Synth Riders adds a free Apashe track, and its own notes disagree on Neon Bloom
Kluge Interactive has put a new song into Synth Riders for nothing, and it is Apashe's "Lord & Master". The studio's annual Spooky Update, posted at 08:47 UTC on October 15, says the track "joins the library at no cost" and that players will find it in the Specials pack.
Rails, stage lights and the player platform are among the things Kluge says the Neon Bloom setting makes glow. Image: Kluge Interactive
Free is the unusual part here. Steam lists 127 pieces of downloadable content for Synth Riders on top of the $24.99 base game in the US, and the game's music has normally arrived in paid packs, as the 90s rock set did.
Kluge calls Apashe's orchestral bass sound "dark, cinematic, and heavy enough to keep you moving", and casts the song as a thank you to players who have "played, mapped, streamed, competed" with the game for years. "Our annual Spooky Update arrives early and as usual, it's free for everyone," the post says.
Players catch notes and ride rails like these in time with whatever is playing. Image: Kluge Interactive
"Lord & Master" is not the first track to drop into that pack. FIFTY FIFTY's "Barbie Dreams" moved into the Specials pack on October 2, in version 3.6.6a2, and the Spooky Update follows three patch builds since that date, each one carrying Steam Frame fixes.
The bats are the part with a clock on it. "For a limited time, bats are flying over the Spin City home stage and play stage," Kluge says, telling players to "look up between songs, because they won't be around for long", and the post gives no end date.
The studio's own notes disagree on Neon Bloom
The same post announces two visual effects. "We've turned on two new visual effects, Neon Bloom and Flash, which add a lot of extra glow and punch to every stage," Kluge writes, qualifying that with "Steam Frame - this is already part of PCVR".
A week earlier the studio put it differently. Version 3.6.7a1, posted at 13:43 UTC on October 8, said "Bloom has arrived on Quest & Steam Frame", named the notes, rails, walls, player platform and controller orbs it makes glow, and placed the control at Settings > Advanced Graphics > Neon Bloom Effect, defaulting to Low. Those notes name no Flash setting.
We reported that arrival on October 15, in a piece on the 3.6.7a2 bugfix build that cleared flickering white dots on one stage when the Neon Bloom Effect was on. That build went up at 02:47 UTC on October 14, a day before the Spooky Update. Both sets of notes are Kluge's own, and the studio has not addressed the difference between them.
Stages range from open cityscapes to tunnels, and the update puts bats over the Spin City home stage and play stage. Image: Kluge Interactive
Both effects can be switched off in Settings
Neon Bloom and Flash are not forced on anyone. "Both are optional. You can turn them on or off and adjust them anytime in Settings," the October 15 post says, which gives anyone chasing frame rate on a standalone headset a switch to reach for.
Score, multiplier and combo sit above the track while a song runs. Image: Kluge Interactive
Kluge signs the post off by telling players to "keep enough lights on for your tracking", which is sound advice for an update themed on the dark. The studio says it has "big plans for the end of the year" and has attached no dates to any of them. Synth Riders costs $24.99 in the US on Steam, runs on PC VR and Steam Frame, and the Spooky Update is free to anyone who owns the game.
