When I got to try People of Note back in February, I was generally pretty impressed with what I was seeing. The hands-on demo itself was fairly short, but it gave me a pretty good sense of the concepts this game wanted to capture. Like I said then, when it comes to games published by Annapurna, you can typically expect quality, but Iridium Studios really sold me on its genuine passion for making something really special.
I don’t know if I can say People of Note exceeded my expectations, since they were already pretty optimistic, but it was definitely consistent in confirming my predisposition. It’s a game that takes one core idea and hooks everything on it so completely and so creatively that it’s almost a miracle it didn’t fail. I guess it does pay off to do one thing right, if you’re going to do that one thing REALLY right.
The story of People of Note concerns Cadence, an aspiring pop star whose only dream is to compete in the Noteworthy Song Contest in her home city of Chordia. However, when her audition is snubbed by the contest’s iron-fisted judge, she sets off on a whirlwind adventure to find the sound that will bring her victory. But things are a lot more complicated than they seem, and “Harmonic Convergence” begins to shed light on a separation of sound that may affect the entire world of Note.
The story evokes the spirit of golden age Disney films and classic RPGs—where the drama and inciting incident begin with relatively low, personal stakes; and gradually ramp up into a fate-of-the-world dilemma that tests the will and growth of our protagonists. It’s got a solid sense of pacing and is consistently lighthearted and pleasant, so even amid the mounting danger, it never loses its sense of fun.
People of Note’s story is bolstered by an eclectic cast of incredibly likable characters that run the gamut in both design and personality. Cadence is a wide-eyed, somewhat snarky young girl looking to make her place in the world. Fret is an old-school rocker whose gruff personality hides a warm heart that was hurt by the events of his past.
Even the villains are pretty fun and genuinely entertaining—ranging from the Pop band Smoulder, whose members have “won” the Noteworthy song contest nine years in a row, to the slick-talkin’ country ranger Martell (voiced by Debra Wilson). Even momentary characters are given an abundance of personality, filling every moment of the story with life and entertainment.
But the beating heart of People of Note is its audio. Every moment of this game is shaped by its music—from the moment-to-moment soundtracks that change depending on the style of each area, to key story moments that feature full Disney-style musical numbers. From top to bottom, the game is about music, and it incorporates it in every possible facet.
“I spoke about it briefly in my preview, but the way People of Note incorporates music into its battle system is truly inspired.”
I mentioned it a bit in my preview: the gameplay in People of Note is a turn-based RPG, but I was honestly surprised by how straightforward it is while maintaining the fundamentals of the genre. While players will still explore the world of Note, each new area feels like a new level, where players progress the plot, dive into a singular dungeon and face off against a boss. Much like a sheet of music, it’s all arranged in a linear fashion while giving players room to freestyle and experiment.
Take, for example, the way People of Note approaches the dungeon. Each one features a set number of battles required for progression, but the game also lets players “Drop a Beat,” allowing them to engage in a random battle at their convenience. It gives players the freedom to get as strong as they want, while never rigidly tying progression to character level or battle ability.
I spoke about it briefly in my preview, but the way People of Note incorporates music into its battle system is truly inspired. Each turn consists of a “stanza” where players’ and enemies’ turns are visible to see and strategize around. Each bar of the stanza represents an action, and depending on the bar, certain moves can be utilized or powered up. Not only that, enemies and players can attach conditions to certain bars to buff or debuff abilities used on them.
And of course, there are the style changes that not only change the motif of the battle music, but power up the attacks and abilities of the teammate who has that style. It adds an interesting element of strategy to the combat as players plan around banking enough ability points to utilize attacks when they’re powered up.
On top of this, there’s the Limit Break-esque “Mashups,” where, as characters take damage, they fill up a bar that lets them utilize team attacks. Depending on which players Mash Up with each other, they apply their respective styles to the Stanza, which can open up even more opportunities for devastating attack combos—and the way battle music changes when more than one style is active is just the cherry on top.
Even when battles began to feel a bit formulaic, the combat worked to feel so thematically resonant to the entire game. When I noticed the boss fights all kind of had the same mechanic, I realized that was very much on purpose, since at its core, the plot is about escaping the mundanity of familiar genres and styles and experimenting with different styles and combining genres for a whole new sound.
“However, for what few shortcomings People of Note has, it makes up for them with an overabundance of style, genuinely inventive gameplay and excellent music.”
However, it’s not a completely flawless experience. If I had one major criticism with People of Note, it’s that I wish there were a more utilitarian application of the musical elements than are on offer. The way timed hits work doesn’t really follow the tempo of the battle music and can take some getting used to, especially when multiple beats can have different timing.
And I kind of alluded to it in my preview, but it was a bit of a letdown to me that the big musical numbers didn’t have a more hands-on application. I’m all for the game having musical numbers as part of the plot, but big rhythm-game style boss-fights akin to The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie’s Revenge would’ve added a really fun edge to the musical numbers.
In the visual department, People of Note is a bit mixed. Aesthetically, the game is gorgeous, using a wide array of colours, landscapes and visual motifs to distinguish its various characters and factions. The metalheads of Durandis live in a barren canyon, with massive skulls carved into rocks. Lunaris is a technopunk city of dark colours accented by bright neon pulled straight out of TRON: Legacy.
The game also displays an insane amount of creativity in its character and enemy designs. Characters have such distinctive features depending on their musical genres, and even common creatures are designed to fit some kind of musical theme or pun. It’s honestly staggering just how many musical-themed things have been crammed into People of Note. That being said, some of the production does feel a little unpolished.
While most dialogue scenes do utilize a decent range of character profiles, certain cutscenes that use 3D models lack any animations, which makes scenes where they’re supposedly practicing music feel weird. Certain battle animations can feel incomplete and a bit sloppy, and performance in general can be a bit spotty, like a certain moment where I got stuck on the geometry, and the game autosaved at that point, so I was softlocked.
However, for what few shortcomings People of Note has, it makes up for them with an overabundance of style, genuinely inventive gameplay and excellent music. It’s a game filled ot the brim with heart, charm and an overabundance of music jokes. It’s been a while since I played an RPG that subverted the genre in an interesting way, and this one genuinely kept me hooked.
Also, there are secret trivia battles against a bird creature called a “Weird Owl,” and yes…the battle music is Polka.
