Just Shapes & Beats: Complete Guide

A guide to surviving Just Shapes & Beats: how dashing, health and rescues work, getting through Story Mode (including the Lost Chapter and Hardcore), ranking up in Challenge Runs, and a clean path to every achievement.

Researched September 2026. Current as of build 1.6.50 (Steam Deck update, March 2023) plus the October 2025 security patch. Berzerk Studio says new work is in progress but hasn't announced it. Check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

1. Pink hurts. Everything else is safe. Every hazard in the game is pink. Your shape, the background and the decorations won't harm you.
2. The dash is your lifeline. Dashing moves you quickly and gives you a short moment of invulnerability, so you can dash through thin attacks. Use it to cross walls and beams, not just to move faster.
3. You can take three hits in a normal level before breaking (six in boss fights). If you break, the level rewinds to a checkpoint or the start.
4. Three breaks in one level means game over, but you can continue, so Story Mode is never a hard wall.
5. In co-op, touch downed friends to revive them. Rescues are a big part of multiplayer (and a few achievements).
6. Casual mode exists. Story Mode offers an optional Casual mode that eases the difficulty. Use it to learn the tracks.
7. Watch the warnings. Most attacks flash a telegraph (a faint outline or line) before they fire. React to the warning, not the attack.
8. Move with the music. Patterns are synced to the beat. If you can hear the drop coming, you can predict the attack.

Modes

Lost Chapter tracks (added 2021)

• F-777 - Airborne Robots
• Kommisar - Last Tile
• Shirobon - Born Survivor
• MDK - Interlaced (JS&B exclusive)
• Shirobon - Spider Dance (Remix), the chapter's boss battle

It unlocks after you complete Story Mode. Once cleared, these tracks show up in Challenge Runs and Playlist/Party. Patch 1.6.50 added Spider Dance to the Story Boss list for the boss playlist achievement.

Core Mechanics in Detail

Health and breaking

• Normal levels: 3 hits. Bosses: 6 hits.
• Getting hit briefly makes you invulnerable. Use that window to escape instead of panicking.
• After a break, the rewind takes you to the last checkpoint. Learn the section, not the whole song. Boss tracks have no checkpoints, so a break there sends you back to the start of the fight.

Dashing

• Dash through, not around. Thin lines, beam edges and bullet streams are meant to be dashed through.
• Don't spam it. A dash that ends in a hazard is worse than no dash. Dash into safe space.
• Chill (achievement): complete a Challenge Mode level without dashing. Pick a gentle track.

Co-op and rescues

• When a friend breaks, their remains float around. Touch them before they drift off-screen to bring them back with one hit point left.
• Rescues count toward achievements: Low Fives (rescue 10 friends in Challenge mode) and High Fives (rescue 50).
• In public lobbies, rescues keep runs alive. Be the player who goes back for people.

Beat Points and ranks

• Beat Points (BP) add up across your performance and are shown on your profile. Since 1.6.50 they sync in real time online, and you can collect large BP coins while waiting in an online lobby.
• Ranks (S, A, B, and lower) are awarded per level in Challenge Runs based on how cleanly you play. Taking fewer hits gives a higher rank.

Accessibility and Settings

• Photosensitive mode: greatly reduces flashing effects (heavily improved in 1.5.52). The game asks about it when you first launch.
• One-hand mode: dash with the triggers and move with either analog stick (1.5.52).
• Controller reassignment: Options, then Controls, then Reassign controllers, for fixing couch co-op controller order.
• Steam Deck: fully supported since 1.6.50, including the on-screen keyboard for Community Rooms.
• Rendering options: Vulkan and OpenGL options were added on Windows in 1.5.54. Try them if you get performance issues.

Story Mode Tips

• Expect a ramp. Early tracks teach reading warnings and dashing. Mid-game adds dense bullet patterns and moving arenas. Bosses combine everything.
• Boss fights have phases. Your six-hit health bar is there so you can learn the phases, so don't give up after one bad run.
• Mini-games break up the story. They aren't timing puzzles, so relax and explore them.
• Clear Story Mode normally, then come back for Hardcore once you know the patterns.
• Story achievements unlock as you progress and finish: It's Over, Okay maybe it wasn't over, Snakes, it had to be snakes, Flower Power, It's trying to say something, It's Over, for real and It's Over, for real, really. They're hidden on Steam, but all seven come from simply playing through the story (including the Lost Chapter).

Challenge Runs and Achievements

Challenge Runs drive most of the achievement list.

Efficient route:

1. Finish Story Mode (story achievements, unlocks tracks) and the Lost Chapter.
2. Play online Challenge Runs with strangers. Dashes, rescues and challenge completions pile up naturally.
3. Grind ranks on tracks you know. Replay favorites in Playlist first, then aim for S ranks in Challenge.
4. Make a 10+ song playlist and a Story boss playlist in Playlist mode for the two playlist achievements.
5. Beat Points come in last. Keep playing Challenge Runs.

For the no-dash achievements (Chill and Hendrix Level), pick the slowest, most readable track you know. You need to learn it well enough to move around every hazard.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Watching your shape instead of the screen. Look at the warnings on the edges of the screen, where attacks come from.
• Dashing into the unknown. Dash toward space you can see is safe.
• Hugging the edges. Many attacks sweep in from the edges. Staying near the middle gives you options.
• Ignoring downed teammates. A quick rescue saves the run and counts toward achievements.
• Skipping Photosensitive mode if flashing bothers you. It was heavily overhauled in 1.5.52 and is there to reduce flashing, not to change the patterns.
• Playing Hardcore before you know the song. Learn it on normal first.

Advanced Tips

• Learn songs, not reactions. Each track's patterns are fixed. Memorizing the drops turns hard sections into routine.
• Use invulnerability after a hit. Dash deliberately through a dense pattern while you're flashing.
• Rank S technique: take zero hits. Learn the safe spots in each section in Playlist before trying.
• Hardcore changes timing. Reactions are tighter and attacks denser. Build a Hardcore-specific muscle memory.
• Community Rooms: play with regulars. Coordinated rescues make high ranks much easier.

FAQ

How many players can play? Up to four, local or online, with drop-in, drop-out co-op.

What is the Lost Chapter? A 2021 addition to Story Mode with five tracks and a new boss (Spider Dance Remix). It unlocks after you finish the story.

Is there a Hardcore mode for Story? Yes. Hardcore for Story Mode came with the Lost Chapter update.

Does it run on Steam Deck? Yes. Fully supported since 1.6.50 (March 2023).

Is the game still being updated? The last content patch was 1.6.50 (2023), plus a Unity security fix in October 2025. For the 7th anniversary (June 2025), Berzerk said they're "working on something" without details.

Is it hard? It's a bullet hell, but Casual mode, generous checkpoints and continues make Story Mode accessible. Challenge Runs and Hardcore are where the difficulty is.

Sources

• Just Shapes & Beats on Steam
• Just Shapes & Beats Steam achievements
• Just Shapes & Beats on Wikipedia
• Steam news: Lost Chapter + Patch 1.6.30, 1.6.50 Steam Deck notes, 1.5.52/1.5.54 notes