Spin Rhythm XD Review (PS5) | Push Square

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Spin Rhythm XD feels like the cool younger sibling of rhythm classics like Amplitude. With its bright presentation and smooth, satisfying gameplay, this indie arcade rhythm title has both style and substance, always leaving us wanting to play one more song.

Notes head towards you on a track, and you control a wheel featuring two colours. Most of the notes simply need to be matched with their colour, but larger notes require the matching colour and a timed button press. You'll perform other actions like spinning the wheel left or right, holding down on a note while following its path, and tapping long green beats that overlay everything else. Some of these only feature in higher difficulties, but whichever challenge level you choose, there's always plenty to pay attention to. Even on easy, Spin Rhythm XD is an engaging and fun rhythm game, and the much tougher challenge is there when you're ready.

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Crucially, it all feels fantastic. The controls are intuitive and simple, with lots of options whether you're playing on your TV or in the optional PSVR2 mode. However you decide to play, it's incredibly satisfying to fully combo a song and S-rank the whole playlist.

Speaking of which, you're looking at dozens of EDM tracks in this title. While there's some genuinely great music here from artists like Anamanaguchi, Hyper Potions, and Teminite, there isn't a great deal of variety. If you're not into plinky-plonky electronic music, you might grow weary of the selection.

Our only other real issue is that the game is pretty barebones in terms of features. There's only one mode of play, in which you can play any of your unlocked songs and earn XP to get more. A robust practice mode is a nice add, and competing on the leaderboards can be addictive, but we'd have loved some more ways to engage with the game's mechanics.

Still, the new mechanics rolled out in higher difficulties will keep dedicated players engaged for a long