Design Statement
I heard the theme track as a steady pulse that slowly gathers weight, so I built the whole game on that pulse instead of on reflexes alone. Every danger in Downbeat is placed on the song's beat grid (120 BPM, F minor): zones warn you for one beat and strike exactly on the next, so the music itself tells you when to move. The structure of the game follows the structure of the song. The quiet opening has only a few gentle strikes, the build adds rotating sweeps, and the drop fills the arena, so the difficulty rises and falls with the track. I wanted players to feel the song rather than read the screen, which is why on-beat dashes are rewarded and the gold notes you collect play the melody in the song's key. The level is fixed rather than random, so a run becomes something you learn and perform, like a piece of music. Assist mode, a Reduce Flashing option and an audio-offset slider keep it welcoming for every player.

Game Instructions (launch steps, controls, and gameplay overview)
Launch: unzip Downbeat-Windows.zip and run Downbeat.exe (Windows 10/11, uses the built-in WebView2 runtime). Click PLAY.
Controls: move with the mouse, WASD or the arrow keys. Dash with Space or left click. Esc pauses.
Gameplay: pink zones warn you for one beat, then strike exactly on the next beat of the theme track. Be somewhere else when they land, or dash straight through a strike for a graze bonus. A dash timed on the beat lasts longer and recharges almost instantly. Collect gold notes to build your combo. Survive the 55-second song to win. Assist mode gives more health and kinder hitboxes; Reduce Flashing softens the strikes; the audio-offset slider fixes any delay from your speakers.

Gameplay walkthrough video
https://youtu.be/5INm8Cr26pI

Did your project use any AI tools or assets? If yes, please specify.
Yes. Claude (Anthropic) via Claude Code wrote the game's code and text, designed the hazard patterns and the code-drawn visuals, and synthesised the sound-effect blips in code. No AI-generated images, music or voice. The theme track is used unmodified.