Spin Rhythm XD Review (PS5/PSVR2) – Rhythm Is A Spinner

My obsession with rhythm games all stemmed from that one school trip to the Science Museum in London. Guitar Hero as well as the recently released PS3 were both in the Video Games section. There was a huge queue to try out Motorstorm, but a mere couple of people watching in fascination as to just what Guitar Hero is, myself included. Since then, I’ve sought after everything rhythm-related. From the more at-home DJ Hero to the exciting Japanese imports at Bury’s Arcade Club, I’ve tried them all. So you can imagine my excitement when I came across Spin Rhythm XD.

Much like the other games I mentioned, Spin Rhythm XD has a flavour of all that has come before. Intuitive design similar to the fretboard in Guitar Hero, demanding accuracy from arcade machines like Maimai and most importantly a pulsating EDM soundtrack. Much like the recent PC update adding a VR Mode to the game, the PlayStation release will also feature both versions in one seamless package. But how do the two versions compare? Let’s get into it.

Spin To The Beat

If you’ve played any rhythm game before, you’ll quickly grasp the gameplay for Spin Rhythm XD. You’ll play a tutorial on Easy by default and I recommend at least playing a few songs on that difficulty to start. Red and pink round notes will glide down the board for you to match by moving the wheel left or right at the bottom with the left analogue stick. Square notes require you to press the ‘X’ button in time and depending on your accuracy, you could get a Good to Perfect+ which affects your overall score.

Directions with a highlighted field on the board require you to flick the left analogue stick in the correct direction, resulting in a spin move. Harder difficulties introduce more to the baseline mechanics like holding notes, scratching left and right instead of spinning and pressing ‘R1’ to the beat when a line shows up on the board. It sounds verbose but the game implores you to play in stages. I’d say the sweet spot for the majority of your opening hours is ‘Normal’ difficulty, as it presents a challenge but is manageable to do really well in if you’re familiar with rhythm games.

The game grades you not only for just hitting the notes but your accuracy in hitting. It’s brutally pinpoint but presents a replayability more demanding than say, Guitar Hero. Getting a full combo is not enough, you need Perfect+ on every note too and if you don’t, you won’t get the elusive 100%. I was comfortably in the 90% for the most part, sometimes 95%+ which gives you an ‘S’ grade (the best). It’s an addictive gameplay loop and makes you feel like you’re playing the music and is flawless to play.

Into The Groove

Speaking of the music, Spin Rhythm XD’s soundtrack encompasses EDM as a genre with a whole manner of sub-genres to playthrough. Dubstep, Techno, Chillwave, even Pirate-dub? It’s all there with over 60 licensed songs. Artists like Anamanaguchi, Camellia, 2 Mello and Tokyo Machine are all featured, making it feel like the most robust tracklist from a rhythm game since Guitar Hero.

The game itself is quite literally just playing the songs. There’s a randomised ‘Up Next’ feature at the end of every song to keep you playing back-to-back tracks, which is great. However, there isn’t really anything else outside of that. No multiplayer, no “story mode”, the only sense of progression is levelling up to gain keys to unlock new songs and a global leaderboard to enter your scores in. With that said, I do think the price reflects that because this is a great overall package for the current asking on PlayStation (£14.99).

Thankfully, as I mentioned earlier, the core gameplay itself is spot-on for the flat screen experience. The VR experience isn’t quite as refined. I played the VR Mode with the PSVR2 Sense controllers that come with the VR package and with the DualSense controller but neither quite hit the mark compared to the standard experience.

Using the VR Sense controllers, you aim at the wheel to turn matching the colours and flicking it to spin, with everything else playing almost identically to the flat screen mode. It’s the closest to feeling like I’m playing with a proprietary peripheral, which the game is crying out for, but I found myself missing the notes a lot more.

Losing Rhythm

I initially thought this was just trying to get used to the new controls after playing a few hours with the DualSense, so I did just that with the headset still on. The result was unfortunately the same and came to realise it had more to do with the PSVR2’s latency feeding to the headset. It’s a shame that the more exciting method to play is definitively not as good. But this is coming from someone who’s trying to get the full combos and high percentage accuracy, for someone who just wants to have fun (weird concept) it would more than likely go unnoticed.

Spin Rhythm XD also features a bunch of customizability. You can change your DJ, change the way the board, spinner, sidebars and even the colour of everything to your liking. It’s a neat way to include some accessibility as there are no limitations on colour, so if something is more visible for you, you can adjust to that. The visuals overall are vibrant, teetering on maybe too much going on but aren’t all great rhythm games like that?

Overall, Spin Rhythm XD is a brilliant game to pick up and play, with a tantalising prospect of mastering it. The gameplay is mechanically flawless, the music is varied and perfect and although there’s not much else to do but play the songs, it’s at a price point that’s hard not to recommend to people who love rhythm games. I do wish the PSVR2 experience was more tuned towards the base experience but I can see myself putting hours into jamming to tracks with my DualSense instead.

With a mechanically flawless flat screen experience, an EDM soundtrack that is packed with bangers and chaotic visuals that emulate the style of your favourite arcade machines, Spin Rhythm XD is a great experience. The VR aspect isn’t as brilliant and the game doesn’t offer much else from the base gameplay but it’s hard not to recommend for rhythm game fans.

Spin Rhythm XD is available now on PlayStation 5/PSVR2 (review platform), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam.

Developer: Super Spin Digital
Publisher: Super Spin Digital

Disclaimer: In order to complete this preview, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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