In Cosmic DJ, players embark on an epic musical journey to reunite band members and repair the broken “Jamtennas” around the galaxy. Using “THE POWER OF MUUUUSIC“, players must create their very own songs to inspire change in the universe. Players have access to dozens of unique instruments that may be used to craft a jam worthy of rocking all of space and time.

Players have the option of inputting their notes using either a tap sequencer using the ZXCV keys, or by using a grid sequencer with simple mouse clicks. These vastly different styles of input should appeal to both novices and master musicians alike. Cosmic DJ’s songs consist of a few campaign segments, each split into 8 tiny sections for players to create music from. Using the grid sequencer, notes can be assigned to different sections for each instrument. As players go through the campaign, these segments will eventually combine into a complete player-made song that may then be exported to .mp3.

What makes Cosmic DJ so different from other music games is that it never takes itself entirely seriously. Everything about Cosmic DJ seems to exist on this fun-first design style that just makes the game so enjoyable. An great example of this is an early mission segment where you must inspire a former band member, now a “space juice” bartender, to rejoin the band by creating an epic jam that includes a space juice cocktail shaker as an instrument. The out-of-this-world instrument choices, not to mention the completely insane storyline behind the game, combine to make a game that feels so different from whatever you’ve been playing before this.

What really impressed me with Cosmic DJ was its focus on fun music creation. After players go through the campaign, or using the quick play option, the songs they create may be given an in-game album cover and then exported to .mp3 file. The cover and metadata embedding for the song is handled entirely by the game, at which point players may then upload to services such as YouTube and SoundCloud. Cosmic DJ’s developers designed the game with this interaction in mind, and in today’s era of strict copyright protection, that’s awesome.

In the past decade or so, music games have gained in popularity and inspired countless gamer’s lives. From the fat melting aerobic exercise of Dance Dance Revolution, to the almost learning to play a real instrument style of Guitar Hero, music games have transformed the way we play games. The truth is though, not all music games have to be this life-changing experience that leaves you a better person. Cosmic DJ will not make you thin and sexy, nor will it even try teach you how to play guitar. What Cosmic DJ will do is provide you with an epic musical adventure that you’ll never forget.

Summary: A game design that focuses on fun makes Cosmic DJ one of the most unique music games you’ll ever play. Simplistic music creation tools and dozens of quirky instruments should provide hours of entertainment.

Cosmic DJ was released on May 16th and was developed by Gl33k and published by Devolver Digital. We had a chance to jam out with the game after its Early Access release, read on if you like to party.

Cosmic DJ could be described as a casual music experience, although players of all types might find something to enjoy with the game. Cosmic DJ  blends rhythm-based gameplay and easy song creation with an absolutely insane narrative that makes for a seriously unique experience.

I approached Cosmic DJ as a gamer whose total music game experience includes about an hour with Guitar Hero a few years back. From a completely inexperienced player’s perspective, Cosmic DJ was particularly easy to learn. The campaign that’s included gets you into the game and mixing beats very quickly. There are a few ways to create your tracks using the Tap/Grid Sequencer. Experienced music gamer players may enjoy the Tap Sequencer, although I found my fingers to be lacking in musical beat making. For me, the Grid Sequencer made things much easier.

The story in Cosmic DJ is pretty insane, but in this case, pretty insane is also pretty fantastic. Players assume the role of the Legendary Cosmic DJ on a quest to repair the broken “Jamtennas” and restore harmony to the galaxy. Throughout the missions available thus far, players will quickly find themselves creating catchy tunes thanks to the easy to learn music creation system.

After you’re done with the particularly entertaining campaign portion of the game, you can try your hand at making even more music in a free-form Quick Play Mode that allows you to choose a randomized set of instruments. I did find that the inability to choose my instruments was a bit limiting at times, although you’re allowed to re-randomize your instrument set until you find a combination that you like.

Overall, I enjoyed the hell out of my time with Cosmic DJ. I can’t imagine most audiophiles will find the music I personally created to be particularly enjoyable though. Regardless, I was able to make music and upload the audio file and in-game created album cover in a matter of minutes. Considering my total lack of experience with music creation, the simplicity of the entire experience makes Cosmic DJ a fantastic learning tool in addition to just being a fun game to play.

Feel free to jam out to my amateur beats in the SoundCloud.com embed at the top of the page.

Steam Cards: No | Steam Achievements: No | Version Reviewed: Steam Early Access Initial Release