Rhythm Doctor Review (PC)

Was I rushing, or was I dragging? Or, was I saving the lives of those in dire need of a rhythmic injection? With hindsight, it was probably a combination of all three. Heck, it might have been one more than the other. In the heat of the moment, though, the synergy between medicinal beats and fluctuating palpitations wasn’t a concern; it was the throbbing heart of a pixel-crafted journey that I weirdly found myself lost in, even when it involved seemingly unforgiving spacebar shifts and a stern eye for cascading audiovisual cues. Frankly, Rhythm Doctor didn’t hold back, yet when push came to shove, I was more than willing to don the stethoscope and count in sevens.

Embedded within Rhythm Doctor’s bloodstream is a high-octane and purposeful rhythm-based arcade game that waxes soulful harmonies and theory, beats and hearty palpitations. Unlike your typical Hi-Fi Rush or Guitar Hero musical escapade, however, you don’t execute beats and thrash nodes to appease the gods, but hack out well-timed prompts to keep the heart pumping and the patient alive and kicking. Behind all of this is a lesson in rhythm theory—a step-by-step guide that teaches you the fundamentals of time management and synchronous thinking. It isn’t quite as monotonous as a college lecture, though it does take the time to walk you through the basics. Well, sort of.

If you remove the outer shell of Rhythm Doctor’s heart-centric beat romper, then you would actually have quite a difficult game on your hands. See, while the game does teach you the theory behind rhythmic patterns, it also gives you “boss battles” to study and conquer over twenty blood-pumping stages. There’s no Tom Morello to hammer frets with, but there are patients who each have their own palpitations and rhythm, of which you are tasked with memorizing and counting in order to complete the procedures and claim whatever bragging rights that come with the operating table. A surprisingly complex task, all things considered. The fact that it only houses a single button prompt would naturally make you believe that it’s a lot easier to jive with in comparison with other beat-and-throttle rhythm games. In reality, though, it isn’t quite so forgiving.

Rhythm Is a Doctor

Rhythm Doctor might look like your standard one-note rhythm battler, but the bitter truth here is that, lone prompt aside, it’s an absolute back in the neck to complete. It’ll make you laugh, and it’ll make you cry. Heck, it’ll probably make you wish you were anywhere other than at the hospital bed, gawping at a monitor in the hopes that something will step in to provide you with some well-needed respite. Sadly, though, it doesn’t cough up any of that — only a rigorous eight-hour campaign that requires a lot of concentration and an iron heart for accuracy. Again, much easier said than done.

Believe it or not, there is a brilliant game to peel back here, and not to mention a sprightly narrative that knows how to keep you coming back for another dip into the medical field. A prompt; a timeline; and a faint glimmer of light that hangs in the balance, usually between the seventh beat and the distant echo of a boss battle preparing to rock the apple cart, so to speak. It’s somewhere here, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic, where the game grapples you by the heart and forces you to collaborate over a touch-and-go life or death affair. It’s taxing, for sure, but with a quality soundtrack and a solid progression system, it keeps you immersed for the long haul, truly.

The idea is simple: hit a prompt on the seventh beat. It sounds easy, and to some extent, it is. But then, the complications begin to take hold—the polyrhythms, as well as the multi-patient tasks, for example. Before long, that simple procedure becomes a strenuous affair of navigating silent heartbeats and tapping to a rhythm that you manifest in the back of your own head. Life hangs in the balance, and you, sadly, have the monumental task of keeping the heart beating and the prompts in check. So, not quite as simple as soloing for a crowd of ravenous metal fans, after all.

To Risk Is to Live

To say that Rhythm Doctor is an original game just wouldn’t be entirely accurate, as it does lean on a ton of the same rhythm-centric fixtures as a traditional button-bopping chapter. That said, it does add its own twist to the blueprint, with frets being replaced with an electrocardiograph scale, and mid-battle solos being swapped with meaningful interludes that shape the narrative and illustrate the importance of the medical procedure. And believe it or not, there is a story to carve through here, with multiple doctors and patients all meshing together to formulate a gripping tale. It isn’t in possession of the wow factor I’ll admit, but it definitely adds a few extra chambers to an otherwise flat experience.

In addition to the twenty-something stages that the game brings to the operating room, there are also a few optional features, including a well-crafted level editor, a local multiplayer mode, and a “Night Shift” option, which essentially allows you to tackle the same trove of stages with a few extra curveballs and beats. A lot to unpack here, surprisingly.

Rhythm Doctor comes bandaged in a smooth and vibrant pixel-crafted aesthetic, with doctoring sprites and frequent tongue-in-cheek narration forming the backbone for its nostalgic feel. It doesn’t always hit the mark, and it’s still a far cry from a picture-perfect medical canvas. Having said that, for what it does bring to the table, it does contain all of the prowess and GP jargon needed to illustrate and flesh out its world. It’s simple, but it compliments the gameplay surprisingly well, all things considered.

Verdict

Rhythm Doctor pumps blood into the flumes and arteries of a soulful arcade squeeze-and-synchronize medical excursion with a hearty dose of solid stages and a rhythmic pulse that feels surprisingly good to vitalize. With thanks to its original boss battles and its engaging rhythm mechanics, as well as its inclusion of a level editor and local multiplayer mode, it emerges as a genuine delight, albeit one that requires a lot of forward thinking and patience to truly enjoy.

The truth is, while the game will give you something to think about, you will find brief spells of comfort in its open-ended moments of rhythmic clarity. It’s an unusual ordeal, and it’ll probably make you weep just as much as it’ll make you feel like a big cog on the medical wheel. But, for what it’s worth, it’ll make you never want to skip a beat again — especially if there are lives on the line. Eat your heart out, Morello.