Spin Rhythm XD (PSVR 2) Review

In the past few months, nearly every single gaming VR advertisement I have seen has referenced Beat Saber in some capacity. Nothing against the Beat Games (or is it the Oculus Development Team?), but there has to be more rhythm game goodness in the VR space. There has to be. A quick Google search may yield the likes of Synth Riders, Pistol Whip, and Audio Trip, but…it’s so hard to deny the star power of Beat Saber. Just about every single VR owner I’ve talked to mentions familiarity with Beat Saber

It’s disappointing to see Beat Saber dominating the VR rhythm gaming space when so many competitors co-exist while innovating the genre for VR owners. If anything, VR is an excellent medium for rhythm games, as players have to invest in proprietary hardware just to play one game. Or, worse yet, they have to leave their homes and visit an arcade (like Round One) that has invested in bringing Japan’s greatest rhythm hits stateside. In 2024, it sucks to be a rhythm player because of the number of hoops we often have to jump through. VR is an easy solve, though, as new advancements let us use the space around us to interact with beats that fly toward us while immersing us in the neon-soaked realms that titillate the senses.

I want more VR rhythm games. I want a VR version of DJ Hero. Badly.

I hold several memories of spending hours and hours playing DJ Hero and DJ Hero 2 well into the evening when I was in high school. DJ Hero was such a cool IP because of how it gave me an inkling of creativity in an otherwise restrictive space that is rhythm gameplay. Usually, rhythm games test players’ skills of tapping/moving along to the beat with next-to-no wiggle room for creativity.

This 300-word introduction is all to say that, in my first few minutes of playing Spin Rhythm XD on the PSVR 2, it felt like I was playing DJ Hero again. It felt so. Damn. Good. After several nights playing Spin Rhythm XD and forgetting the world around me (and the passing of time), one thing is crystal clear: Spin Rhythm XD is one of the first VR games in a hot minute that made me look forward to putting that big, bulky, nausea-inducing headset on my noggin. It’s so good.

For the record, Spin Rhythm XD has been out for a hot minute, at least on Steam. At time of writing its Steam Store page boasts an overwhelmingly positive aggregate review rating alongside reviewers who have spent anywhere from 30 to 100 hours in-game. It makes sense for this game to have such a positive reception amongst players because of how easy it is to pick up while being challenging to master.

Unlike other rhythm games that rely on increasing the number of colored inputs as difficulty increases, Spin Rhythm XD takes a novel, more simplified approach. At the bottom of the screen is a gigantic wheel with two colors, red and blue. As notes make their way down the screen on the standard note runway, all you have to do is align the wheel with the notes. That’s it. Of course, higher difficulties add additional inputs like a button outside of the screen that functions like a bumper and holding down notes, but it remains a simpler experience than other rhythm games.

Before I continue on, do know that Spin Rhythm XD on PlayStation allows you to swap freely between playing on your PS5 (with DualSense controller) or on the PSVR 2.

Super Spin Digital should be commended with how they transitioned Spin Rhythm XD from a flat-screen game to a virtual reality experience. It perfectly encapsulates the natural feelings of rhythm gaming despite minimal inputs. On the PSVR 2, the game vibrates along with the spinning of the wheel and correct inputs, making the game feel more real. The simplistic controls of the flat-screen version have remained simple in VR. Move the wheel with your hand, tap the trigger of one of the controllers while aiming outside of the circle to activate the green bumper note.  Flick upward to release the long-press notes. I tested Spin Rhythm XD standing up and sitting down and could confidently complete tracks without losing my place. Props to them for making a rhythm VR game that could be completed when sitting down and standing up.

I’ll admit that I had trouble with the first few songs because I didn’t know where and how to aim my controllers. The wheel can be controlled by both hands, meaning that I would accidentally push the wheel in an incorrect direction. Then, my less-dominant hand (left, for those who’re wondering) found its position outside of the wheel and waited patiently for the bumper notes to make their way down the runway.

Once I found my groove by the fifth song (yes, really), Spin Rhythm XD came naturally to me and let me experiment with higher difficulties. The game’s tracklist contains an intensity rating, in which higher numbers correspond with higher-density note patterns, so easier songs are thoughtfully placed at the top while harder songs are further down the list. I got comfortable with the Hard difficulty within the first hour of playing and was able to complete some of the lighter-intensity songs on Expert, but in no way was I able to proceed on Expert (or XD) all the way down.

It’s crazy to think that Spin Rhythm XD contains so much complexity despite having virtually two buttons. At higher difficulties, the game maintains a fluidity of movement that pushes me forward in aligning the wheel and tapping along when necessary. Once you reach that moment of VR nirvana, it feels like you’re using a physical turntable and moving along with the music.

Remember how I said that Spin Rhythm XD encapsulated the good feelings of playing DJ Hero? Its control scheme and moments where I had the freedom to move wildly in a freestyle session connected me with those memories quite well.

It also helps that Super Spin Digital has put thoughtfulness into their track/note patterns. Even on higher difficulties, note placement was predictable and translated well into fluid movements in the VR space. It avoids treading into the “difficult for the sake of difficult” chart designs like attempting to play “Through the Fire and Flames” on Guitar Hero 3. Instead, the note patterns encouraged me to move to the music and embrace every beat.

This is why I love playing Spin Rhythm XD in VR, folks. Well, that, and the visual spectacle that is the game’s aesthetic. Tracks have individual color schemes and beautiful visuals that avoid overstimulating the eyes while still providing an excellent space to fully live in the musical moment. I was quickly reminded of WipEout Fusion’s ZONE mode and how it reimagined the game’s race tracks with audio visualizers that flashed and moved along with the game’s high-tempo music. Here, it’s similar, but it’s everywhere you look. Spin Rhythm XD won me over within an hour thanks to its gameplay alone. Its visuals were the icing on the proverbial cake.

In my prior experience playing and reviewing rhythm titles, I’ve included the game’s soundtrack in part of my assessment because…well, you should. A rhythm title is only as strong as its soundtrack – who wants to play a rhythm game with subpar music?

Spin Rhythm XD’s soundtrack is notably heavy on EDM. I personally don’t see it as a problem, but folks unfamiliar with EDM might feel like the game is missing music from other genres. I loved the licensed music from the likes of Nitro Fun, Anamanaguchi, Pegboard Nerds, Tokyo Machine, and Droptek, but the rest of the music was unfamiliar to me and forced me to expand my musical horizons. The Monstercat and Chillhop DLC packs that came with the title for this review added some good flavor to the game’s tracklist, but I personally would have appreciated other genres like dubstep, moombahton, house, and classic dance music. If Spin Rhythm XD can get to the breadth of genres that Invector: Rhythm Galaxy has incorporated (thanks to its partnership with Warner Music Group), I’m sure that fans of more music genres would feel drawn to try Spin Rhythm XD just to hear their favorite tracks (or types of tracks) in-game.

I lost multiple nights playing Spin Rhythm XD because of how well it pushed me further and further down its tracklisting in an arcade-style gameplay loop. Finishing a track let me freely select another while also granting me experience that let me unlock additional tracks and UI customizations. It lacked a story, which is totally fine, but I would have liked the game’s mascot on the main menu to have played some larger role in the game.

I’m thrilled with how Spin Rhythm XD plays in a VR setting because of how the game incorporates natural movements without relying on frenetic input patterns that look cool but require hours of trial and error in dimly-lit arcades to master.

Looking forward, I am hoping that Super Spin Digital continues to expand its tracklist to include more songs. I know that custom tracks exist for the Steam version, but Sony has done very little to offer mod support for its library of titles. This means that the PSVR 2 version must rely on DLC packs for players to expand their libraries of songs to keep themselves in game. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the hand us PSVR 2 players have been dealt.

I would also hope that Super Spin Digital considers supporting the Meta Quest 3 and bring a custom version of Spin Rhythm XD to us Quest owners. Incorporating the Quest 3’s hand-tracking could make Spin Rhythm XD feel more natural and closer to the DJ Hero that I’ve been wanting, so being able to use my hands (without a controller) would be a great way to fully live in the music.

All right, let’s wrap this up.

Spin Rhythm XD offers a sublime VR rhythm game experience thanks to its natural-feeling controls and stellar-EDM soundtrack. It’s nothing like any rhythm game I’ve played in the past, and I’m fully on-board with Super Spin Digital’s approach to creating a rhythm game that puts the player firmly at the center of the soundstage. It’s the easiest recommendation I can make for any PSVR 2 player wanting a rhythm game that feels and sounds excellent. Now if you will excuse me, I’m off to put my PSVR 2 back on my noggin and get lost in the music.