Apple Arcade review #104: Mind Symphony

Mind Symphony feels like an idea that hasn’t been fully developed. It’s unpolished and broken — I could never get the Apple Music connection to work, which is one of the game’s unique selling points, and very odd, given it’s an Apple-published title — and it also feels unbalanced and untested.

There are two modes: “Release” and “Calm”. The latter appears to be completely non-interactive; a ship flies itself into the screen, picking up orbs, while your chosen music track plays. Okay. Why? The former is a shoot-em-up that provides some enjoyment when bonuses rack up and the pyrotechnics kick in. The problem is that once lots of things happen on screen, it’s impossible to see your ship or survive more than a few seconds. All of this is “timed” to the music, although I couldn’t really see how the music influenced the game, and since I couldn’t pick my own tracks, I was locked into the bundled tracks.

If you can get the Apple Music connection to work, and if the game fundamentally changes based on that music, and if you’re better able to survive the mayhem than me, then maybe there’s a point to this game — maybe. But I don’t really get it.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/mind-symphony/id1465854303