Rhythm Heaven Groove review for Nintendo Switch

When it comes to quirky, minigame collections, Nintendo really has their finger on the pulse of what makes these experiences so much fun. Whether that’s the eclectic oddities contained within the WarioWare series, or the foot-tapping beat-driven Rhythm Heaven, few companies manage to consistently present new ideas in this particular genre in the same way that Nintendo does.

The recent release of Rhythm Heaven Groove for the Nintendo Switch is no exception. It’s packed with unique minigames backed by a wild mix of music choices, a simple yet charming presentation, and a couple of extra new features packed in. While not as visually stylistic as its predecessor, Rhythm Heaven Groove still manages to captivate due to its easy to understand controls, ideas, and its eclectic soundtrack. It manages to be difficult to master and tough to put down, and becomes even more enjoyable when you can rope a friend in for some hectic multiplayer madness.

Rhythm Heaven Groove doesn’t change up the core formula of the series in any significant way, but considering how well that formula has worked for the series so far, it doesn’t need to either. You’ll take on a series of small minigame challenges, set to a variety of soundtracks, using simple one or two button prompts in conjunction with on-screen animations, all in an effort to keep in rhythm with the beat of each stage’s song. The game does a great job of introducing each new stage, running you through a quick tutorial to get the basics down, and then letting you attempt a full run before introducing a new game. Rhythm Heaven Groove can be pretty forgiving on allowing you to clear a stage, but if you’re just not getting it or having trouble with it, you may occasionally be forced to replay a stage in order to get a high enough rating to clear it.

Each section of Rhythm Heaven Groove’s main campaign consists of 4 stages that then culminate in a remix mode where one longer musical track will play and each of the 4 stage mechanics you’ve previously played will be mixed in, offering some unique combinations of style and rhythm to keep you guessing in an effort to mash together everything you’ve just learned into one cohesive level. There’s a huge variety of stages to unlock, with each one feeling unique despite the core gameplay mechanics making use of similar control setups and ideas. It ends up just being a lot of fun to play through, and the bite-sized stages make it a perfect pick up and play type of game for either short bursts or prolonged gaming sessions.

In addition to the core Rhythm Heaven Groove campaign, Groove also introduces a new mode called Beatspell. It’s presented as an RPG of sorts, where you’ll play as a wizard-like character tasked with defeating monsters by casting spells to the beat of the music in each stage. Progression through stages will unlock new spells, and the monsters will get progressively harder to defeat, forcing you to be mindful of health and damage in addition to staying in rhythm with the beat in order to perform critical strikes. It’s a neat idea that feels a little undercooked in its current iteration, but something that I’d love to see them develop more in future Rhythm Heaven entries.

The only real complaint I have with Rhythm Heaven Groove is the process for perfecting any given stage. When you boot up the game after having completed a few stages, you’ll be presented with the chance to perfect a previously played stage. You don’t get to pick the stage itself, which is unfortunate, because if you’re really feeling in the groove with a level you just completed it would be nice to immediately go back and try for a perfect run. The current random setup feels like an arbitrary way of stretching out the amount of time it’ll take to completely finish Rhythm Heaven Groove, which is just an obstacle that the game doesn’t really need.

Outside of that, Rhythm Heaven Groove is an outstanding experience on the Nintendo Switch that I’d easily recommend to anyone. Whether you have a previous affinity for the series, or this is your first Rhythm Heaven experience, I think you’ll easily fall in love with the toe-tapping, beat-driven music and quirky animations that Rhythm Heaven Groove excels at.

Note: Nintendo provided us with a Rhythm Heaven Groove Switch code for review purposes.

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