Leaving early access easily shifted this to a recommendation from me. It's still a clumsy, bumbling mess of a game but it does everything with such genuine heart that I can't ever be mad at it. (also it's free)

In my opinion vivid/stasis marks a new era on the indie side of the rhythm game scene, flanked by its weird mobage cousin NOISZ STΔRLIVHT and upcoming "looks like it could change the world" project UNBEATABLE. There's been a shortage of music games that dare to be anything more than purist gameplay with occasional flat storylines attached, especially outside of mobile platforms where Deemo set a standard so quickly.

On PC, any tailored experience you could have is hard focused on selling DLC and appealing to everyone while trying desperately to court its toprankers back from more challenging titles. And in a world with osu! and Quaver and Clone Hero and a thousand forks of StepMania, cynical players - especially younger ones - often flock to user-generated content where all that matters is how difficult the game gets and how many songs get passed around. Why would you spend money on a game that everyone's seen before when you could go play the free-to-win version with all the limiters removed?

The answer is in presentation. A developer that knows how to craft a specific experience can get away with anything. For every weird design decision or stupid line of dialogue that made me roll my eyes, there's a spark of awe, a satisfying solution, or a tear shed down the line that makes up for it.
And like? it's free? You can just download it and play the whole thing. There's so much in here it would easily constitute a 20~30 USD price tag and they're just giving it away!!!

Following this game as it built itself up just to shuffle everything around every major patch was a tiring experience, but in retrospect I hope the few times I considered blaming its creator never came across; she has gone through so much from spoiled players already.
These small teams tug every connection they have and spend every dollar they get for their passion. It takes so much ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ effort, but it's so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ worth it.

(Some useful summary from old review)
+ For those who play traditional scrolling music games: it's very approachable to all kinds of players. The patterning at the top end is often clumsy but the path to that point is very well paved
+ For those who enjoy abstract puzzles and finding secrets: it's got a lot of *stuff* in it. I don't want to spoil *what* is in this game, but it goes so very far beyond your traditional music game
+ For those who love sheer spectacle: every single chapter of this game that has come out so far has been cooler than the last. The writing blends silly group chat style banter into grief and foreboding surprisingly well. Chapter 4 especially tugged at my heart in ways i didn't even expect. The presentation breaks through and affects every facet of the game in incredibly novel ways

- For those who *only* want a VSRG: I personally don't think the core gameplay is very good on its own. If you don't enjoy the other parts, and/or use the unlock-everything button in accessibility, you'll probably be underwhelmed