Xbox 360

Rez

ShooterMusic

Time to beat: about 2 hours
Plays offline: Yes

Overview

Rez is a music rail shooter video game developed by United Game Artists and published by Sega for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan in 2001, followed by releases to the United States and Europe in 2002. The game was ported to Xbox 360 as Rez HD by Q Entertainment and HexaDrive in 2008. A virtual reality-compatible expanded version dubbed Rez Infinite was co-developed and released through 2016 to 2023 by Enhance Games, Resonair and Monstars for PlayStation 4, Windows, Android, Oculus Quest and PlayStation 5.

Following a hacker's journey into a malfunctioning AI system, the game has players controlling their avatar as they shoot down numerous enemies. The gameplay and projectile hits sync with the music and have vibration feedback for different controllers, aiming to create a sense of synesthesia. The narrative is told using little description and no dialogue and includes thematic references to the journey of life and technological singularity.

The game was conceived by Tetsuya Mizuguchi during 1994 and 1995, drawing inspiration from European disco music. Production began in 1999 after United Game Artists finished work on Space Channel 5. The design concept drew from rave culture and classic rail shooters, and level design made extensive use of wire frame graphics inspired by the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky. The music, supervised by Keiichi Sugiyama, featured collaborations with multiple Japanese and European music artists and influenced level designs.