Have I mentioned that I love what Korean game developers have done with the audio in their games over the years? I admit I didn’t know much about Rusty Hearts prior to checking it out at Anime Expo 2011 this past weekend, but I’m definitely a whole lot more interested after what I saw and heard.
So, what is Rusty Hearts? It’s a free-to-play beat ’em up MMO title developed by Korean-based Stairway Games, and in addition to featuring some impressive anime-inspired visuals, it also sports some pretty amazing music. One of the game’s producers was on-site to show off one of the game’s new characters, the half-vampire Frantz. I explored a dark Gothic-style town that acts as one of the game’s central hubs where I heard some moody acoustic guitar and concert piano work that reminded me of a dark, loungey version of Granado Espada.
Upon entering the wine cellar, one of the game’s opening dungeons, I bashed through enemies with special attacks using both the computer keyboard and an Xbox 360 controller. The producer noted that Rusty Hearts draws on titles like Devil May Cry, Final Fight, and even Castlevania as influences, and I definitely picked up on the Castlevania influence in the music department. While the looping track was short, I was loving the electric guitar work and overall Gothic rock style of the track.
While we only heard two tracks in the demo, I’m looking forward to hearing more and finding out who’s doing the music. Perfect World is opening up a closed beta, so head over to their website and sign up. We’ll have more on this game soon, so check out the above trailer and let us know what you think.
