In a world where music isn’t just counterculture but is downright illegal, being in a band really is the most punk rock way of life. That’s the story, or at least part of it, in the upcoming “narrative focused rhythm-action RPG” Unbeatable, the debut project from D-Cell Games. Unbeatable debuted a new trailer and plans for its 2025 launch during today’s PC Gaming Show.
Unbeatable clearly isn’t your typical rhythm game at all. D-Cell says the five chapter story takes place in an open world with rhythm minigames and an original soundtrack. The new trailer is heavy on the animation and alt rock soundtrack but you can catch some of its rhythm segments too.
The main character Beat—which probably won’t be confusing; it’s fine—leaps, kicks, and blocks to the music in a way that looks a lot like a 2D fighting game as much as it does a rhythm game. There’s some over-the shoulder rhythmic fighting here too as Beat fights off enemies inside a railcar. Oh, and a bit of rail grinding on the metro lines too, from the looks of things.
It’s got a classic hand-drawn anime aesthetic and dystopian story vibes too—both of which you can catch a taste of in the free side-story demo Unbeatable [white label] set in the same world.
“As a demo, White Label is phenomenal,” said Natalie Clayton when she called the demo “the coolest game of the year” back in 2021. “It gets to the punch quickly, shows you what Unbeatable is all about, and has enough tracks to keep you chasing high scores while waiting for the finished game. But White Label isn’t just a demo—over the past year, it’s been consistently buffed up with new tracks, new modes, and entire new story segments.”
The full game is still a ways off yet, but is now expected sometime in 2025.