The 25 Best Rhythm Games of All Time

Plastic guitars, dance mats, VR sabers and a rapping paper dog all made the cut; the argument is over which one keeps the best time.

1. 1
   Guitar Hero II

   Harmonix's 2006 sequel for the PlayStation 2, published by RedOctane, played with a plastic guitar controller.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Rock Band 3

   The 2010 Harmonix band game that added a keyboard and a Pro mode for real instrument technique.
   685pts
3. 3
   DJ Hero

   FreeStyleGames' 2009 game, published by Activision, played with a turntable controller over mashups of two songs.
   573pts
4. 4
   Hi-Fi Rush

   Tango Gameworks' 2023 action game in which the whole world, combat included, moves to the soundtrack's beat.
   536pts
5. 5
   Cadence of Hyrule

   A 2019 Nintendo Switch crossover by Brace Yourself Games that sets Crypt of the NecroDancer's beat-based play in the world of Zelda.
   449pts
6. 6
   Sayonara Wild Hearts

   Simogo's 2019 pop-album game, published by Annapurna Interactive, in which a heartbroken woman races and fights through neon levels.
   449pts
7. 7
   Crypt of the NecroDancer

   Brace Yourself Games' 2015 roguelike dungeon crawler in which every move and attack must land on the beat.
   449pts
8. 8
   osu!

   A free-to-play PC rhythm game created by Dean Herbert in 2007, built on community-made beatmaps.
   396pts
9. 9
   Rez

   A 2001 rail shooter for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 from Tetsuya Mizuguchi's United Game Artists, where shots and lock-ons add to the music.
   396pts
10. 10
    Elite Beat Agents

    A 2006 Nintendo DS game by iNiS in which players tap and drag on the touch screen to cheer people through their problems.
    335pts
11. 11
    Rhythm Heaven Fever

    Nintendo's Wii collection of short rhythm minigames, released in Japan in 2011 and produced with musician Tsunku.
    335pts
12. 12
    PaRappa the Rapper

    NanaOn-Sha's 1996 PlayStation game in which a paper-thin dog raps along with his teachers, designed by Masaya Matsuura with art by Rodney Greenblat.
    335pts
13. 13
    Thumper

    Drool's 2016 self-described rhythm violence game, steering a metallic beetle down a track at high speed.
    264pts
14. 14
    Gitaroo Man

    iNiS's 2001 PlayStation 2 game, published by Koei, about a boy who battles enemies in guitar duels.
    264pts
15. 15
    Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

    A 2014 Nintendo 3DS sequel by indieszero and Square Enix that features more than 200 songs from the Final Fantasy series.
    264pts
16. 16
    Space Channel 5

    Sega's 1999 Dreamcast game by United Game Artists, starring reporter Ulala in dance-offs against alien invaders.
    264pts
17. 17
    Child of Eden

    Q Entertainment's 2011 rail shooter, published by Ubisoft, which could be played with Kinect or PlayStation Move gestures.
    264pts
18. 18
    Beat Saber

    A virtual reality game by Beat Games in which players slice incoming blocks to the beat with two lightsaber-like blades, fully released in 2019.
    264pts
19. 19
    Vib-Ribbon

    NanaOn-Sha's 1999 PlayStation game starring a line-drawn rabbit, able to generate courses from the player's own music CDs.
    264pts
20. 20
    Patapon

    A PSP game from Japan Studio and Pyramid, first released in 2007, in which players command a tribe with drum-beat sequences.
    264pts
21. 21
    Lumines

    Q Entertainment's 2004 PSP block puzzle game in which a sweeping time line clears squares in sync with the music.
    180pts
22. 22
    Dance Dance Revolution

    Konami's 1998 arcade game played by stepping on arrow panels of a dance platform in time with the music.
    180pts
23. 23
    Taiko no Tatsujin

    Namco's drum game that began in arcades in 2001, played by hitting a taiko drum controller.
    0pts
24. 24
    Metal: Hellsinger

    The Outsiders' 2022 first-person shooter in which shooting on the beat powers up a heavy metal soundtrack.
    0pts
25. 25
    Amplitude

    Harmonix's 2003 PlayStation 2 game in which players fly along tracks and activate each instrument of a song.
    0pts

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