variety of Play Modes**
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KALPA’s diverse range of modes provides a constant stream of new fun, ensuring every player can find a style that's perfect for them.
*   **Story Mode:** Dive into a unique experience where narrative and music intertwine.
*   **Free Play:** Play any song you want freely.
*   **Multiplayer:** Play together with friends.
*   **Ghost Random Match:** Experience the joy of encountering new songs and players through random selections.
*   **Ghost Ladder Match:** Compete and improve through the Ghost Ranking System.
*   **Astra Mode:** Face the ultimate stage for endless challenges.
**■ Introducing Astra Mode**
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*   **Composer Charts:** Play charts created by the very artists who composed the music for KALPA.
*   **Ranker Charts:** Challenge yourself with charts designed by rankers recognized for their skill in other rhythm games.
*   **Content That Grows with the Community:** By involving not only our development team but also key figures from the rhythm game scene, we've added a new level of depth and quality.
**■ The KALPA Experience**
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*   An experience that goes beyond mere score-chasing, where the performance itself drives the story forward.
*   A cosmic fantasy woven together with charming characters, grand visuals, and a symphonic OST.
*   A moment where your choices and your performance will change the fate of the world.
**Experience the moment your performance becomes the final melody.**

Release date: Oct 1, 2025

Categories: Music-based Gameplay, Rhythm Game, Story Mode, Multiplayer, Character Customization, Music-based Puzzle Solving, High Score Chasing, Performance-based Gameplay

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 60; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The game has received criticism for its monetization practices, particularly regarding the pricing and release of DLCs. Users feel that the DLCs are expensive and that the game itself is incomplete, which raises concerns about the fairness and ethics of the monetization strategy. Additionally, the introduction of various monetization methods over time has been noted, suggesting a shift towards more aggressive monetization.
- Steam Deck: score 100; verdict: Broken; summary: The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent crashes and sudden exits during gameplay. Additionally, users report severe loading and black screen issues that prevent access to game modes. While controller support is desired, it is not a critical issue compared to the stability and loading problems.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $15.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that the community generally finds the base price of the game to be somewhat high, with multiple mentions of waiting for a sale to purchase. The specific mention of a $20 price point as a base price, along with comments about the game not being worth the current price, indicates that the fair price range is likely below $20. Additionally, the comment about the price in Chinese Yuan (76块钱) being too high further supports this, as 76 Yuan is approximately $10.70 USD, suggesting that even a price around $11 is considered high by some users.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 8.0h
  - Story completion: 2.0h
  - Session length: 1.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provided includes several direct mentions of playtime metrics. The first two quotes explicitly state that the story can be completed in approximately 2 hours when skipping all messages, which directly supports the story completion time. The third quote mentions a 7-8 hour VN Story mode, which suggests a longer playtime for a more thorough completion of the game. The fourth quote indicates that players can engage with high-level songs within an hour, suggesting a short session length.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game's enjoyment improves significantly as players progress, particularly in the later chapters, with the single-player experience being a major highlight.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Reaching the last chapter
  - Time to anchor: 2h 0m
  - Friction: Initial rough story; Multiplayer mode needs work
  - Unlock drivers: Progression through the story; Single-player experience
  - Conditions: Playing solo; Experiencing the story mode
- Player Archetypes:
  - Challenge Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastery and challenge
    - Playstyle: Focuses on high difficulty levels and improving skills.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Hardcore player; Rhythm game fan
    - Reference games: DJMAX; Sound Voltex
  - Casual Story Enjoyer (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of story and casual gameplay
    - Playstyle: Prefers story mode and casual play.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Casual gamer; Story fan
    - Reference games: DJMAX; Sound Voltex
  - Rhythm Game Connoisseur (buy)
    - Motivation: Appreciation of game evolution and comparisons
    - Playstyle: Compares and contrasts with other rhythm games, values music and gameplay mechanics.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Rhythm game veteran; Music enthusiast
    - Reference games: DJMAX; Sound Voltex; OSU; Malody
  - Beginner-Friendly Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Accessibility and ease of use
    - Playstyle: Prefers easy-to-read and beginner-friendly gameplay.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: Newcomer; Casual gamer
    - Reference games: DJMAX; OSU; Malody


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Extensive and high-quality song library (weight 0.82): The game features a large number of songs, including many exclusive and famous tracks from other rhythm games. The soundtrack is praised for its quality and variety.
- Excellent chart design (weight 0.51): The game offers well-crafted charts with interesting patterns and high playability. The design is impressive and unique, catering to various difficulty levels.
- Engaging story mode (weight 0.33): The story mode is enjoyable and well-directed, with a good script. Players find the storyline engaging and worth the purchase.
- Frequent updates and new content (weight 0.26): The game receives regular updates with new songs, collaborations, and events. This includes free updates with a significant number of new tracks.
- Fun and engaging gameplay (weight 0.23): The gameplay mechanics are fun and above average, providing an enjoyable experience for players.
- Beautiful visuals and design (weight 0.15): The game features excellent visuals and overall design, contributing to an immersive gameplay experience.
- Variety of gameplay modes (weight 0.15): The game includes multiple modes such as 4K and 5K, catering to different player preferences and skill levels.
- Good value for beginners (weight 0.12): The game is suitable for beginners and offers good value for the price, making it accessible to a wide range of players.

Common complaints:
- Difficulty level issues (weight 0.5): Players report various issues with difficulty levels, including reduced difficulty options, high difficulty spikes, and inconsistent balancing.
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.2): The game is noted for frequent crashes, disconnections, and freezing, which significantly impact the player experience.
- High cost of the game (weight 0.18): Many players find the game to be too expensive, especially considering the limited content and features available.
- Astra charts issues (weight 0.17): Astra mode charts are reported as extremely difficult and unpleasant, with specific issues related to their design and balance.
- Mandatory DLCs and purchases (weight 0.14): Players are frustrated with the requirement for in-game purchases and frequent DLC releases.
- Calibration and guidance issues (weight 0.12): There are reports of poor calibration and inadequate guidance, which can make the game difficult to play.
- Incomplete features (weight 0.11): The game is noted for having incomplete features, which is expected as it is in early access but still frustrating for players.
- Lack of key sounds and visuals (weight 0.11): Players report a lack of key sounds and visual elements, which detracts from the overall gaming experience.
- Multiplayer mode issues (weight 0.11): The multiplayer mode is criticized for being underpopulated and needing significant improvements.
- UI needs improvement (weight 0.08): The user interface is noted as being simplistic and in need of significant improvements.
- Lack of offline mode (weight 0.08): The absence of an offline mode for a single-player game is criticized by players.
- Translation and text issues (weight 0.08): There are reports of untranslated text and bugs in the story mode, particularly in the Chinese language version.
- Gendered protagonist (weight 0.07): Some players have issues with the gendering of the protagonist, which may not align with their preferences.
- Forced health bar mode (weight 0.07): Players report being forced to use the health bar mode, which can be frustrating and impact gameplay.
- Brightness issues in story mode (weight 0.07): The brightness in story mode is reported as being too high, which can be uncomfortable for players.
- Narrow track width (weight 0.07): Players report issues with the inability to adjust the width of tracks, which can impact gameplay.
- Uncomfortable character design (weight 0.07): Some players express discomfort with the character designs and dialogue, which they find inappropriate.

Gameplay feedback:
- Highly customizable rhythm gameplay (weight 0.43): The game offers extensive customization options for rhythm-based gameplay, including various settings, 4K and 5K modes, and a large collection of tracks.
- High difficulty and varied levels (weight 0.42): Players note the game's high difficulty and the presence of multiple difficulty levels, including specific modes like Chaos and Cosmos.
- Reworked and varied charts (weight 0.41): The game features reworked and high-level charts, with a variety of patterns and improvements in the new version.
- Engaging story and visual novel elements (weight 0.33): The story mode includes visual novel elements and cinematics, adding depth to the gameplay experience.
- Variety of tracks and boss tracks (weight 0.19): The game offers a wide variety of tracks, including boss tracks and exclusive songs.
- Different gameplay styles and visuals (weight 0.14): Players appreciate the variety in gameplay styles and visuals, including different lane shapes and perspectives.
- Health bar and mobile version (weight 0.13): The game includes a health bar mode and has a mobile version available, though it may lack data linkage with the main version.
- Judgment system and UI (weight 0.13): The game features a lenient judgment system and a rich UI with various options.
- Similar to other rhythm games (weight 0.08): The game is noted for its similarities to other rhythm games like osu!mania or Quaver.
- Speed change mechanics (weight 0.07): The game includes speed change mechanics and indications, adding to the gameplay complexity.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes and errors (weight 0.37): The game experiences frequent crashes, errors, and disconnections, which significantly disrupt gameplay. This includes server crashes, game freezes, and various other stability issues.
- Performance and optimization issues (weight 0.22): Players report poor optimization and server performance, leading to synchronization problems and overall performance issues. This affects the smoothness and stability of the game.
- Specific feature requests and issues (weight 0.12): Players have noted specific features like Nvidia Reflex and USB headphone support. There are also issues with the game running in the background during Shift+Tab and causing problems with Discord voice chat.
- Song loading problems (weight 0.11): There are issues with song loading, including songs getting stuck at 100% and not playing, as well as general loading time problems.
- Gameplay bugs (weight 0.09): Various bugs have been reported, including notes rolling back in vertical scrolling mode and issues with the health bar.
- High frame rate support (weight 0.08): The game supports high frame rates and unlimited framerate, which is appreciated by players with high-end systems.
- DLC and access issues (weight 0.07): There are errors reported after purchasing DLC and issues with players being unable to enter the game.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for rhythm game beginners (weight 0.2): This game is highly recommended for beginners and those new to rhythm games. It is seen as a great entry point for players starting to get into the genre.
- Try alternative games (weight 0.11): Some reviews suggest playing alternative games like osu!mania, the mobile version, or getting more EZ2ON DLC instead, indicating that there are other options that might be preferred by some players.
- Map editor mode available (weight 0.05): The game features a map editor mode, which allows players to create and customize their own rhythm maps.
- Consider purchasing post-release (weight 0.05): Potential buyers are advised to consider purchasing the game after its full release, suggesting that the current version might not be the final or most polished version.
- Discovered through recommendations (weight 0.04): Some players found this game as a hidden gem through recommendation pages, indicating it might not be widely known but is appreciated by those who discover it.
- Wait for price drops (weight 0.04): Some players suggest waiting for a historical low price before purchasing the game, indicating that price sensitivity might be a factor for potential buyers.
- Experience the story mode (weight 0.04): Players are encouraged to try out the story mode for a more immersive experience.

Other player notes:
- Add key sounds (weight 0.05): Players have suggested adding sounds for keys to enhance the gaming experience.
- Custom profile addition (weight 0.05): There is a desire among players to have the ability to add custom profiles.
- Desire for 6Key addition (weight 0.05): Players have expressed a want for the addition of a 6Key feature.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.19): Players are frustrated due to a variety of technical and gameplay issues. Performance problems, such as slow startup, poor optimization, and frequent crashes, are major concerns. Additionally, forced gameplay elements, difficulty imbalances, and server issues contribute to the frustration. The need for in-game purchases and the presence of bugs also detract from the overall experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.17): Players express satisfaction with the game's value for beginners, including its affordable price and good music library. The variety of difficulty levels, customization options, and frequent updates are also appreciated. The game's visuals, story, and overall gameplay feel contribute to a positive experience.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Disappointment stems from several issues, including offensive language, story quality, and lack of unique features. Players are also disappointed with the limited number of songs, game crashes, and homogenized charts. The removal of certain difficulties and changes in chart patterns have also led to dissatisfaction.
- Hopeful (weight 0.05): Players are hopeful for future improvements and updates, including the addition of a map editor mode and more story content. They look forward to upcoming content and expect the game to evolve positively over time.
- Disappointed (weight 0.05): Disappointment is primarily due to a decrease in chart quality, overall game balance issues, and difficulty curve problems. Players also express dissatisfaction with the limited music variety, pricing, and changes to charts that make them unenjoyable.
- Joy (weight 0.05): Players find joy in the game's keyboard gameplay, song quality, and storyline. The visual novel part, choice of note styles, and overall gameplay experience contribute to their enjoyment. The music, art style, and sheet music playability are also highly appreciated.
- Frustrated (weight 0.05): Frustration arises from issues with Discord voice chat, unreadable charts due to transparency, and difficulty with certain aspects of the game. Players also experience bugs, server issues, and multiplayer problems, which add to their frustration.
- Satisfied (weight 0.04): Players are satisfied with the game's value for money, enjoyable story, and large collection of tracks. The engaging story mode, music, visuals, and improved note patterns contribute to their satisfaction. The game's design, variety, and improvements in patterns and UI are also appreciated.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement is generated by the game's high-quality audio, story volume, and engaging story. Players enjoy the game modes, beautiful character art, and the potential for future updates and new gameplay modes.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Players enjoy the game's fun gameplay, background movement, and various aspects of the game. The renewed patterns, suitable difficulty, and continuous music preview contribute to their enjoyment. The game's customizable settings and interesting keyboard charts focused on stairs are also appreciated.
- Excited (weight 0.03): Players are excited about the game's graphics, hit charts, and the inclusion of familiar songs. The immersive background effects, enjoyable gameplay, and new Astra difficulty contribute to their excitement. The game's evolution and inclusivity for different player levels are also highly anticipated.
- Happy (weight 0.02): Players are happy with the game's music, characters, and overall enjoyment. The resolution of issues, gameplay features, and the story contribute to their happiness. The songs and gameplay mechanics are also highly appreciated.
- Critical (weight 0.02): Players are critical of the UI, untranslated text, and the way difficulty levels are set. Inconsistent difficulty levels, variable quality of music charts, and optimization issues are also points of criticism. The limited free songs and small song selection add to their critical feedback.
- Enthusiasm (weight 0.02): Players are enthusiastic about the game's features, updates, and potential. The positive experience with the game's music, gameplay, and customizable options contribute to their enthusiasm. The game's focus on skill improvement is also highly appreciated.
- Appreciative (weight 0.02): Players appreciate the monthly free songs, improvements in the game, and its suitability for different player levels. The story content, game updates, and consistent improvements are also highly valued.
- Enthusiastic (weight 0.01): Players are enthusiastic about the game's story, gameplay mechanics, and art quality. The enjoyable gameplay, customizable options, and focus on skill improvement contribute to their enthusiasm.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the free updates, enjoyable story, and excellent song quality. The chart design and the game's design and soundtrack are also highly valued.
- Positive (weight 0.01): Players express satisfaction with the game's growth and rhythm game aspects. They like the story and find the setting options interesting, contributing to their positive experience.
- Impressed (weight 0.01): Players are impressed by the game's quality, music, and technical features. The admirable post-release updates and large collection of songs contribute to their positive impression.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players are angry due to being unable to enter the game and the poor quality of charts. The expensive price and these issues contribute to their anger.}