Rock Paper Shotgun's early access preview of Offbeat, a jobbing composer simulator from Whetstone Games, sees the writer attempt to recreate famous guitar riffs—including Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"—using the game's cat-shaped piano and singing gnome instruments. The piece highlights the game's appeal as a creative sandbox where players compose music for quirky in-game clients, even if replicating real-world rock riffs proves more difficult than expected.

Offbeat launched into early access on Steam on 22nd July. Players take commissions from customers phoning in via an in-game desk, composing everything from corporate fanfares to wedding songs for a "spooky spirit wedding," using instruments like a cymbal-clashing monkey and a purring cat piano, with the promise of more instruments to be added as development continues.