Beans, beans, the musical fruit

Harmonix sure has diversified in the past five years. Sure, the studio just releasedRock Band 4and it focuses on interacting with music in all of its games, but with stuff likeChromaandA City Sleeps, it has gone further than just “hit the button at the right time” gameplay. WithBeatNiks, Harmonix is moving into the free-to-play virtual pet space.

For the most part it sounds like a standard pet simulator, where players create a weird kidney monster and upgrade it over time by poking at it every now and then, the Harmonix twist is that it will evolve differently depending on what music is playing (either played from the devices memory or streamed via services like Pandora). What turned the cute lima bean with legs above on the left into the ugly monstrosity on the right? My guess is nu metal.

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So how does it play? I wish I could tell you, but it’s incompatible with my aging phone. Those with newer devices can download it for free (expect in-app purchases) fromGoogle PlayorApple’s App Store.

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