Rhythm games are often evaluated on their complexity, soundtrack, and replayability. Rhythm Sprout succeeds in just about all of those categories while also capturing players' attention with some of the funniest writing and story I've seen in a recent game. Despite not taking itself too seriously, Rhythm Sprout is a treat for multiple audiences, especially console players who lack a good rhythm game to get their feet wet into the best of the genre. I sincerely, dare I say desperately, hope that SURT does more with the Rhythm Sprout universe, as it's currently one of the better (if not one of the best) rhythm titles I've played in recent memory.
It feels like more and more rhythm games have become relegated to in-person arcade spaces rather than available for wider consumption. Of course, it doesn’t help that many of these games require extra (and costly) peripherals, be it a guitar controller, a turntable, to even an entire VR setup, in order to play. But my point still stands: I miss having accessible, affordable, and fun rhythm titles that I could play in my own home. I’ve become resigned to the fact that if I want rhythm games in my life, I need to seek them out in niche spaces (that may or may not be close to home) and/or invest in infrastructure that lets me play a rhythm game.
Enter Rhythm Sprout, SURT Games’ premier title that features stellar rhythm gameplay and an incredible soundtrack with a hilarious story, to boot. It’s billed as a rhythm-action game, but it’s truly a rhythm title with some occasional action elements. As the silent Chosen Onion, you’ve been sent on a quest to save the princess of the Vegetable Kingdom, slaying any sweets you see along the way. To say that I had a good time playing Rhythm Sprout would be an understatement. I had a fantastic time.
Rhythm Sprout‘s gameplay loop involves some text-based cutscenes (skippable, too) in between three-input gameplay where musical “notes” fall down a screen to the harmony, melody, and occasionally the beat of the music. As the story progresses, the few simple tutorials introduce some additional mechanics in the form of activating the Sugar Rush element and avoiding the bomb notes. Completing levels with high scores and large input chains rewards the player with stars that automatically unlock additional costumes and challenge levels. This game hooked my attention for around seven hours, successfully bringing me back to replay some content and test my skills in getting personal higher scores and challenging extra levels. The story can probably be completed in half of that time, but those wanting perfect scores will be like me and spending time replaying levels.
Admittedly, Rhythm Sprout is on the simpler side when it comes to input complexity. I don’t see this as a problem. There are three types of inputs (four, if you count a lack of input), being left button pad, right button pad, and trigger buttons on the DualSense controller. Since there are no fancy peripherals, you shouldn’t expect a large variety of input types in-game. This means that Rhythm Sprout is much more accessible than, say, a Guitar Hero title or even Pop’n. The always-available Sugar Rush element (think Guitar Hero‘s “star power”) is a nice way making players strategically decide on when to use it during a song. But, I would have liked some variations to these inputs, such as a “long press” (pressing and holding a button) or the ability to build up additional Sugar Rush charges.
Rhythm Sprout offers mild replayability in the form of EX modes, of which there are several. After beating a level, players are presented with the option of enabling beginner mode (whittling down the difficulty to a single kind of input), TURBO (speeding up the track), and two randomizers. The game describes these randomizers as opportunities to test reflexes, and it’s absolutely true. After attempting several randomized songs, I realized how well the original tracks connect with the input patterns. This pushed me away from opting into randomized tracks and more toward the TURBO mode if I wanted a good challenge that felt intuitive with the music.
After completing the main story, the prologue and additional challenge levels were fully unlocked, offering me much more challenging levels and some additional (hilarious) dialogue. Despite my history with rhythm games and self-ascribed abilities with more challenging rhythm content, the challenge levels were delightfully difficult to the point of frustrating me and spurring me to try, try, try again in completing them. I can see many rhythm game aficionados like me enjoying these additional levels, but there aren’t that many to warrant that much additional time spent on mastering these difficult levels.
Rhythm Sprout offers a large soundtrack comprised entirely of original music that spans a wide variety of genres. My ears were treated to the likes of pop, K-pop, rock, some “chill” LoFi, EDM, all the way to drums and bass (DnB). I did not have any one favorite song, as I loved the entire soundtrack. SURT did an absolutely fantastic job on this original soundtrack despite being comprised of so many disparate genres, and its a testament to their creativity in making rhythm gameplay that gels so well. I sincerely hope that this OST gets released on other streaming platforms, as I can see myself getting quite a lot of work done while listening to this soundtrack. It’s catchy and is a treat for the ears.
I’ve never thought a rhythm title needed a story. Thinking back to my days playing Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Crypt of the Necrodancer (to name but a few), the “story” was often assumed in the form of becoming a top musician and/or mastering music in some capacity. As a silent protagonist, I was left into finding my own way and focusing on a top score rather than participating in a musical journey. Yet, Rhythm Sprout found a way in telling an absolutely hilarious story in between songs to the point of me absolutely forgetting that this is a rhythm game and wanting to just advance the story. I showed some of the story to my partner during my playthrough, and even without context my partner was audibly laughing at the absurd writing, deadpan humor, and sarcasm. For those curious, it is reminiscent of Toby Fox’s Undertale and DELTARUNE dialogue. Instead of deep character development, you’re presented with memorable quips and outright silliness with mild branches of dialogue. And before anyone wonders, yes, I was very much interested in Sugar Daddy’s story. You should be interested in his story, too.
I see two kinds of players being interested in trying Rhythm Sprout: the rhythm diehards and the rhythm generalists. Rhythm diehards may find short-term enjoyment in the admittedly simpler gameplay and silly story. Despite the replayability and opportunity for increased difficulty in the form of EX modes, I can see some diehards being let down the lack of leaderboards, and being confined to three types of inputs. Rhythm games’ cult followings tend to gravitate around optimization and competing for the highest scores, and Rhythm Sprout doesn’t have comparisons baked in at this time. I can see rhythm generalists greatly enjoying the difficulty curve of Rhythm Sprout, along with its lack of required peripherals, its absurd story, and incredible soundtrack. The gradual progression of difficulty and variety of songs successfully captured my attention despite my being more of a rhythm diehard, and it’s easily a game to pick-up-and-play at any given time. Regardless of which category you fall into, I highly recommend this game.
Rhythm games are often evaluated on their complexity, soundtrack, and replayability. Rhythm Sprout succeeds in just about all of those categories while also capturing players’ attention with some of the funniest writing and story I’ve seen in a recent game. Despite not taking itself too seriously, Rhythm Sprout is a treat for multiple audiences, especially console players who lack a good rhythm game to get their feet wet into the best of the genre. I sincerely, dare I say desperately, hope that SURT does more with the Rhythm Sprout universe, as it’s currently one of the better (if not one of the best) rhythm titles I’ve played in recent memory.
A review copy of this title was provided by the developer/publisher for the purpose of this review.
