The Violinist Out Now

With a deep background in Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Dance Revolution, I always keep my eye on any new rhythm games in that fold. So when The Violinist appeared in my deep dive into the Wholesome Games celebration’s list of demos, it was an instant install. There’s just something about the simplicity of a straight-up button input rhythm game that is immensely satisfying in pursuit of mastery. In the case of The Violinist, you get to experience tons of classical masterpieces, such as “Flight of the Bumblebee” and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons.

Considering The Violinist has full controller support, I was able to plug in my Xbox 360 Xplorer and pretend that it was a violin with no issues. Even more impressive is that with my bulky ultra-widescreen monitor, I didn’t even need to perform a sync test – The Violinist is excellent at hit windows and doesn’t skimp on its accuracy in charting these challenging classical tunes. The learning curve is a cinch for rhythm game experts, whilst still providing a difficult time on tougher songs; newcomers may be remiss as there aren’t difficulty settings, but with no threat of failure, practice can make perfect for those so inclined.

The demo for The Violinist wasn’t necessarily perfect, as there were foreign languages appearing despite me selecting English, but nothing that ended up being a progression-blocker. Some of the menus also indicate that there’s some polish needed to appear more eye-catching and engaging, but the most important part of a rhythm game – its gameplay – is sound and I had a blast with the demo. The Violinist is out now on Steam, but it has to contend with having the same release date as Black Myth: Wukong. Here’s hoping The Violinist doesn’t fly too far under the radar and reaches rhythm gamers looking for their next obsession.