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GamingNintendoNintendo SwitchNintendo Games

What are the best rhythm games for the Nintendo Switch?

13

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Considered

75

User
Recs.

Jan 26, 2024

Last
Updated

13 Games Considered

Best rhythm games for the Nintendo Switch	Price	Platforms	Co-Op
-- Crypt of the NecroDancer	$14.99	Win / Mac / Linux / PS4 / Xbox One	2 Player Local
-- VOEZ	$25.00	-	-
-- SUPERBEAT: XONiC	$39.99	-	-
-- Hiragana Pixel Party	$8.99	-	-
-- DEEMO	$29.99	Nintendo Switch, Android, PlayStation Vita, iOS	-

Crypt of the NecroDancer

Top Pro

Fantastic soundtrack

Crypt of the NecroDancer has one of the best soundtracks you'll hear in a video game, featuring EDM, synthwave, and even heavy metal music. Each song has a unique tempo, rhythm, and feel to it, so you'll never get tired of listening to them. See More

Top Con

Extremely hard

The combat in this game has an insanely fast tempo, requiring you to split your attention between the music and the on-screen enemies. Losing focus even for a split-second means you'll probably die, so you'll have to restart the level. At times this will feel really overwhelming, especially if there are many enemies around. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Controller Support:Full

Top Pro

Unique gameplay

Crypt of the NecroDancer is a dungeon crawler that is also a rhythm game. Your character can move, attack, and use special abilities only to the beat of a level's music. This means you have to split your attention between listening to the music and watching enemy movements. If you miss a beat your character won't do anything, but your enemies still get to move and attack. While the enemies are bound by the same rules as you, they won't ever miss the beat. Fortunately enough, they're always bound to a rhythm, so learning an enemy's rhythm is the key to defeating them. As a result, the gameplay stands out in both the roguelike and rhythm game genre. See More

Top Con

Co-op can make the game a lot harder

While Co-op in most games makes a game easier, Crypt of the Necrodancer is the opposite. This boils down to three main reasons. First, you and your co-op partner have to share money and items. This can lead to two under-equipped characters that struggle with killing enemies and surviving their blows. Second, there's no splitscreen, meaning your movements need to be in sync with your partners. If you happen to go in the opposite directions, you can get stuck or attract multiple groups of enemies, causing you to get overwhelmed. Third, you share one beat counter with your co-op partner. So if one if you misses a beat, that's the end of a combo for the both of you. Not keeping up a combo means you'll have less gold and consequently less gear. See More

Top Pro

Co-op game

VOEZ

SUPERBEAT: XONiC

Hiragana Pixel Party

DEEMO

Top Pro

Mysterious and heart-warming story

Deemo, a shadowy being is sitting alone in his castle when a girl named Alice mysteriously falls from a trapdoor in the sky. In order to help Alice get home, Deemo must play songs that will grow a magical tree tall enough to reach the sky. This opening is almost dreamlike, which helps set a mysterious tone and give the story a surreal edge. However, the core of the story itself is a rather a heart-warming tale that focuses on the friendship that forms between Deemo and Alice. It takes some twists and turns through some melancholy and rather touching moments between the two protagonists, and has a heavy emphasis on the bond between the pair. As the two work together to help Alice get home, it's hard not to get attached to the characters and cheer for them along on their journey. See More

Top Con

Can get repetitive

In order to advance the story, sometimes you will have to play the same song over and over until you get it right. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Fun piano based gameplay

The rhythm based segments of Deemo are done incredibly well. Notes are falling from the top of the screen and you'll be tapping and sliding your fingers in rapid movements to catch them. Often times, the notes are falling in such a way so that your actions mirror the hand movements of a real piano player. Whether you're just tapping the basic chords or wildly waving your fingers around during chords and arpeggios trying to hit each and every note, it's quite fun to hear the songs play out knowing you're the one making it happen. See More

Top Con

Hard mode can be frustrating

Some of the hard mode songs contain certain piano solos with a lot of minor tempo variations. These don't translate well into the gameplay due to the way the notes fall. As a result, unless you can sightread music, it's an exercise in frustration. See More

Top Pro

Sense of accomplishment thanks to the difficulty scaling

You don't have to have lightning reflexes or be a piano virtuoso to feel like you're making progress. For the easiest of songs, you'll just be following along with the rhythm and hitting the basic anchor notes. As the difficulty slides up, more chords, parallel movements, and arpeggios are thrown into the mix. Regardless of the difficulty level you're playing on, there's a distinct sense of accomplishment every time you make your way to the end of a piece knowing you hit all the important notes (even if you don't nail every solo). See More

Top Pro

Great song selection

Deemo features over 200 songs to learn and play along with. These songs cover a wide range of genres and styles including rock, jazz, lounge, dubstep, folk, ragtime, jpop, and more. From fast to slow, hard to soft, and everything in between - no matter what your musical tastes are, you'll be able to play along and enjoy a plethora of various songs. See More

Thumper

Top Con

Short playtime

A single playthrough will only take you about seven hours. However, if you go for a completionist playthrough to chase after high scores, then you'll get an extra dozen or so hours out of the game. See More

Top Pro

Playing in VR adds a whole new layer to the game

Virtual Reality makes Thumper much more fun and intense. Along with the feeling of the controls putting you in the seat of the vehicle, you're actually put into the game itself, surrounded by the visuals. The lights, the music, and the rumbles all feel more up-close-and-personal, as if you're part of the environment itself. Thumper is compatible with VR on both PlayStation 4 and PC, so anyone with a headset for either platform will be able to try it out for themselves. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action, Rhythm

Top Con

Might be difficult for players who are new to rhythm games

Thumper can be too hard if you've never played a rhythm game before. Because everything moves at such high speeds right from the start, you may miss a lot of the button inputs and get discouraged. Even for experienced players, it takes some practice before getting used to the flow of gameplay. See More

Top Pro

Unique blend of rhythm gameplay and racing-like speed

Thumper is a rhythm game mixed with fast-paced action, setting itself apart from other titles in the genre. Your "character" is a vehicle that runs on rails in a track, with certain speedbump-like indicators on the road that show up in sequence. You have to press the button prompts in time with your vehicle driving over the indicators, ideally to the correct rhythm to the beat to rack up points. It can be tough going at full speed and catching all of the button prompts while staying in-sync with the song, but the payoff is incredibly satisfying. See More

Top Pro

Intense controls and responsive feedback

Other than visual cues, the visceral feedback you get from timing your button presses just right helps keep you on-beat. Getting that timing down rewards you with an addicting rumble, helping you feel the rhythm in your hands. With your vehicle moving at such crazy speeds, pressing the right buttons on-beat simulates the feeling that you're really in the driver's seat, listening to the music playing at full volume all around you. Pressing the buttons correctly with feedback helps keep you glued to the game, motivating you to go after higher and higher scores. See More

Top Pro

Really cool psychedelic visuals

Thumper looks stunning. The futuristic vibe with the flashing blues, purples, and reds everywhere. The road your vehicle travels on jets through a seemingly endless void that changes depending on the stage, such as showing off bosses that appear as large, abstract enemies looming overhead. The trippy visuals are pretty neat, making the game stand out more along with its unique gameplay. See More

Floor Kids

Top Pro

Great, immersive soundtrack

Dancing along to professionally produced musical tracks that you would hear in real breakdancing showdowns really ups the immersion factor. All of the tracks feature a frantic, fast-paced beat that are easy to get into, which helps make putting your dance routine together a really great experience. All the music in the game was written and produced by Kid Koala, a popular DJ who is best known for the musical groups Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz. See More

Top Con

Music can get repetitive after a while

The music is great, but limited. There are only around 20 tracks total. After a while, hearing the same songs over and over begins to feel a bit repetitive. See More

Specs

Co-Op:2 Player Local

Top Pro

Lots of fun dance moves to play around with

There are several different dancing styles with each style having their own library of individual dance moves. Having a wide variety of moves to pick and choose from means you'll always have a way to please the crowd, pull off the moves you personally find enjoyable, and work towards becoming the breakdance champ. Additionally, there are eight unique characters, and all them have their own stylized movesets, combos, and strengths. This sheer variety of moves available means you'll always find something cool to dance to the beat with. See More

Top Pro

Fun multiplayer mode

Floor Kids features a fun two-player mode in which you can go head to head against a friend on any song you've unlocked. During the songs, you'll take turns breakdancing during verses trying to get your scores as high as possible. When the chorus hits, you'll both be playing at the same time, attempting to outmatch your opponent on the frantic beat in realtime. It can be quite fun watching your friend breakdancing and giving it their all, only to turn around and attempt to outdance him with own your own cool combos and moves on your next turn. See More

Top Pro

Satisfying freedom in your dancing

During songs, you can perform any dance moves you want, giving you a lot of freedom in how you express yourself. Staying in time with the beat and being able to hold moves such as headstands, freezes, and spins for as long as possible will increase your score, but which ones you decide to perform and string together is completely up to you. Putting together your own dance routines and interpreting the music in your own way, as opposed to being locked into predetermined patterns, is a very satisfying approach to the rhythm genre. See More

Frederic: Resurrection of Music

Top Pro

Enjoyable remixes of old classical music

Old classical musical compositions are reimagined as upbeat and pounding tracks that compliment the rhythm based gameplay well. Each and every song is an interesting and modern remix of a classical Chopin song. It's pretty neat to hear the classical pieces rearranged for modern listeners. See More

Top Con

Song selection hurts replayability

While the songs themselves sound great, there are only twelve in the entire game. If you decide to replay the game on a higher difficulty, you'll still be playing the same song selection over and over. See More

Specs

Top Pro

Simple, easy to grasp gameplay

As is common in the rhythm genre, each level consists of notes falling from the top of the screen as you attempt to furiously tap along to the beat. Your piano is laid out front and center with an emphasis on big keys, so hitting the right note at the right time isn't harder than it needs to be. After you've correctly played each song, you'll be whisked away to the next location where you'll watch a cutscene and then play your way through a new song. See More

Top Con

Very short

The game only takes about an hour to play from start to finish. See More

Top Pro

Hilarious and unique premise

You'll be playing as long dead musical composer Frederic Chopin, risen from the dead in order to rid the world of greedy producers and overproduced, soulless pop music. It's up to you to show everyone what real music sounds like by traveling the world and dueling other musicians using upbeat versions of old classical compositions. Each unique location you visit is backed by story-driven cutscenes filled with silly characters, humor, and pop culture references. See More

Top Con

The cutscenes are not interesting and tend to drag on

The cutscenes are often overly long and drawn out. The voice acting is mostly poor. The writing, while charming and humorous at times, can be cliche or laughable. They look good in their hand drawn style, but there is very little animation to hold your attention. Overall, they can be quite boring to sit through due to how they tend to drag on. See More

Top Pro

Very approachable for all skill levels

Despite your skill level, you can still get as much (or as little) of a challenge as you crave. Easy is very easy, and a great introduction to learning the songs and nuances of gameplay. Even with loads of mistakes, you'll still be progressing the story. As you increase the difficulty level, the curve is very steep and each new level brings an increasing challenge that is sure to satisfy even the most devoted rhythm fan. See More

Just Dance 2018

Top Pro

Great selection of pop songs to dance to

Just Dance 2018 has a really good list of 40 songs you can pick. The music isn't only from the year 2018--the songs here actually span across decades, though most of them are quite recent. Some of the tracks include hits like "Naughty Girl" by Beyoncé, "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars, "Slumber Party" by Britney Spears ft. Tinashe, "John Wayne" by Lady Gaga, "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen, "Make it Jingle" by Big Freedia, and many more. If you're into pop music, then you'll more than likely find some of your favorites here. See More

Top Con

You can't use a traditional controller; you have to physically dance

It's not possible to use a controller for button inputs like in other games. You have to set up your system's peripheral camera so that it faces you while you stand in an open space, and then you have to physically act out the choreography of the dances on-screen. If you're not a skilled dancer, then you may worry that you end up looking ridiculous trying to follow along to the moves. It can be fun when you just want to goof off with your friends and family for a party, though. See More

Specs

Co-Op:4 Player Local

Top Pro

Accessible for people of all ages

Anyone can enjoy Just Dance 2018 as long as they want to try it out. All you have to do is follow the prompts on-screen that show a silhouette of a person moving their legs, arms, or hips in a certain way or direction in-time with the beat. Whether you're thinking of getting the game for your kids or your older family members, they'll be able to learn the rules and jump right into the game. See More

Top Con

Not really worth it if you already own previous Just Dance titles

If you already have Just Dance 2017 or any of the earlier games, then there isn't much of a reason for you to get this latest one. Sure, there are a few more songs and the option to stream the franchise library, but if you're more interested in new features instead, there isn't anything new here for you. This is sadly one of those yearly franchise games that doesn't offer many improvements from title to title aside from the standard fare. See More

Top Pro

Optional streaming service gives you access to the full Just Dance library of music

There's a streaming service that opens up hundreds more songs for you to dance to. It includes every single song from the long-running Just Dance franchise, letting you play through them without owning the older games in the series. While it does require an internet connection and a paid subscription, Just Dance 2018 comes with a free trial that lets you try it out to see if it'd work for you. If you want more than the initial 40 songs that the game offers, this is the perfect way to expand your library. See More

Top Pro

Local co-op and online competitions are available

You can play with a group of friends together in one room, or you can go online to have a dance-off against a single opponent. For local co-op, all you need to do is register how many players you have--up to four total--and then the songs you pick show the choreography moves that each individual person has to pull off. Even though you're dancing at the same time, the moves you do are still tailor-made for a synchronized group working in harmony. Meanwhile, online play is as simple as connecting against a random player and dancing well enough to get a better score at the end. Playing alone isn't your only option with this game, since you might have more fun dancing with your friends and family or against someone online. See More

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