The rhythm game is back with Guitar Hero Live, but should the franchise have stayed buried or should we welcome the shredding simulator back into our lounges?

It’s time to found out if Activision backed the right horse and whether Freestyle Games know what they’re doing or not.

User Scores are shaky, admittedly, but for the most part critics seem to love it. Let’s see:

Destructoid – 9.5/10 (Xbox One)

“There’s also a fundamental shift with the story mode, which no longer displays lifeless uncanny valley avatars strumming along to the song. Instead, the developers have recorded live footage with real bands playing each song with a live crowd, and strapped a camera to the lead guitarist to simulate a first-person view. Yes, it’s FMV, but the end result is done so well that it blows past the Mad Dog McCrees of old.”

The Sixth Axis – 9/10 (PS4)

“As the name suggests, Guitar Hero TV is a network of music channels that run 24/7. Upon logging into the servers, you can select which two of the current channels you wish to play and jump straight in. Naturally, as a TV station, you will have no say over which songs crop up on the programming schedule, though there will be hints as to which ones are queued for later in the day. It should also be noted that many of these songs aren’t available offline and as such can only be played via Guitar Hero TV.”

PlayStation Lifestyle – 8.5/10 (PS4)

“Instead of looking longingly at the addition of DLC songs that you would like to purchase but just don’t have the money for, we’ll get to look forward to songs being added to the streaming library without any additional cost to us. They’ll come up during the shows, and they’ll be accessible in the on demand listings. There’s even the possibility of new modes, additional rewards, and exclusive reveals through the platform. ”

Gamespot – 6/10

“Guitar Hero Live is a complex machine with many moving parts and a lot of new ideas. Its visuals rely primarily on live action footage rather than traditional game graphics. Its guitar trades the long-standing five button layout for three pairs of buttons stacked on top of each other. And it delivers new music through a freemium-style service rather than simply selling individual tracks. Some of these new ideas work beautifully, while others fail miserably, which makes Guitar Hero’s long-awaited return a consuming, often overwhelming sequence of incredible highs and unbearable lows.”

IGN – 7.9/10

” The new guitar makes a tangible improvement to how you experience each and every riff and lick, and GHTV provides an almost irresistible service for enjoying tracks you love while discovering new ones, with absolutely nothing hidden behind a paywall.”

Kotaku – “Yes”

“If everyone in the world had plastic guitars, Guitar Hero TV might have been released as a free-to-play social game. But they don’t, so it’s included in a bundle with one hell of a single-player experience and a nifty instrument.”

Hardcore Gamer – 4/5 (PS4)

“Guitar Hero Live is clearly the product of music lovers. Instead of exuding cheesiness like past titles in the franchise, Live is wholly contemporary. From the font, to the controller, to the song selection, down to the gameplay itself, Guitar Hero Live feels fresh, alive and something that’s not embarrassing to have out at a party full of even the snobbiest hipsters.”

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