Common Sense Media Review
By Jesse Nau
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Musical card game encourages cooperation.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Battle Bands
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
In BATTLE BANDS, you manipulate your deck with the power of music. After creating your musician and selecting their instrument (one of guitar, bass, drums or keyboard), you can take off in your van for a battle of the bands co-op campaign in Riff City or jump into regularly scheduled online tournaments. In either case, you will be able to add, upgrade and remove cards from your deck between matches to customize your playing style. If you prefer to play solo, your other bandmates will be controlled by AI that you can guide with special commands. What kind of band will you make?
Is It Any Good?
Roguelike deckbuilders are no longer a new sensation, but the addition of cooperative elements helps this strategy title stand out from its peers. The core mechanics of Battle Bands draw inspiration from the card-battling systems of Slay the Spire, but the switch from controlling a single character to manipulating a band of four musicians provides an interesting new angle. The game naturally lends itself to multiplayer in a genre that tends to be solo experiences. You can jump into a randomly generated co-op tour mode to compete against NPC (non-player character) bands, or jam out versus other players in scheduled online tournaments. If you can't form a full group of four human players, AI handles the other musicians. Players make all of the decisions regarding the construction of the AI's decks, and can give basic instructions during the fights, but most gameplay portions will require reacting to and playing around the AI's choices. This can lead to moments of frustration when your bandmates play cards with timing that doesn't work with your plans.
Once you adjust to working with the AI, the strategic elements in the battle-of-the-bands fights shine. Every fight starts with a target number of "hype points" that need to be reached to win the competition, and bands take turns assembling songs to generate hype points or subtract from the other band's hype total through Song Section and Performance cards. Song Sections allow bands to play Performance cards on top of them, and each Performance and completed Song Section accumulates hype, attacks the other bands resources, or protects your own. Between performances, musicians can get, upgrade, or remove cards from the decks and and buy items that provide bonuses for the whole band. Rival bands in the tour mode can be very challenging, and require understanding how to use all of these elements to succeed. The random strategic elements may confuse younger players when things get more complicated. But more experienced players are likely to have a great time with this deep, unique musical deckbuilder.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about customizing your characters. Do options for different skin tones and hair styles make you feel represented?
Did the music played in the game interest you? Did seeing others play an instrument make you want to play one yourself?
Game Details
- Platform : Windows
- Pricing structure : Paid ($17.99)
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Aerie Digital
- Release date : March 17, 2022
- Genre : Strategy
- Topics : Transportation ( Cars & Trucks ) , Fantasy , Arts ( Music and Sing-Along )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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