WHAT TO PLAY
Rhythm games
53 games in the catalog
A rhythm game is one where what matters is not where you aim but when you press. The music is not a backdrop: it sets the tempo, the player has to follow it, and success is measured by how precisely each beat is hit. The basic idea is older than the genre itself, going back to electronic toys like Simon from the late 1970s, where you memorised and repeated a sequence of tones.
As a genre in its own right, rhythm games took hold in the second half of the 1990s, when PaRappa the Rapper arrived on the PlayStation and Konami began winning over Japanese arcades with beatmania and Dance Dance Revolution. Since then it is mostly the controls that keep changing: a dance pad, a plastic guitar, bongos, a microphone, a touch screen and finally controllers for virtual reality.
The genre lasted because the rule can be understood in ten seconds, and improvement shows both in your score and in your fingers. It also combines with almost anything: action, strategy, shooters, adventure. Swap the songs and the game feels fresh again.
Today (2015 onwards)
16 games in the catalogAfter 2015 rhythm spread in two directions. Virtual reality gave the genre a physical side: in Beat Saber you slash blocks with two sabers, in Pistol Whip you shoot in time. On phones, games are played with a single finger and songs are unlocked or added as packs, as in Cytus II or Muse Dash. The other direction is blending genres: Cadence of Hyrule builds a dungeon crawl on the rhythm of your steps, Hi-Fi RUSH ties its combat to the music, and Sayonara Wild Hearts is a short ride that follows one soundtrack from start to finish.
NES Famidash
An astonishing demake of Geometry Dash hand-written in 6502 assembly for the 8-bit NES.
PS5 Hi-Fi RUSH
O rok později dorazila na PlayStation už s veškerým obsahem od začátku.
Beatstar
A rhythm game built on real hits; just tap along to the beat of popular songs.
PS4 Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory
A rhythm-game celebration of fifteen years of the series with rearranged tracks by Yoko Shimomura.
Quest Until You Fall
A rhythm-based hack and slash with a roguelite structure; combat modeled on souls-like games.
Switch Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda
The rhythm roguelike Crypt of the NecroDancer unexpectedly meets the world of Zelda and its music.
Quest Pistol Whip
A shooter set to the rhythm of music; each level is built around a single track.
Mobil Sayonara Wild Hearts
Musical action like a ride through a concept album; motorbikes, cards, and a synth-pop beat.
PC Beat Saber
Slicing blocks to the beat of music with lightsabers; a VR hit that clicks on the first try.
Mobil Cytus II
A rhythm game with a futuristic story and demanding notes; from the creators of Cytus and Deemo.
Mobil Muse Dash
A cute anime rhythm game where characters run and hit notes; popular even beyond mobile.
PS4 Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight
A rhythm spin-off where Persona 3's characters trade battles for the dance floor.
The HD generation (2005–2014)
18 games in the catalogFrom 2005 the genre went mainstream. Guitar Hero put a plastic guitar and well-known rock songs in the living room, so playing a favourite track no longer required any musical skill, and Rock Band added drums, bass and vocals in 2007. HD consoles with online stores let players buy new songs one at a time. Meanwhile handhelds explored other paths: stylus tapping in Elite Beat Agents, minigame collections in Rhythm Heaven, and Patapon, where drum beats become commands for an army. Around 2010 a flood of sequels and plastic instruments saturated the market, and the boom ended.
Mobil Deemo
An atmospheric piano rhythm game; a story told without words in one of the most beautiful mobile games.
MAME maimai
A circular touchscreen surrounded by buttons; notes are hit with both hands all around the rim.
3DS Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure
A Sega rhythm-action treasure hunt beneath Paris with the thief Raphael.
PSP Patapon 3
The conclusion of the rhythm trilogy; instead of an anonymous crowd, it puts distinct heroes front and center.
Wii Rhythm Heaven Fever
Rhythm as the only mechanic, with no meters or hints; you either feel it or you don't.
Wii Rock Band 3
Plná kapela v obýváku i na nejskromnější konzoli své generace.
Wii BIT.TRIP BEAT
Retro pixel aesthetics and rhythm in one; you compose music by bouncing blocks back.
DS Rhythm Heaven
A collection of dozens of short rhythm minigames; controlled with just the stylus or the microphone.
Wii The Beatles: Rock Band
An untraditional Rock Band entry dedicated to a single band; the singing builds on the Beatles' harmonies.
MAME jubeat
A 4×4 grid of illuminated panels instead of note lanes — a visually distinct concept.
PSP Patapon 2
A sequel to the cult rhythm-strategy experiment with a richer formula.
PS2 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Stejna kytarova horecka, ale na starsim hardwaru PlayStationu 2 a s kratsim setlistem.
The arrival of 3D (1995–2004)
19 games in the catalogIn the second half of the 1990s the CD and 3D hardware arrived on consoles, so music could be a proper recording rather than a chip tune, and the genre branched out quickly. On the PlayStation, PaRappa had you rap with button presses, while Vib-Ribbon built its levels from whatever music CD you put in the drive. Dedicated controllers multiplied: a drum kit for Drummania, a guitar-shaped panel for GuitarFreaks, bongos for Donkey Konga, microphones for SingStar. Rez and Space Channel 5 showed that rhythm could be tied to a shooter or a dance story.
GCN Donkey Konga
A rhythm game controlled with the DK Bongos; you clap and drum along to the beat of the song.
GCN Donkey Konga 2
Rytmická hra s bonga bubínky, tentokrát s písničkami z Nintenda i západní popové scény.
PS2 SingStar
A karaoke game from Sony London Studio that brought competitive singing into European living rooms.
PS2 Amplitude
A polished sequel to Frequency with richer visuals and more accessible controls.
PS2 Space Channel 5: Part 2
"Repeat after me" dance battles with reporter Ulala; a sequel to the Dreamcast game.
PS2 Gitaroo Man
A cult rhythm game about guitar duels, a commercial failure at the time, legendary today.
MAME beatmania IIDX 8th style
A DJ deck with a turntable and buttons; the turntable itself doubles as a note to scratch in rhythm.
PS2 Frequency
From Harmonix, the future creators of Guitar Hero; the player remixes the track on the fly.
DC Rez
Tetsuya Mizuguchi's synesthetic rail shooter; a game you feel more than play.
MAME Taiko no Tatsujin
Drumming with taiko sticks is so intuitive you'll grasp the rules within seconds.
PS1 Bust-A-Groove 2
Sequel to the dance-battle game Bust-A-Groove; it never released outside Japan and Europe.
MAME Drummania
Rubber pads and a bass drum pedal simulate a drum kit; the game punishes uneven hits.