Immersive musical adventure game
Panoramical is an indie game created by Fernando Ramallo and David Kanaga. However, it plays more like a series of performative digital paintings than a video game. Here, players will modulate colorful low-poly landscapes. All this, while they simultaneously add and transform corresponding music elements of the soundtrack. You can play the game in any way you want. You can chase the beat and create a fast-changing vibrant landscape or find a relaxing pace.
Interpret music with shapes and colors
Panoramical is a music game unlike any other. It looks more like a music visualizer of early music players where gyrating shapes and smoky fractal patterns interpret audio tracks. Only this time, you control both the audio and the visuals in real-time. As you turn virtual or IRL dials, onyx crags will surge from the ground. White tufts will also sink into waves, and colorful tendrils will ripple as the accompanying electronic score pulses and plucks in time.
As noted, players will have complete control of everything. It is up to you whether you want a peaceful dreamland or cacophonous thumping ground. You can even relax, explore, and listen at your leisure. Unlike other games, there is nothing to win in Panoramical. There is also no enemy to defeat and no timer to beat. You will not be scored through your creation, either, making it more like a music creation tool rather than a game.
Panoramical comes with 15 unique worlds that you can explore. Each of these worlds has 18 different audio-visual dimensions under your control. The game is easy to play, with straightforward controls compatible with keyboards plus mouse, gamepads, and even MIDI controllers. However, to enjoy a smooth gaming experience, your computer will need at least 1GB of RAM and a gaming-capable graphics card.
What music looks like
Panoramical is a fascinating tool for music creation. With it, users can interpret the abstract concept of music. It offers a visually appealing platform for creativity with an original control scheme. However, calling it a game is a little hard-pressed since you don’t really do much aside from wiggling your mouse and press a few keys. Nevertheless, it is a pretty fun audio-visual toy that you can fiddle with at your leisure.