REVIEW: ‘Rhythm Heaven Groove’ Is Groovy In All The Right Ways

Rhythm Heaven Groove is Nintendo’s latest installment in its fan-favorite Rhythm Heaven series, offering fun, flair, and whimsy. The latest title is perhaps the most creative and intuitive game in the series, and it is fun in several new and returning ways.

Rhythm Heaven Groove is a rhythm game that offers a large collection of minigames that can be played solo or with a friend. The minigames are split into eight stages, each with four games to play through, and all offer great variety in songs, animations, and art. Each stage is significantly different from the last, and some minigames can be harder or easier depending on what type of player you are or what types of songs and tempo the minigame features.

The games also get trickier to beat as players progress through the stages. The first few games have players perform simple tasks to match the rhythm using a single button. These games range from jumping through hoops to opening and closing an umbrella to a beat. However, as you progress, more complicated games start appearing where players must push multiple buttons and sometimes hold buttons in quick succession in games where they catch things, start and stop suddenly, jump constantly, and much more.

Getting an Amazing in later stages is where the challenge truly comes in.

Each stage offers its own unique challenge, but none forces players to achieve a specific score. After clearing a minigame, players usually receive one of four scores at the end: Good, Really Good, Amazing, and Perfect. Getting an Amazing score means you basically beat the minigame flawlessly, and doing so also earns you a medal. Getting a Perfect unlocks a special Perfect Campaign challenge. While each minigame can be cleared incredibly easily, as it’s hard to fail a stage, getting Amazing or Perfect scores can be incredibly challenging.

While some stages are easier to earn a medal in than others, especially in the first few stages, getting an Amazing in later stages is where the challenge truly comes in. Getting a medal feels immensely rewarding and satisfying, and finding ways to min-max efficiency to get medals, like attempting to get all the medals from the shorter remix stages that blend all the minigames in a stage, is also really fun.

The game also rewards players for getting as many medals as possible by including several minigames and side content that can only be unlocked or progressed by getting a specific number of medals. These minigames offer their own form of rhythm-based variety.

Visually, Rhythm Heaven Groove is immaculate.

The most notable is the turn-based adventure minigame Beatspell, where players use rhythm to cast spells to attack enemies, heal themselves, and more. These minigames provide the strongest incentive for players to challenge themselves and improve at the game. Players who don’t can still have an enjoyable experience, but won’t have access to the side content that improves the overall experience.

Regardless, every minigame is incredibly fun, and sometimes you may even find yourself immersed in the whimsical gameplay loop of doing playful tasks to a beat, like launching a frog or popping balloons. Each game’s song is also really catchy in its own way. However, some stages have significantly catchier songs than others, specifically the songs usually heard in the last minigame of their stage, which feature vocals from several artists.

Visually, Rhythm Heaven Groove is immaculate. Each minigame sports colorful visuals and art. The animations are always fluid yet intricate, and they uphold the game’s cartoony and whimsical aesthetic. The backgrounds and art direction are especially visually striking and captivating, to a level that’s almost distracting when playing a minigame.

Rhythm Heaven Groove is an excellent new entry in the beloved series.

However, while Rhythm Heaven Groove offers several great features, some drawbacks can hinder the overall experience. For one, some minigames are incredibly finicky. There are moments, like in a minigame that has you jump to the beat and roll as a cat, where you get stuck in an action when you miss a step, and you can’t do much to correct the error. Additionally, some minigames have obvious input delays. While the game has settings that address this very problem for playing on TVs, it still happens in some minigames, even while playing in handheld mode.

Other than that, the game is quite short, as all stages can be beaten in eight to ten hours depending on skill level. However, that number increases drastically for players who want to earn all the medals and complete the unlockable minigames. While this isn’t an issue, it is worth noting regardless.

Overall, Rhythm Heaven Groove is an excellent new entry in the beloved series, introducing several great features, with fun gameplay, incredible visuals, and a fantastic soundtrack. As such, it provides a truly enthralling experience regardless of its minor issues.

Rhythm Heaven Groove is out now on Nintendo Switch.