Since everyone seems to enjoy the weirdo pivot we’ve been slowly angling for, let’s keep that ball rolling. So, I played another bonkers demo on Steam — as is tradition, I suppose. I’m going to try my best to not spoil too much here because you need to experience this as blindly as possible. But, I want to tell y’all about Starstruck: Hands of Time, a game with PS2 Golden Age sensibilities.

I’ve been missing my boy, PaRappa the Rapper, for years. Sony took him out back and Old Yeller’d him, I guess. Since then, my craving for a good, high-energy rhythm game that matches my crazy has yet to be fulfilled. …Until now. So, to relay the vibe of Starstruck without ruining all the fun, here’s what I’ll tell you.

You start your journey by creating a character. And by “Creating a character,” I mean a large human hand. Seriously. You can customize the hand’s color and chunkiness. The only woefully missing piece is a host of off-the-wall fingernail options. However, considering how the large hand plays into the overarching story, it makes sense that the developers had to hold back on too many player-chosen adjustments to it.

“Wait, you said this was a rhythm game? where does the ps2 come into play?”

The PS2 era of gaming was a true Wild West of creativity. AAA publishers and developers took chances without worrying about profitability or trends (mostly). Whatever the hell they felt like making, they made it — with their full creative powers. Starstruck embodies that creative chaos you’ll only find in the indies. Calling it a “PS2-Ass Game” is the highest of compliments.

The character work in the demo alone? Phenomenal. At first, you think it’s just “crazy for the sake of it,” and you realize everything has a horrifying purpose. …Well, for the most part. There are certain decisions I think the devs just felt like making — and I admire that brand of artistry! I’ll say this, too, because I know I’m being cagey with details. This game will not go where you think it will. The music is rockin’, though. You can even plug in a Guitar Hero controller for the music, if you wanna get wild.

Just trust me. Go download the game, then buy it like I did when you inevitably want to know where the game can possibly go next. Honestly, I’d love to get a group together to just talk about Starstruck‘s characters and plot. That’s how strong the storytelling is right off the bat!