We should all take a moment to thank medical professionals for their dedication and commitment. They work the hardest and longest days without a break. Even during the holiday period, most medical professionals are still on call. It’s fair to say that not many of us can handle the mental and physical demands of a medical career. There’s a lot of admiration for those in the medical profession, with many young students aspiring to become doctors or nurses to help people who are sick or need treatment. Others pursue a career in science to develop new cures and treatments for illnesses that the previous generation thought were considered incurable.
But the reality is that the best isn’t always enough. Sometimes, it’s not just about how experienced a doctor is, but also about how many other patients are in the hospital. Understaffing is a big issue because it can lead to longer wait times and a less positive experience for patients. But if you’re just visiting for a check-up, you probably won’t notice.
So rather than being the patient being treated, why not peek behind the curtain and be a doctor ourselves, no license or prior education is needed or required!
Quick Note: This review is just for a game about Rhythm & Doctors and should be treated as such. It is intended for entertainment purposes only. DO NOT attempt to use this review or play the game to diagnose or treat any medical condition. The information provided by the game is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider for any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Failure to heed this warning could result in serious brain rot or death. By reading the next parts of the review, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this warning and agree to hold the author harmless for any consequences resulting from your incongruity with rules and the obvious.
Seriously, go to university if you want to be a doctor.
With that out of the way, welcome new intern to Middlesea Hospital! Home of the first-ever Rhythm-based treatment. In Rhythm Doctor, you play as the titular ‘Intern’, who is introduced to the Rhythm Doctor program by Ian, a program in which musically talented people work remotely to help patients with irregular heartbeats; although the program is currently in its testing phase, it would be up to us, the player, to prove its worth by defibrillating the heartbeats of the patients at Middlesex Hospital.
Gameplay
In Rhythm Doctor you play with just one button, the spacebar. Although this may seem limiting and something you might get bored of within a minute, the game proves its worth by pushing that single button to its absolute limit, from pressing it on the 7th beat to holding it for 3 beats. They prove that restricting themselves to such a singularity can be innovative and creative with how the game executes the one-button concept.
With how the game plays with just one button, there are lots of different rhythmic patterns to learn to compensate for that. Players have to hit the button on certain beats, like the 7th or 2nd beat, or hold it for a set amount of time. These patterns change as the game goes on, making them more challenging. For instance, players might have to keep track of the 7th beat while another beat gradually comes in or adapt to a delayed 2nd beat.
The developers made some great improvements to the gameplay with the Act 5 update, including the introduction of Subdivision Beats/Triangle Shots. This new mechanic builds on the ‘Hit on the 2nd Beat’ concept and requires players to subdivide the rhythm even further. Instead of just hitting the second beat, they now have to hit multiple-second beats within a more complex rhythmic structure, such as 1-1-2-2 or 1-1-1-2-2-2. This adds a layer of intricacy and requires greater precision from the player.
Story
Even though the main selling point of the game is the gameplay, the story does not take a backseat at all, rather taking shotgun besides the gameplay on how the story builds upon itself with each subsequent update. From Act 1 to 2, you are slowly introduced to your role as an intern at Middlesea, meeting and treating patients with their own set of problems that may have caused their erratic heartbeats, from two dense smitten kids to a musician with art block and a coffee addiction, to a barista with her nicotine withdrawals. This leads into acts 3 and 4 where you set yourself up as an invaluable member of the staff team, treating not only the patients but also your coworkers, learning the reasons why they work so hard even though their team is a single bone instead of a skeleton, being overworked and underpaid, which leads back to my opening statement.
The story in this game is not entirely fictional as I understand it, it shows not only that being a doctor can be immensely rewarding when you can help others, but also the baggage these doctors carry from day to day, even when they tell you that everything is fine, when you know they are not really fine, but you don’t have the voice to tell them to be clean with you. The game is a mirror of what someone might feel with all the mental and physical burdens placed on them, am I saying that this game is based on something that has/will happen? I’m not, but what I am saying is that this game shows us all sides of what it’s like to be a doctor, as with all jobs, it’s not all smooth sailing, but doctors do have their own set of problems, although in this game they are somewhat exaggerated, and yet, it’s that exaggeration that I adore as that exaggeration is slowly creeping into our reality.
Aesthetics
With a mix of pixel aesthetics and great tunes, Rhythm Doctor follows a design philosophy that even if an eternity passed, it would still have a following because of how timeless it feels. Even though I’m not an artist, some of the backgrounds in Rhythm Doctor deserve high praise for how detailed and aesthetic they look, and as the younger folks might call it, “wallpaper material”. Another thing it has going for it is the degree of freedom charters can have in creating their charts, which makes for some of the most premium UX-feeling custom tracks and gameplay that some would imagine are official crossover tracks like the ones that are actually in the game, as Rhythm Doctor has collaborated with other indie games such as Muse Dash, Unbeatable, Bits and Bops, Vivid/Stasis and Circle of Sparks!
Though the beautiful art is one thing, my favorite part of Rhythm Doctor is obviously the music, as not only does it dip its toes into every genre possible, but it also shows that it is capable of producing a catchy track in said genre, from Classical to Jazz to Acoustic and even Lo-Fi. I appreciate how many different genres with their original music you can experience in just one game, and NO! Osu does not count as every song there is made by the community. In addition to the official music, the players also do an amazing job with the songs they chart, from niche songs that can introduce other players to the band in question, to popular songs that are usually amazingly charted, with graphics that follow/parody the official music video in the style of Rhythm Doctor.
Conclusion
Rhythm Doctor shows us how limitations can be a great way to spark new ideas in game design. By focusing on one thing and a simple core mechanic – hitting the 7th beat – the developers were able to create a unique and satisfying experience. This approach lets them focus their creative energy on exploring the details of rhythm, and they end up with a game that is both easy to play and challenging.
The developers weren’t even limited by the single-button concept. It helped them think in new ways and create an experience that’s simple in concept but complex in execution. The game offers players a wealth of content to explore, with new additions coming from their fellow players who have created custom charted tracks as a result of their love for the game and the creativity it has inspired. Although the game is still in open beta, with a lot more of the story and types of rhythms to master, I’ve learned a lot from playing Rhythm Doctor. It’s helped me to keep my rhythm on the beat, which is honestly amazing as I’m terrible at keeping rhythm.
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