Rhythm games are seeing something of a massive resurgence in the past year, with Metal: Hellsinger sitting pretty with “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews and Hi-Fi Rush being an instant hit last month. The genre has seemed niche for a while, as the DDR/Guitar Hero craze died off a decade ago. However, since I was insanely obsessed with this style of game, I’m thrilled to get to dig into more unique entries as they slowly slip back into the mainstream. That’s why when I got my hands on Rhythm Sprout, I hoped for the best. I got an experience I surely wasn’t expecting but I was more than happy to see it through to the very end.

The premise of Rhythm Sprout is exceptionally-easy to grasp. As notes approach your bar, you’re tasked with hitting either right or left notes, dodging every now and then as well. One would think, with the minuscule amount of prompts that it’d be a cakewalk, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is, Rhythm Sprout is one of the toughest rhythm games to truly master.

With one default difficulty and a beginner mode if it gets too daunting, the average rhythm gamer isn’t going to breeze through it. However, it isn’t too challenging to the point of being off-putting. I’d consider myself in the top 10 percentile and never even got close to failing a stage. While that sounds encouraging, that doesn’t mean my mettle wasn’t tested. I aimed for perfection and tricky parts were present in every song to throw me for a loop.

I’m happy to report that Rhythm Sprout covers all the bases required for it to excel as a rhythm game. Players are forced to calibrate before playing through the main story. This is more vital than it may seem as every monitor has its quirks in regards to response time. Taking the minute to make things perfect will save heaps of frustration due to missed notes that should have been hit.

The issue with calibration here is that Steam saves these settings via the account and not via the device. I tried to switch to Steam Deck and had to recalibrate away from my computer’s settings. Saving a custom profile would be a neat feature for those that want to take Rhythm Sprout on the go and not have to spend a minute calibrating every time.

For me to complete every song in Rhythm Sprout took about 3 hours. That might sound like a short time, but replayability is encouraged thanks to unlocking a more difficult mode after beating each song. In addition, Rhythm Sprout is legitimately one of the funniest games I’ve ever played. I busted my gut more than a handful of times with its ample comedic timing, innocuous dialogue, and visual prowess.

Meta humor is starting to get drawn out and tiringly common, but this game just feels a step ahead and manages to tickle your funny bone every step of the way. Tying the story into each level is seamless and it never overstays its welcome thanks to diversity of genres you get to experience. Everything from delicate samba to djenty k-pop a la Babymetal will pound your eardrums.

I could not get enough of Rhythm Sprout from start to finish and I’m keeping this title installed so I can hit some more satisfying runs in the future. Apart from the main story, there’s also a prequel story with even tougher songs. I sweat a lot during the extra levels that really pushed the limits of what Rhythm Sprout could be capable of.

Entry-level players will encounter a worthy challenge, whereas masters will power through as they seek to never miss a note. At a measly $14.99 price point, you’ll get more than your money’s worth if you’re even slightly interested in this amazing title to kick off 2023 in a great way.

A PC Review Copy of Rhythm Sprout was provided by tinyBuild for this review.

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Rhythm Sprout

14.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Masterful, Varied Soundtrack
• Laugh-Out-Loud Funny
• Ample Difficulty
• No Filler

Cons

• Controls Not Clear For Controller In Menu
• Need to Re-Sync Between Devices Every Time