One of the coolest rhythm games I've ever played—with distraction mechanics straight out of those fake mobile ads—is finally coming out of early access

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Rhythm Doctor has been around in some form for over 10 years.

Rhythm Doctor
(Image credit: 7th Beat Games)

I was having a scroll through my Steam library this week, hunting out games I hadn’t played in a hot sec to fill my night. I’m glad I did, because otherwise I would have missed a very exciting piece of news: one of the coolest, most innovative rhythm games on PC is finally coming out of early access.

Rhythm Doctor is unlike any rhythm game I’ve played before—while I’m used to four, five, or even eight-button spreads, Rhythm Doctor only requires one finger and the humble spacebar. Notes skirt along an EKG to different rhythms, sometimes throwing multiple notes for me to keep track of each beat.

The real joy of Rhythm Doctor, though, comes from its visuals. Each level has some wonderfully unique storytelling through its art and the things that are happening between (and often during) my button presses. From levels that play out like those dodgy mobile ads that flood the screen with notifications and glitches, to one level that’s so special I don’t want to spoil it here. Seriously, it’s one you have to play for yourself.

(Image credit: 7th Beat Games)

Well, after six years on Steam and even more than that, knocking around as a demo on itch.io, Rhythm Doctor is finally entering 1.0 on December 6.

"From a small Flash game, to prototypes via mailing list, to Steam Early Access, and all the updates we’ve published since… we’re excited to finally bring the story of Rhythm Doctor to a close," a news post on Steam read.

"We couldn’t have done it without all your support and passion for this game about slamming your space bar."

The full launch of Rhythm Doctor is set to add the game’s final story chapter, further accessibility with screen reading on the game’s night shift levels, and "small improvements and bug fixes."

The news post ends by pointing players to another rhythm game, developed with some of the Rhythm Doctor team, and one I’ve already loved and written about—Beatblock.

Mollie Taylor
Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.  

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