Decided to make a rhythm game before the theme, and music is slightly adjacent to looping right? Alright you get it I ain't rollin with the theme this time around, I just wanted an excuse to make a cool game over the weekend. WE ARE PROBABLY DEFINITELY EXPANDING UPON THIS, THINK OF IT AS A PROTOTYPE! WASD/ARROW KEYS IS CONTROLS.
When people talk of the best “rhythm games” genre, they’re probably referencing either Rock Band or Guitar Hero. But over the years, we’ve seen a staggering number of great music games that don’t belong to these two franchises. Whether you’re banging on bongos, spinning a fake turntable, or flailing your arms around in virtual reality, the genre has done it all. Many of them are no longer in production — and several require proprietary plastic controllers — but the following 12 titles are among the best rhythm games the industry has ever seen.
In order to prevent this list from being taken over by the Rock Band series, we’ve restricted it to just one game from the franchise. And Rock Band 3 is certainly the best it has to offer. Upping the ante by adding keyboard gameplay alongside the usual drums, vocals, guitar, and bass, Rock Band 3 was a wildly diverse title. Would-be rockers choose from more than 83 songs and play on a variety of difficulties to sate their inner rockstar. Included on the soundtrack are hit songs by famous bands and songwriters, including Avenged Sevenfold, The Cure, Dio, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Slipknot, and The Smiths.
As for the best of the Guitar Hero franchise, the second installment is often cited as the finest in its roster. It improved upon the original by bringing massive singles from bands such as AC/DC and Metallica to an already stacked lineup, and the developers worked closely with these artists to get authentic recreations in the game. Guitar Hero 2 also improved the hammer-on and pull-off technique, allowing for a more realistic guitar-strumming experience. On top of that, it was the first time players were introduced to three-note chords, forcing them to learn completely new hand positions — and increasing the difficulty.
Combining two genres as disparate as rhythm and roguelike sounds as if it would be a disaster, but it’s one that works surprisingly well. Players must move and attack to the beat of the music — performing any action off-beat results in a penalty. Despite its difficulty, Crypt of the NecroDancer never feels frustrating. Instead, each failure can be seen as practice, as you learn the rhythm of each song and the movement of your foes. You can even choose to upload your own tunes, but the music by Danny Baranowsky is so good you’d be crazy to miss out on it.
Since the GameCube missed out on the Guitar Hero and Rock Band craze, Nintendo decided to step in and fix the problem. And its answer had a decidedly Nintendo spin. The company took one of the most popular franchises — Donkey Kong — and created a music game spinoff. Donkey Konga saw players smacking a plastic set of bongos to the beat of “All the Small Things,” “Louie Louie,” and “Whip It.” It certainly stood out of the market — and performed well enough to earn a sequel — but the bongo fever died out almost as quickly as it came.
This game is only as good as the music you listen to, as you’ll have to upload your own soundtrack to make the most of AudioSurf. There’s a variety of game modes available in the popular title, but for the most part you’ll be flying through a psychedelic landscape as you try to collect blocks of a certain color. These blocks get stacked up behind your character and can be cashed in for points. You’ll have to plan out where you place these blocks, as large groups of a similar color earn you a massive bonus. It’s a fun take on the rhythm genre and one that successfully implements puzzle game mechanics into the action.
Also Read The best games of 2020 and most wanted upcoming games