Still in early access as I write this, but Rhythm Doctor is a very charming little game that is definitely worth checking out. The pixel art style is cute and gives the game this really cozy feel, which I appreciate. The characters are endearing, and though this game doesn't really have much of a story (yet!!), they were a highlight of the experience.
As for the actual game, Rhythm Doctor takes inspiration from Rhythm Heaven, and is a one-key rhythm game. On every 7th note, you click the space bar. What comes then are a plethora of different heartbeats, keeping you on your toes. Some patients only have 2 beats instead of 7. Others use a swing rhythm. Others need you to hold their beat down. There are even some wholly unique ones that comes with certain special stages. Rhythm Doctor manages to keep the gameplay from getting stale, while still making sure the core gameplay loop is still simple and fun. This all comes together for the boss stages, with very unique gimmicks and interesting shifts in gameplay. I would like to especially highlight 2-X. I'm not gonna spoil anything, and you definitely shouldn't spoil yourself either, but that stage really impressed me.
The music is obviously well done. There's a decent variety of songs to be enjoyed here, from slow lo-fi to fast-paced electronic. The night levels especially have some really good songs, with Rollerdisco Rumble and Bomb-Sniffing Pomeranian being my favorites.
The game is pretty short and sweet (so far!!), but there is official support for custom stages. The community's still pretty small, but they've been hard at work making unique tracks and levels, and they're only gonna make more as the game grows.
Very underrated fun time. Go give this game a try, and give it some support. I can't wait to see this game grow!

I don't normally play a lot of rhythm games but if they have good music, it's not hard to fall in love with them. Rhythm Doctor has more than an outstanding soundtrack: its graphics often transcend the boundaries of pixel art, its characters have narratives that are tied together by a loose overall plot, and it boasts exclusively one-button gameplay that manages to constantly evolve despite its simplicity. The hospital and heartbeat theming works well too—it both provides a backdrop for the beat-based gameplay and sets up the story arcs for the patients you are trying to cure.

The difficulty is exactly where I want it to be as well. Most levels weren't hard enough to halt my progress in the story, but A ranks or higher take some practice that is addicting and satisfying to master. The game is still in early access and new content is still being developed, and I can tell the later level packs are starting to get more challenging. I was disappointed to learn the game isn't complete, but there's a plethora of content already available including five story acts, bonus collab levels, story-based minigames, a level editor, and even a two-player mode.

I loved almost every moment of this game and really have nothing to nitpick. At the time of this review, it's been in early access for almost two years and it seems like it may take another two years for the full release to be ready. If the final chapters and story continue the quality of the rest of the game, this could easily be one of the all-time greatest rhythm games.

Me interessei no jogo após ver uma gameplay no youtube no canal do Tropia, vi e achei o jogo interessante, mas na época, não possuía pc para poder jogar. Finalmente após anos eu pude jogar esse jogo, e ele é apenas incrível... acabei de zerar o jogo, e chorei horrores, sendo que a historia nem é focada nisso, mas chorei de admiração, de como é nítido o amor e o carinho depositado nesse jogo, sem duvidas ficara na minha mente.

REVIEW

Analisando mais tecnicamente o jogo e deixando meu drama de lado, Rhythm Doctor é um jogo rítmico com uma mecânica bem criativa, aonde consiste em você aperta a tecla na sétima batida da musica, uma mecânica simples mas bastante interessante, porem existia um problema nisso, era simples demais, oque tornava o jogo muito fácil, as primeiras fases era tranquilo de passar de primeira, incluindo o primeiro boss, mas ai entra genialidade desse jogo, a cada mundo e fase que avança, novas mecânicas são incrementadas, e aos poucos, vc percebe que oque era uma mecânica simples no inicio se tornou um turbilhão de dificuldade, tudo sem sobrecarregar o player, fazendo com que a adaptação fosse tranquila e gradativa. As musicas do jogo são memoráveis demais, tratando de temas super complexos, e o ritmo sempre esta em perfeita sincronia com a fase (exceto quando tem um vírus, jogue e entendera), por mais que a historia em si não seja o foco do jogo, ela não posta em escanteio, o jogo possui um historia cativante e bem desenvolvida, tratando de problemas comuns no dia a dia, como o burnout (excesso de trabalho), vícios, dificuldades criativas, adaptação e mais. Alem de tudo isso, o jogo possui um criador de fases para a comunidade, oque me impressionou, já que para jogar as fases da comunidade não precisa baixar nenhum mod, apenas o arquivo da fase, super pratico e rápido. Sem duvidas o melhor jogo rítmico que já joguei (menção especial as fases em modo janela, nunca vi isso antes na minha vida, incrível). <3