It’s always great to be surprised by a game, and one of 2025’s most pleasant surprises is Fresh Tracks. The first game from Vancouver game studio Buffalo Buffalo, this rhythm roguelite puts the players on skis and challenges them with a ton of enemies and obstacles to attack and dodge. A successful blend of genres, it winds up giving you both the same feel of triumph at the end of a run as Hades, while also the joy of nailing a guitar solo in Rock Band.

Like a lot of VR rhythm games, you are constantly moving forward in Fresh Tracks. Taking on a series of gods along the way, including one played by the always-great Peter Stormare, you’ll find yourself choosing which paths to go on before you reach boss battles. This is the first layer of strategy in the game, as you’ll have to find a balance between going on tougher levels in order to unlock better skills during the run or just doing an easy stage to get your health up before a pivotal moment.

Each song will have you hopping between different lanes while simultaneously tilting your body, jumping, and crouching to avoid obstacles. Along the way, you’ll be tempted to collect health and currency in order to aid your runs. While that’s already enough to keep you plenty busy, you also use the right analog stick in order to swing a sword at foes and projectiles, with perfectly-timed swipes allowing you to eventually heal yourself. It’s a lot of mechanics, but they all complement each other well and are introduced during a nice tutorial, so you’ll never feel totally overwhelmed.

The highlight of each run is definitely getting to a boss fight. These get particularly intense as plenty of enemies are thrown your way, and the game also does a great job of building up these encounters through back-and-forth narration. Hearing the gods taunt you as you make your way through an encounter makes it all the more satisfying once you finally get through it.

The roguelite nature of the game comes out in a few ways. You can spend currency on charms that give you benefits for each run, but you are also able to buy permanent upgrades over time, such as better pairs of skis. There’s a nice mix of unlocks, including the ability to practice songs, so you never feel like progression is hopeless.

Fresh Tracks (PS5) Review: Final Verdict

With a wide range of difficulty settings and over 25 catchy songs, Fresh Tracks is the latest must-own PS5 rhythm game. Whether you’re a relative newbie to music-based games or look forward to mastering difficult runs, Buffalo Buffalo’s debut game is a triumphant success. Stylish and fun to replay, players will look forward to every restart rather than bemoaning a run coming to an end.

Disclosure: The publisher provided a digital copy for our Fresh Tracks PS5 review. Reviewed on version 1.000.000.

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