With the final and highly anticipated release of Rhythm Doctor, I felt like it was time for me to finally write something about this absolute gem of a game that I have been following ever since 2023.
To put it brieftly, Rhythm Doctor is a rhythm game (duh) developed by 7th Beat Games (the same developers of A Dance of Fire and Ice), where the entire premise is to press a single button. I first found this game through a youtube video showcasing multiple new hit indie games, they used 2-X as the main selling point of the game.
Unfortunately this means that I spoiled myself kinda on the entire game before playing it, which kinda goes against my values but it is what it is.
It is safe to say that I was immediately hooked, as the gameplay was something that I have never seen before (if you know you know). And of course I immediately bought the game in early access and started playing it. The game only had 4 stages at the time, and it was very fun going through all the levels. But at this point, I would only say that it was an enjoyable game, but nothing really to write home about. Some fun levels that did stand out were 1-X, 2-X (of course), and 1-XN (not because it was really fun but more because it sucked absolute balls), and they were a good sign of what's to come. It also helped that I really liked the music in the game, many of which are in my personal playlist, and are highly rated in my personal opinion.
Fast forward to freshman year of university, where stage 5 finally released, and this is where the devs really kicked it into high gear. I remember playing through the game before the update thinking that they have peaked with 2-X, but boy am I glad to be wrong. I think my first playthrough of 5-X was arguably one of the most fun experiences I have had with gaming, which is saying something. The level shattered every expectation I had for the game, and it was just an absolute blast to play through. The music was also top notch, with "Dreams don't stop" being one of my favorite tracks in the entire game. Of course, this level was also the first one that had checkpoints implemented, so the level did beat my ass, but damn was it fun to finally beat the level. It is also with 5-X that the game really left a lasting impression on me, and made me believe that this was one of my favorite games of all time. It was also in this time period that I started playing through some custom levels, which also helped me discover my then favorite song of all time: My Sadness is Liquid-Formed.
Keep in mind that this game was still in early access at this point, but surely they cant get any better than this right
After this, the game would not get an update for the next 2 years, and as a result, I kind of forgot about the games existence as I started playing other games. That is, until September of this year (yes this year I wrote this on Dec 31, 2025), where they finally announced that the game will be moving out of early access with a full release date of December 6th, 2025. It is safe to say that this was my Silksong. Unfortunately, I had finals at the same time, so I had to wait until all my finals finished for me to have time and truly enjoy the game.
And of course, my expectations were shattered once again. The full release added a whole 2 new stages (which were actualy quite difficult), and a finale. Obviously I won't go into detail about the update, but what I will say is that the game once again proved me wrong and improved upon what was already an amazing game. The finale as well was a great omage to the entire game, and left a satisfying conclusion to this 4 year journey that I had.
With that said, given that the game has officially moved out of early access, I believe it is not wrong for me to assume that the game will no longer receive any more updates, which is a bit sad, but at the same time I am glad that the game has finally reached a satisfying conclusion. I believe I can safely say that Rhythm Doctor was in fact my favorite game of the year, and of course one of my favorite games of all time (top 5). I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys rhythm games, or just games in general. It is a masterpiece that deserves all the recognition it can get.
Time to get started on unbeatable.
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