When comparing AudioSurf vs Strata, the Slant community recommends Strata for most people. In the question“What are the best Colorful games on Steam?” Strata is ranked 21st while AudioSurf is ranked 31st. The most important reason people chose Strata is:
The game scales to any resolution so you can have it in a window on the side.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Can be casual or hardcore
Depending on the speed/difficulty that is set by the car chosen by the user they can have a slow casual experience or a fast paced hardcore experience is sped up. This is great if a bunch of different players in ones family or group of friends will be playing as well as for when the payer feels like changing up their own experience.
Pro Interesting puzzle mechanics for a rhythm game
Instead of rhythmically hitting certain blocks to the beat the player is actually tasked with collecting certain blocks on the track in order to create combos for a high score.
Pro Supports flexible window resolutions
The game scales to any resolution so you can have it in a window on the side.
Pro Addictive gameplay that steadily increases in difficulty
While the gameplay starts out as being quite straightforward (therefore easing the player into the game), the difficulty does build as one continues to play.
Pro Original design and gameplay
The minimalistic look of the game as well as the way the gameplay works is quite original while still staying intuitive.
Pro 2D minimalistic "weaving" that requires thinking in 3d
While represented in 2D the puzzle solving aspect of the game requires thinking in terms of "levels" as one would while weaving.
Cons
Con Uneven experience depending on songs choosen
Vocals and different riffs on a guitar may speed up ones ship in the middle of a race, on top of this one must be conscious of what music they choose as some genres may be easier to play to than others.
Con Too easy if you figure out the pattern
The pattern behind the puzzles isn't the simplest, but if you can figure it out, you can solve any of the puzzles quickly.
Con Includes in app purchases
Strata is an upfront paid game at $2.99 which is why it is disappointing to see that in app purchases later apply.
Con No level generator
Even though the levels could easily be automatically generated, there is no level generator.
Con Short
The game can be beaten in about six and a half hours, which is really not all that long for a PC game. Of course originally this was a mobile phone game, which shows its roots in the length.