14 DAY TRIAL // 
My Onion Knight is in trouble. The vegetable vampire count boss I am facing has been throwing a lot of dodge notes at me and my health is down. I need to make sure that I get some of the easier combos fast to get it back up and have a chance when I get up close and personal with him.
After knocking on the door of his mansion and getting trapped in his dungeon, I finally have a chance to make him my friend by acing this dance battle and getting the location of a missing princess in the process. But I really need to up my rhythm game if I want to succeed.
I already reached the vampire count two times, dodging his attacks and dealing damage, but when he is on the brink of defeat he disappears and then increases the tempo, making the musical note matching harder than before. The key to success seems to be to focus on the dodge notes and ace them all, dealing damage only when I’m sure my own character cannot be hurt. And hope that there’s not another speed increase to deal with.
Rhythm Sprout was developed by SURT, with publishing from tinyBuild. I played it on the PC using Steam. Players can also pick it up on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X and S, and older consoles from Microsoft and Sony. The title uses classic rhythm game mechanics, pairing them with a classic adventure narrative.
Our protagonist is Sprout, also known as The Chosen Onion. The kingdom of the vegetables is under threat from sweets and the king chooses him to go on an adventure and save it, while also helping inhabitants when possible. There’s also the small matter of the missing and often ignored daughter Cauliflower.
The game’s world is colorful and filled with cultural references and attempts at humor. There is some groan-inducing moments but the writing also managed to extract a few chuckles. It mostly works but there’s no depth to it.
Rhythm Sprout, as the name makes clear, is all about its music-driven gameplay. Our Onion Knight, with his helmet and headphones, cannot move unless the player matches button presses with the notes flowing down the screen. It all starts off easy, with plenty of time to understand the flow of the music and get into the rhythm.
Combat is also all about the rhythm and the notes. When directly facing an enemy, gamers will need to hit more dodge notes while the normal left or right ones will whittle down the opponent's health bar. There are also boss levels, which feature extra challenges and can get pretty difficult to deal with.
The gameplay mechanics are clear and simple, designed to keep gamers with their eyes on the river of notes and their fingers as close to the corresponding buttons as possible. Don’t forget to activate the Sugar Rush superpowered mode when the situation requires it.
Once a level is done, Sprout blows up some bubblegum while players are evaluated on their performance. The obtained stars can then be used to tweak the character's appearance and to open up both a prequel campaign and some bonus levels.
Rhythm Sprout gives players a chance to go back to any level they have completed if they want to improve their overall performance. There’s also the draw of remixes and optional tweaks of the rules that increase the difficulty (the randomizer is really nuts) and keep things fresh. It’s very easy to get very deep into a level, trying to hit the highest score possible, learning the song, and practicing each sequence.
The developers have also included a Beginner mode, designed to decrease the difficulty by increasing Sprout’s health and making it easier to stay on the beat. It represents a perfect way to see what each of the levels has to offer and push forward when a sequence is too difficult. Maybe they should have gone even further to deliver a no-fail mode.
Rhythm Sprout is challenging. I found it best to always keep an eye out for the all-important blue dodge notes, trying to always hit me. Even if the Onion Knight doesn’t make progress in a fight, keeping him alive is the priority. Once I have consistently done that, it is time to learn the other note sequences and try to execute to the best of my ability. When you drop a note and lose the combo, keep hitting the dodges and worry about getting into the flow again after that.
I like the game’s rhythm mechanics and the levels are short enough that their songs do not become boring. But it’s a shame that the title never tries to innovate in its designated genre.
Rhythm Sprout fails to impress when it comes to graphics. All the environments lack detail, enemies have basic looks, and even the bosses lack a certain amount of personality. But the game does make it clear what notes and when to play them, which is good given the focus on gameplay.
The soundtrack is a highlight, with unique and catchy songs for each stage. There are changes in genre and rhythm that works well to offer new challenges but also create some solid tunes, some of which I would listen to outside of the game. The characters don’t actually speak but the sound design quality is good.
The Good
- Rhythm mechanics
- Colorful universe
- Beginner mode
The Bad
- Limited story
- Hit-or-miss jokes
- Difficulty spikes
Conclusion
The entire experience is a good way of introducing players to the rhythm genre, especially if they skew younger. And the game would have benefited greatly from a cooperative mode that allowed a more experienced player to guide a new one. Rhythm Sprout is competent and colorful but never attempts to significantly tweak a familiar formula.
A review key was offered by the publisher.
