Let’s All Feel the Rhythm!
HIGH An ingenious, unique core mechanic.
LOW A slightly homogenous, limited soundtrack.
WTF The announcer, who seems straight out of a 2003 DDR cabinet.
For a rhythm title, Spin Rhythm XD’s appeal is hard to sum up in a few easy words. In a world without narrative and possessing stripped back and strict methods of interactivity, rhythm games bypass the usual videogame criteria to play on the dark corners of our lizard brain that simply crave new interactive sensations.
The hook of Spin Rhythm is right in its name — rather than being a simple tapping or button-spamming title where the player presses the corresponding button as a note passes through some sort of ‘judgment zone,’ the judgment zone itself is able to be spun by the player in order to line up alternating red and blue blocks with red and blue notes coming down the screen. These basic notes are then either tapped individually, or automatically counted as successful hits when they pass through the correct color.
Spin Rhythm expands on this basic idea, of course. Even on the early difficulties, there are sections where the player is asked to flick their analog stick (or their finger, if they’re using the touchscreen) to one side or another, seemingly imitating a DJ scratch. As the player advances through the difficulty levels, Spin Rhythm adds even more wrinkles, such as held notes that need to be released at the right time to continue the combo, or additional note types using the shoulder buttons.
Throughout it all, the root of the Spin Rhythm identity lies in the fact that the horizontal movement of the judgment zone is often just as important as the vertical movement of the notes downscreen (or, perhaps, more important). This leads to different sensations than the average tapping-based rhythm game.
There are often sections, for example, where the player is simply allowed to hold the judgment zone in place as a stream of both red and blue notes flow down the screen. Staying still in the middle of this blizzard as the judgment zone automatically gobbles them up like Pac-Man tickles a part of my rhythm brain I didn’t know existed. These moments often exist in combination with other characteristic nuggets of Spin Rhythm’s feel, such as a series of back and forth horizontal spins, all of which reset the position of the judgment zone while making the player feel like a calm and collected DJ in the middle of a note inferno.
It’s a bit hard to describe how these basic concepts and sensations make a player fee, but it’s important to evaluate whether or not a game got them right — and Spin Rhythm XD very much gets this right, no matter what peripheral is used to play.
As for the Switch version, the player can either use a Pro controller or the Switch’s touchscreen in the style of a mobile rhythm game. Both methods are satisfactory and I’d imagine that the average player could get by using either one of them though I’m sure each mode has a bit of awkwardness on higher difficulties.
More divisive, I expect, will be the soundtrack. With a decent amount of exceptions, Spin Rhythm mostly uses EDM tracks from modern record labels. To many, the structural similarity of the songs here (verse-chorus-breakdown-verse-etc) might be a turnoff, but I hope this doesn’t end up being the case.
Regardless of what one thinks of the individual tracks, the note structures exhibit a lovely level of homespun detail, feeling appropriately congruent with the song they’re representing while also containing a nice amount of artistic interpretation, appropriate for a rhythm title that doesn’t follow a single instrument for the full duration of a song.
Details such as this tightness and flair of the notes, the expressive UI — even things like the fact that there’s a preview of the notes scrolling along underneath each track in the song select screen — speak to a level of passion the devs seem to have for the genre, and perhaps a desire to create an experience that is equivalent to their favorite rhythm games, not merely a pastiche of older titles.
And so, the Switch adds yet another solid rhythm game title to its growing library and reinforces the idea that the console is becoming the go-to destination for both handheld and couch-centric rhythm gaming shenanigans. It certainly helps that Spin Rhythm is so welcoming to players of all skill levels — seasoned rhythm gods, beginners, and even perpetual mediocrities like myself. Spin Rhythm does its best to keep the groove going for everyone.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by Super Spin Digital and published by Super Spin Digital. It is currently available on the Switch, PC, and Mac. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 11 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was not completed. 0 hours were spent in the local multiplayer mode.
Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated E, and contains Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language. My guess is that these descriptors are related to some of the lyrics in some of the songs, and perhaps some of the different album artwork or background areas.
Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. However, the color of different note types etc. can be altered.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered or resized. Though it is understandably quite difficult to play a rhythm game without sound, Spin Rhythm XD offers tutorials that are easy to complete without sound, and all other information is presented visually. Theoretically, it would be possible to progress purely using pattern recognition.
Remappable Controls: Certain functions are remappable. Spin Rhythm can be played in a few different styles — as a purely touchscreen experience, controlling movement through the Pro Controller’s gyroscope, or using buttons and the analog stick. For the default controller scheme, the player moves an analog stick back and forth to spin the judgement zone, presses A or B to tap the red or blue notes, and presses RB or LB to hit the green notes.
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Hmm. I’ve been eyeing this a while on steam, but just never felt the need to pull the trigger on it. But on switch? That actually sounds more appealing.
I’d recommend getting it on Steam (especially if you happen to have a Steam Deck!) as you also get access to customs made by the community. Other than the base game and a couple of DLCs, your selection of tracks will be kind of limited otherwise.