9 Best Rhythm Games With High Replay Value

Rhythm games, by their very nature, are inherently very replayable. After all, who doesn’t like listening to their favorite song over and over again? Rhythm games are much the same way, whether you’re playing many different songs with the same gameplay framework or a bunch of varied, self-contained rhythm mini-games. It’s always nice to just pull up your favorite tracks, and if you can occupy your brain with some gameplay at the same time, all the better.

That said, there are some factors that make some rhythm games more replayable than others. For example, focusing more on arcade-style gameplay over linear storytelling can make it easier to pick up and play at a moment’s notice, having a large setlist of songs helps cater to a lot of different musical tastes, and a customization element helps foster a continuous community. All of these rhythm games feature one or more of these factors, which make them good candidates for when you need a quick rhythmic fix.

9 Osu!

Carrying The Elite Beat Agents Torch

By today’s standards, a rhythm game that adapts to your own music is nothing new, but in the late 2000s, such a thing was mostly unheard of. One of the first games to really popularize the concept was actually a freeware game released to continue the legacy of Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents on the Nintendo DS, a little game called Osu!

Osu uses the same control scheme as Elite Beat Agents, just on your PC instead of a touchscreen: various types of beat markers appear in time with the backing track, and you have to hit them in sequence with perfect timing to rack up a high score. The basic loop is a good enough draw on its own, but the real staying power of Osu is its customizability. All of its beatmaps are user-generated, with the songs used and difficulty of the beat markers entirely within user control, so the tracks you can play are theoretically infinite.

Osu released all the way back in 2007, but its community is still alive and well today, with users creating new beatmaps and uploading them to the game’s website regularly. It’s both a fun rhythm game in general and a nifty way to flex your own creativity.

8 AudioSurf

Ride Those Tunes

In the year following Osu’s release, custom-music rhythm games started to pick up speed in the genre, at least within the indie sphere. One of the most prominent examples to release in a commercial capacity in that era, and still a favorite amongst rhythm gamers, is AudioSurf.

AudioSurf is a little difficult to classify, genre-wise. It’s a rhythm game, obviously, but it’s also got shades of block-stacking puzzle games. You can upload any music files stored locally on your PC, and the game will automatically generate a track based on its soundform. You ride this track in a handful of different game modes, dodging incoming obstacles, assembling and clearing colored blocks, and other similar gimmicks.

Since the tracks are generated automatically from your music, AudioSurf is very accessible amongst custom rhythm games. You don’t need to figure out timing or beatmaps yourself, just stick a song in and go to town. It’s a cool and flashy way to get a little more enjoyment out of your music than just staring at a visualizer.

7 Melatonin

Dream A Little Dream

For as much fun as rhythm games are, they can be a bit overpowering with their music and visuals. While it can be nice to occupy yourself with a simple task of following beats, loud music and flashing lights aren’t the best if you’re looking to wind down from a long day. If you’d like something that maintains its replayability without beating you over the head, try Melatonin. The game, I mean, not the supplement.

Melatonin is made up of a series of rhythm mini-games, each with an overarching theme of reflective dreams. Our protagonist dreams about their day, whether it’s the food they ate or the job they worked, with unique tracks for each. Both the visuals and music are very deliberately downplayed, using milder animations and sound cues perfect for a quiet, late-night experience.

Just beating the game isn’t that difficult, but the game does have a hard mode and mashups that hit you with more beats and mini-game styles one after another. Calmer though it may be, it can still be a challenging game that’s fun to gradually overcome.

6 Rhythm Doctor

One Button, Many Stories

Part of the appeal of rhythm games in general is their relative simplicity. It can be difficult making a more complicated game that still follows backing tracks, so keeping gameplay simple is easier for both developers and players. Most rhythm games stick to a few face buttons or single joystick movement, but Rhythm Doctor simplifies things even further by basing its entire core loop around a single button.

The premise of Rhythm Doctor is that you’re a doctor helping patients by defibrillating their heart in time with the backing track. This is accomplished by pressing one button at precise intervals throughout the song. Rather than the way you control the game, variability is introduced via the different types of music. Different levels explore different facets of music theory, from irregular time signatures to polyrhythms, requiring you to listen carefully and really understand different facets of music.

There’s a 20-level story to enjoy, but even after that’s done, the game has a hefty level editor utility you can use to put your own beatmaps together, complete with unique visual effects. Of course, the game also has full Workshop support, so you can easily download and play everyone else’s custom tracks.

5 Taiko No Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival

For When You Really Want Licensed Music

Rhythm games have always had an enduring presence in arcades, ever since the first kid tore it up on Dance Dance Revolution in the early 2000s. Over in Japan in particular, one of the most stalwart denizens of arcades since 2001 has been Taiko no Tatsujin, or “Taiko Drum Master,” if you prefer. This arcade rhythm game has become so ubiquitous, you don’t even need a toy drum to play it anymore.

The newest Taiko no Tatsujin game to date, Rhythm Festival, continues the series’ basic traditions in its gameplay. Drum beat markers scroll in from the right, and you have to either hit the outside of the drum, the center of the drum, or the outer rim to play along. The standard gameplay mode is very simple, but you’ve got tons of different songs to enjoy, bolstered by DLC, including all kinds of licensed music from popular anime and video games. There’s even an entire library of covers of Kamen Rider theme songs; I’m probably the only one who cares about that, but it’s still cool.

Besides the casual and online ranked modes, there are several sub-modes that change up the formula a bit, such as a four-player concert mode and a ninja mini-game where you have to break targets and dodge obstacles by drumming.

4 Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+

I’m Thinking Miku

It is an empirical, scientific fact that everyone likes Hatsune Miku, and I’ll hear no arguments to the contrary. As the original virtual diva, Miku has been appearing in rhythm games since 2009, specifically within the Project DIVA series and its spin-offs. These games were originally Japan-exclusive, but these days, everyone gets to enjoy them, with the latest being Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+.

In terms of gameplay, Project DIVA Mega Mix+ has a similar vibe to Osu. Beat markers fly in for quick taps or button holds, you hit them in time, and rack up a healthy high score. The obvious appeal of this game is its gargantuan setlist of Vocaloid songs. You got the classics like “World is Mine” and “Rolling Girl,” as well as newer hits like “Jitterbug” and “Ooedo Julianight.” There are multiple difficulty levels for every song, so you can really crank things up if you want to challenge yourself. It’s great for showing off on YouTube and TikTok.

Project DIVA Mega Mix+ is also a very moddable game, so if there’s a song missing from the tracklist you really want to play, it wouldn’t take too much effort to add it. I’ve seen custom beatmaps for tons of Vocaloid songs that haven’t been in a Project DIVA game yet, like “Mesmerizer” or “Static.”

3 Trombone Champ

Don’t Forget To Clean Your Spit Valve

Most people have probably had at least a little bit of experience playing brass instruments like the trombone, whether on their own time or for school. It’s not as glamorous as the guitar, but the trombone can still be a lot of fun to learn to play, even if it makes everything you play sound a bit sillier. If you don’t mind getting a little silly with your rhythm games, you’ll enjoy Trombone Champ.

Trombone Champ is conceptually similar to something like Guitar Hero, in which you need to follow along with the backing track and match the notes to play a song as accurately as possible. The difference is that you have much finer control over your trombone, so you need to carefully shift your pitch to follow along with the beat markers. There’s even a dedicated freeplay mode for just noodling on the trombone on your own.

The game is loaded up with public domain music, all of which sounds absolutely hilarious whether you play it well or not. There’s also workshop support, full of custom maps for all your favorite licensed songs, all made exceptionally ridiculous by the constant doot-ing of your trombone. The silliness is the point, really, and if mastering every song doesn’t keep you coming back, the constant belly laughs will.

2 Rhythm Heaven Megamix

All The Rhythm In One Spot

Rhythm games broadly fall into the two categories of central gameplay mechanics and varied mini-games. The main reason the latter category exists is thanks to the popularity of the Rhythm Heaven series, which got its start as a Japan-only Game Boy Advance title back in 2006. The series has had several more entries since coming west, which were all compiled in 2015’s Rhythm Heaven Megamix for the 3DS.

Rhythm Heaven Megamix brings back 100 rhythm mini-games from across the Rhythm Heaven series, plus 30 new ones to enjoy. There’s a story mode linking it all together if that matters to you, but the mini-games themselves are what we’re all here for. Every mini-game is slightly different, using simple button taps or touchscreen inputs to perform various tasks on the backing track. Maybe you’ll be playing badminton in biplanes, interviewing a professional wrestler, or assembling robots.

The game rates your performance on a scale of 0-100, giving you a rating to go with it. Perfecting every one of these games is an endeavor and a half, one that’ll keep you engaged for quite a long time if you’ve got the guts to commit to it.

1 Rift Of The NecroDancer

Maximum Rhythm Combat

Remember how I said before that the simplicity of rhythm games are one of their big draws? That’s usually true, but sometimes, it’s fun to flip the script and start piling on the bells and whistles. Nothing showcases true skill like following a backing track while keeping an entire list of rules and modifiers in mind, as is the case in Rift of the NecroDancer.

A spin-off of Crypt of the NecroDancer, Rift is essentially the former with the roguelike dungeoncrawling elements taken out. Enemies scroll down from the top of the screen, each with their own movement and attack patterns, and you need to smack them as soon as they hit the bottom row. Because every enemy functions differently, you really need to flex your brain to keep it all straight while still keeping time with the song. In addition to the excellent base soundtrack, there’s workshop support for original tracks, as well as collaborative DLC with other games and popular personalities like Hololive’s VTubers.

If you need a break, Rift also offers a small array of Rhythm Heaven-style mini-games, changing up the way you keep to the beat while adding some cute and fun visuals. Both these mini-games and the main game have multiple difficulty levels, so you can choose your level of engagement.