There simply aren’t enough rhythm action games on PC, but Australian developer Super Entertainment is helping fix that with the massively entertaining Spin Rhythm. It combines elements of DJ Hero and Rock Band, but gives the genre its own spin with a fantastically tactile wheel-based input system. At the bottom of the screen is a two-color wheel, and it’s by turning this that you interact with the music and keep the beat flowing. Then things get more complex as button taps, spins and other twists to the formula stack up during a song. It’s a beautifully elegant control system, and makes you feel genuinely connected to the music, as all good rhythm action games should.
The music in the game comes courtesy of a number of independent electronic artists including Hyper Potions, Subtact, Seejay, and Oxford Parker. Chances are you haven’t heard of them, but rest assured the music—from lazy chiptune beats to pounding glitchstep—is perfectly suited to the game.
SpinRhythm will support a number of MIDI controllers out of the box, meaning you can control the wheel by spinning a physical turntable, and judging by a demo video the studio released, it looks like it might be the best way to play it. But I don’t have that luxury, so I’m reduced to using my keyboard and mouse. But even so, it feels wonderful to play, and nailing a rapid-fire series of beats is thrilling.
you can control the wheel by spinning a physical turntable
The circular beat markers are the simplest interaction in SpinRhythm. All you have to do is move the wheel and make sure the correct color hits them. Although, in some of the trickier songs, spinning the wheel to hit a lot of them in quick succession is a real test of concentration. Rectangular markers up the challenge. Not only do you have to make sure the correct color is lined up on the wheel, but you have to tap the beat button in time with the music. In faster songs, the frequency of these markers increases massively. When you see these long, twisting lines you have to hold the beat button down and move the wheel to follow the trail. If you veer out of the line at any point you’ll lose your combo. And these often finish with another beat, meaning you have to be ready to tap the button again at the end. When you see these sections of track you have to hold the wheel and spin it in the indicated direction. The tricky thing about this is coming out of a spin and making sure the wheel’s set to the correct color for the next part of the song. Red X markers mean you’ve missed a beat, which causes the music to distort like a DJ spinning a record back. In the preview build I played, failing three times unceremoniously results in a game over, which can be frustrating. Hopefully there’s a more forgiving practice mode come release. The game is incredibly stylish, although I must admit, having to tilt my head to read the song titles on this admittedly classylooking menu feels a bit awkward. The game will launch with a large selection of tracks, and I’m hoping there’ll be modding tools to add my own music to the playlist eventually.