From arcades and home consoles all the way to the fairly recent development of virtual reality, the rhythm game genre has been around for a while. All of them take an extreme amount of motor skills, ranging from arm and finger movement to dancing with your legs.
As the name of the genre suggests, a good sense of rhythm is also required to be decent at the games. This list will only include the very best games that fans of the genre should recognize and newcomers should check out if they are curious.
10 Fuser
Fuser is a great entry into the genre and is the best for new players, as it was made by Guitar Hero Developer, Harmonix. The game is about living out your fantasy as a concert DJ and performing in front of large audiences. The gameplay consists of mixing songs from well known artists together to create something completely new. You achieve this by dropping discs at the right time, either on the downbeat or the upbeat.
You can also add effects and accept the audience’s requests to get bonus points. The game used to have competitive multiplayer, but the online servers have since been shut down. Fuser is a solid game that has unfortunately suffered from a lack of content to keep players interested, but it can still be worthy of a new player’s time.
9 AVICII Invector
AVICII Invector is a rhythm based split-screen multiplayer game with nothing but the late DJ AVICII’s 25 greatest hits, as well as new songs that fans may not have heard before. You gain points by flying your ship through rings along a set track, as well as pushing the right buttons when on screen prompts appear on the beat.
The game features beautiful backgrounds and several planets to explore. Most levels feature a neon-synthwave atmosphere with bright and vibrant colors. AVICII Invector was released a year after the artist’s death and is a love letter to his music. You can also purchase an Encore Pack that adds ten more songs and levels for you to play.
8 Ragnarock
This game is perfect for you if you like Celtic rock music, Viking power metal, and gameplay like Beat Saber and Guitar Hero. In Ragnarock, you are a drummer on the back of a Viking longship. The better you hit the drums on the correct beat, the faster the Vikings on your ship will row.
Your goal is to beat an AI or another player to the end of the river that you both are rowing on. If you hit enough notes without messing up, you will charge your mallets with lightning and make your ship move even faster. Ragnarock features multiple mystical environments straight out of Norse mythology, as well as songs from well known artists.
7 Friday Night Funkin
This is a kind of unique entry on this list. Friday Night Funkin is a rhythm game made by four indie developers in 2020. The game was Kickstarted and was given 1.1 million dollars for development. It is a simple call and response-based music game that was made even more entertaining by the modding scene behind it.
Modders have added many songs from viral internet videos and popular video game songs. The gameplay consists of pressing keys on the keyboard at the right time, similarly to Dance Dance Revolution, but with your fingers. Players compete as the music gets faster and more notes are required to be hit.
6 Just Dance
The Just Dance games have been around almost as long as Guitar Hero and are almost as popular. The gameplay consists of mimicking the dance moves of the on-screen dancers while listening to the most popular music of the given year that the game is from.
The closer your movements are to the dancers, the more points you’ll get. It is a simple game that is great for exercise and having fun with friends and family. The games have slowly become less popular over the years, and in recent years, and Ubisoft is considering not making new games anymore.
5 Thumper
This game is a lot like AVICII Invector, but even better. Thumper can be played in both visually stunning 2D and even more astonishing virtual reality. In the game, you play as a space beetle navigating “violent” space all while making your way to your nemesis: a giant floating metal head.
You score points by turning corners at the exact right time and by avoiding obstacles in your way. Thumper has also been released on mobile as part of the Apple Arcade. It is a short but notable experience that most fans of the rhythm genre should check out.
4 Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock
No rhythm game list would be complete without a Guitar Hero game. Guitar Hero 3 is one of the best entries in the franchise and a source of great nostalgia for most people. It also featured the likeness of Slash from Guns n’ Roses, who could be added as a member of your band. The game features over 70 tracks of classic and modern rock (from the mid 2000s).
The game is played with the signature guitar controller that features five colored buttons and one string trigger, as well as a thumb stick to navigate menus. Harmonix did a great job with this game, and it’s a shame that they can’t make Guitar Hero anymore.
3 Crypt Of The NecroDancer
This game is also unique compared to the others. Crypt of the NecroDancer is a rhythm based rougelike dungeon crawler where you can play as one of 15 characters and listen to over 40 original songs unique to the game. Gameplay is based on striking enemies and dodging enemies in time with the beat.
The rougelike element comes in based on the random items and dungeon layout that are different each time the game is played. The game can also be played with a keyboard, controller, or even a USB dance pad. You can even substitute the in game music for any of your personal MP3 files — though with a soundtrack as amazing as this one, you might never bother.
2 Pistol Whip
Here is another great, unique VR game. Pistol Whip is a first person rhythm based rail shooter. You score points by shooting enemies in time with the beat and dodging bullets. Each song and level has its own unique mini story, from fighting zombies to fighting off kidnappers, or even being like John Wick.
There are both single and double pistol modes as well as completely customizable pistols all the way down to the way they sound. There are also large DLC story expansions that include space cowboys and cyberpunk vibes.
1 Beat Saber
Beat Saber is the best rhythm game out there. It has revolutionized the whole VR rhythm game experience. The gameplay consists of slashing flying cubes in a certain direction that fly at you to get the maximum amount of points. It has very cool flashy backgrounds and amazing lighting effects.
The soundtrack is fantastic and consists of original music and DLC packs of songs from well known artists such as Billie Eilish and The Weekend. It also has great modding support, with people adding custom track lists with meme songs and other popular music, all for free.
