Beat ’em up games have come a long way over several decades of PC and console gaming, and a wide range of them offer unique experiences.
Capcom, Sega, Konami and several popular developers helped define the genre with classic titles like Hand of God, The streets of rageAnd Final fightmany of which are hailed as the best beat ’em up games ever made.
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This made every combat encounter fun, allowing you to perform in style to the game’s music, while also pulling off plenty of combos that are very reminiscent of what Capcom had imagined. The devil may cry had to offer – which is perhaps no surprise given the presence of Shinji Mikami, a former Capcom developer (and notably Resident Evil 4‘s creator), who approved creative director John Johanas’ original pitch for the beat’em up game.
Fast forward to 2026, and a new beat ’em up contender is in town, created by Brain Jar Games. It is a spiritual successor of Rush to Hi-Fi called Dead like Disco.
Just like Tango Gameworks’ surprise hit, Dead like Disco is a fast-paced, stylish and beautiful action rhythm game, with combat synchronized to every beat as the music booms through the speakers.
It will launch in Early Access on May 5 on Steam, and after dedicating 20 hours of gameplay to its demo alone, Dead like Disco promises to be a complete step forward compared to Rush to Hi-Fiand all this is due to one important factor…
You can add your playlist to the game
Yes, you read that correctly. Brain Jar Games has literally implemented a system that allows players to upload their favorite tracks and change the beats per minute (BPM) of each song to play them in-game. The BPM of songs can be easily found using SongBPM, or if you prefer to find the BPM of your custom MP3, Tunebat is your best friend.
Each arena fight will have music almost perfectly in sync (if edited correctly) with main character Charlie Disco’s attacks, and this mechanic alone should be enough to allow Dead like Disco exceed Rush to Hi-Fi.
Custom songs effectively create infinite replay value, as there will always be new music to add and test, and feel every beat with every move. When you play songs with a low BPM, you will feel the slow and groovy beat of the fight. Find a song with a really high BPM and the speed of battles skyrockets.
It also helps that there are already plenty of dance moves and taunts, providing extra style on the dance floor, and the modding community has gone even further with different character models to choose from.
Whether or not a song syncs well with combat will depend entirely on the timing of the player’s attacks, which can be helped by using the optional beat indicator, also found in Rush to Hi-Fi. It’s also worth noting that some songs are nearly impossible to time perfectly, especially those that constantly change tempo (including Michael Jackson’s greatest hits).
Fortunately, there are already tools available in the demo that allow players to fine-tune songs via offset adjustments, or even change the chosen BPM if the original BPM isn’t flowing well.
The demo has received updates over time since its release in May 2025, and I have no doubt that the developers will work to make many adjustments to perfect the audio editing system once Early Access launches.
Dead like Disco is easily one of the most promising indie games of this generation, and the best indie game of the year so far in my books. It’s already racking up rave reviews on Steam with an “extremely positive” score for its demo, a feat particularly reserved for the highest level of gaming on the platform.
At this rate, it’s poised to be one of the biggest releases of this year and, frankly, deserves a lot more recognition than it currently gets.
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