《Stage Tour》PAX展台上手试玩体验

Rocking on the PAX Show Floor: Stage Tour Hands-on

It was the first day of PAX Aus. Being a member of the media, every year on this day we get an hour before the public to run through the exhibition hall and check out what’s on offer without having to line up. An hour is hardly enough, so often we have to be selective as to what we tackle in that precious time. So this year, I thought I would head to the SEGA booth and check out both Alien Isolation 2 and Stranger than Heaven. But on my way, I was stopped in my tracks. The sweet, soothing sounds of Slipknot’s Psychosocial made its way into my consciousness. I looked around, and there it was. I felt like a beam of light was highlighting the booth, a sign from on high that this was where I needed to spend my time. It called to me in a way few other games could. 

I had found Stage Tour, and it felt like I was coming home. 

For those who don’t know, Stage Tour is the result of passion, a whole lot of passion. Developers who worked on both Rock Band and Guitar Hero were joined by community folks, people who helped with the homebrew Clone Hero, and a host of others to once again breathe life into the plastic instrument genre. 

For many, myself included, there are mountains of memories associated with this genre of game. Family events, big nights with beers and buddies, hell, even charity fundraisers. It is a style of game that brings people together based around one common theme that just about every person on the planet can relate to: the desire to be a Rock Star. Sure, it is only a fleeting and pale imitation of the real thing, but smashing out Through the Fire and Flames in front of your adoring audience, aka your brother and your kids, is something special. Stage Tour clearly understands that. 

I watched as the booth crew put the game through its paces, testing the new Gibson-styled guitars, making sure everything was working while banging it out in accompaniment to Corey Taylor’s screams. Once the song was finished, they looked out at the small crowd of media that were watching and said the immortal words, “Does anyone want a go?”

I didn’t exactly rush to the stage to get my hands on the guitar, but let’s just say I didn’t dawdle. The first thing I noticed was that the new Gibson felt nice, really nice. Solid, clacky, responsive buttons and none of the looseness in the neck that some of the older guitars seemed to have. This felt like an upgrade, especially over the original Guitar Hero line of plastic axes. I immediately dived into the song list, spying a host of bangers even in this limited demo selection. Do I Kickstart my Heart? Am I going to visit Dani California? Nah, I decided to knock about with a Square Hammer. 

As soon as Ghost’s epic show closer kicked into gear, I was back in my happy place. After a few notes to get used to the timing on the stage screen, I was strumming away like no time had passed at all. This is, for all intents and purposes, another Rock Band. There are no surprises here, at least from my demo. The notes come down, star power is earned, and you do a sick Herman Li flick to activate said power. It is a game I have played before, but it is also a game I loved before, and all these years later that hasn’t changed.

I managed to convince the stagehand to give me a second round, and this time things went even better; my timing was on, I was lost in the flow, and I could feel the smile on my face. God, I had missed this. But, like all demos on the show floor, my time was up in an instant, and I was left wanting more. Much more. This is the game I, and I suspect many others, have been looking for, and the wait for its release is now excruciating.

While I stood there watching others take up the axe, I had a quick chat with the community manager on site. It turns out that the career mode for the game is a roguelike. Ever-changing, different every time you play. That sounds fantastic to me. Not just working your way through a prescribed setlist, this gives a replayability that none of the previous games have ever offered. I can’t wait to find out more about this mode because it isn’t always possible to have the whole band around when you feel like playing. 

Finally, I got to talking about instruments. If you are like me, you have a cupboard still full of plastic guitars, mics, and drum kits from previous games. Well, the good news is that almost all of them will work with Stage Tour. The summary is that PS4/Xbone era gear will work straight away, earlier stuff will need an adaptor (like the one that came with Rock Band 4), and if you are on PC, anything that can be connected by USB will work. That is pretty impressive and frankly good for both the wallet and the environment. If, however, you are looking for some new gear, there is going to be a range of different Gibson-inspired designs (including the Explorer), a new drum kit, and, of course, a mic for all the singers out there. So if you sold your gear to Cashies all those years ago, you can still jump back in. 

Stage Tour is exciting me like few other games have in recent memory. So many games these days are solo experiences or even involve playing against people on the other side of the world. This is a game that brings people together, puts them in the same room, and encourages them to act like complete muppets, without fear of embarrassment or shame. It is a game that brings out a deep-seated love for music and encourages people to find new songs and bands. But most of all, it is a game that makes pretending to be Mick Jagger, Axel Rose, or Anthony Kedis a whole lot of fun, and honestly, there is no other experience on the planet that can say the same. Stage Tour is the game I’ve been waiting for, and I reckon you have been waiting too. 

Stage Tour is coming to Switch 2, PC, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series on the 10th of December. 

Pre-Order Stage Tour on Switch 2 here: 

Pre-Order Stage Tour on PC here: 

Pre-Order Stage Tour on Xbox Series here: 

Pre-Order Stage Tour on PS5 here: 

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