People of Note Preview: Once more, with feeling

Another musical game wants your attention... and this one sounds like it has what it takes!

I’m a sucker for a music-based game that’s not just a note run like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but sadly musical takes on a narrative adventure or a beat ’em up have largely come in flat. Yes, that was an attempt at a themed joke, and yes, those were pointed references to the likes of Stray Gods and No Straight Roads. Now, it’s People of Note‘s turn to try this out, a music-based RPG inspired by the likes of classics like Final Fantasy. And so far? It looks set to deliver.

In this, the second game from indie studio Iridium, players fill the trainers of Cadence, a young pop singer who’s been ejected from the Noteworthy Song Contest. Deciding that her own sound may not be enough for the big show, she travels around the land, looking for other influences (and band members) that will create something truly unique. For the purposes of our hands-on preview, we started playing People of Note from the beginning of Chapter 2… and it’s my understanding that you’ll be able to do so too, as a demo for the musical RPG is now available on Windows PC via Steam.

From its premise, People of Note isn’t locked into a single musical genre, but many — and my hands-on preview provided a snippet of what to expect. Cadence is decidedly pop, right down to a blue-tipped coif and bejazzled microphone. In Chapter 2, she meets Fret, a hard-rocker who is as talented as he is jaded. Their reluctant pairing is literally laid out in a song called “Mashup,” one that’s already been shared by Iridium. And hey, before I get too far away — what amazing singing from LEXXE as Cadence and Jason Charles Miller as Fret.

While some games might tie their entire set of systems into a song like this, People of Note offers it as a cutscene; you can put down your controller and simply enjoy it. Instead, rhythm flows through its RPG systems, which increase the damage you’ll deal to enemies if you attack on the beat. There’s far more to the combat systems, though — you’ll need to truly strategise to figure out when to attack, when to buff your ally, debuff an opponent, or simply rest to regain energy to deliver another special attack.

You’ll also need to take a combat event’s time signature into account when fighting. In the image below, the signature is 2/2, meaning you get two attacks, and then your opponents get two attacks. Will you be able to survive the next onslaught simply by trying to wail on your opponents? Odds are, no. Thankfully, each encounter you pass will offer up valuable vinyls, which not only can be used to buy new items (mics for Cadence, guitars for Fret), but can be used as do-overs in combat encounters should you fail.

I had my ass handed to me a couple times in the small hands-on preview that was available, and I really respect that. You’re certainly not going to find more bandmates easily; some careful thought and planning will be needed. That’s also true for the puzzles that wrap themselves around the combat experience. The hands-on preview offered a bunch of them, and they started off simple enough — move a light beam from one end to another, using moveable mirrors to accomplish the feat. That ramped up rather quickly, involving two beams, different coloured beams, and more. You really need to put your thinking cap on.

On top of this, People of Note looks a plays great — character designs are quirky and cool, and a top-down camera as you’re running through environments and hitting random combat encounters is so retro Final Fantasy it hurts (but in a good way). This is a music-based game, but it’s also got a bunch of good stuff right alongside that dot point… something that other games that have attempted to similar things have not.

Best yet, this is another extremely reasonably priced indie game for you to get behind; Iridium and publisher Annapurna Interactive have confirmed it’ll set you back a low, low $24.99 USD (and a 10% discount is available right this second). One of Irridium’s team is also based in Sydney, Australia, so there’s another reason you should check this out. I could go on.

Expect People of Note from 7 April 2026 on Windows PC via Steam, the Microsoft Store, and the Epic Games Store, alongside Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS5, and Switch 2. Its release date was announced today, alongside demo availability.