Rhythm Fighter

Rhythm Fighter might only have five levels but it puts up one hell of a fight. It requires multiple playthroughs before you get to make serious progress. Due to the randomly generated levels and well-paced upgrade system, this never feels like a chore and the character designs are so charming you can’t help but come back for more. The difficulty in the later levels can be tough, especially if you’re only just starting out, but the game encourages you to get better rather than demoralising you. For me, Rhythm Fighter is one of those “just one more go” games and a rather enjoyable one at that.

Rhythm Fighter's gameplay is rewarding, impressively strategic, a great deal of fun, and is amplified by its awesome music and art.

Every day, more and more rogulikes are released, often making it difficult to figure out which ones will stand out. All of them are vying for attention, attempting to do something unique and interesting. Fortunately Rhythm Fighter feels like a fresh take on the genre, even if it doesn't quite stick the landing.

Rhythm Fighter provides an interesting concept and although the beginning is overwhelming, it is an enjoyable and forgiving experience. You don’t need much sense of rhythm or direction, making it a friendly experience for many. It starts to become repetitive despite the battlefield being randomly generated, but its catchy music encourages you to pick up the game again and again.

While I appreciate the crushing difficulty later in the game, it’s unfortunate that Rhythm Fighter equates “harder” with “more damage and cheap attacks”. It got to the point where if I ended up getting the Chonki boss (a literal chonky statue of a cat) after my second stage, I ended up resetting my run due to the fact that the boss’s move patterns are unpredictable and there’s barely an opening to hit back.

Bringing together so many mechanical elements to the scope and vision of Rhythm Fighter required a much more visionary developer than the one that produced the game. That’s not to say it isn’t entertaining, and there is a lot to enjoy with the game, however, it is also true that the overall experience is messy and the team lost control over what they were trying to achieve, making for something far too clumsy and clunky for the kind of precision that it needed.

Rhythm Fighter is a unique and anarchic roguelite escapade that’s both addictive and satisfying to play, even IF it can get a little repetitive in places. Thankfully, the constant unlockables you earn and rewarding sense of progress with upgrades will keep you coming back for more, whilst the fun and unique rhythm-based battling always brings with it a sense of chaos that never gets boring – especially during the tougher later levels and boss encounters.

Rhythm Fighter is hit or miss.

Nintendo Switch players are in for a treat with Rhythm Fighter, a catchy bop of a game that delivers a fresh gameplay loop and entertaining character designs. With plenty of content to unlock, a large cast of characters, and evil veggies, this is one title you don't want to miss.

While I have been rather harsh on a many aspects of Rhythm Fighter, overall, I enjoy the game thoroughly and recommend it to enjoyers of rhythm games and roguelikes alike. It’s a creative blending of the game types that isn’t overly complicated in its mechanics despite a steep learning curve for its controls.