There are two franchises on Nintendo platforms that are so wacky you really have to wonder who thinks up these games: WarioWare and Rhythm Heaven. That said, they’re both incredibly addictive, very much-loved franchises. Both work on the premise of quick minigames; in the case of Rhythm Heaven, the games are all about beats and music.
Admittedly, WarioWare isn’t a franchise I generally enjoy, but musical titles do intrigue me. Since my kids were interested, I dove into Rhythm Heaven Groove feet first when Nintendo reached out with a review code.
Rhythm Heaven Groove isn’t going to break sales number records, it’s probably not going to win many awards, and it definitely won’t have you glued to your couch for hours on end. If you’re expecting the game of the year, put your money back in your wallet and move on.
The more I played this game, the more I realized that games like Rhythm Heaven Groove march to the beat of their own drum. Pun intended.
So if this isn’t the latest and greatest title to land on a Nintendo console, then what is it? Rhythm Heaven Groove is best played in spurts – 15 minutes here, 15 minutes there. You’ll play through rhythm-based minigames, each lasting a few minutes total. Simplistic controls make the game easy to play – generally just pressing a button or two – but nailing the sequences and aiming for that “Amazing” score will compel you to play again and again.
The 80 included minigames are broken down into 4-game sets, with the final minigame of each set combining the 4 games into a remixed stage where you pop between different minigames, but using a singular song throughout.
Each game has its own musical beat, and you’ll be performing a variety of activities to the rhythm of the song. It might be as simple as opening or closing an umbrella, or more complicated, like counting to seven without the aid of an actual timer, and pressing A to make a dog jump and grab a frisbee.
Everything has to be unlocked as well, so there is a fantastic sense of progression as you move from one game to the next. Simply finishing a game will unlock the next one, regardless of how badly you do, so there should never be a fear of getting stuck, regardless of the age or skill level of the player.
What I really enjoyed was that after a quick tutorial of how the game plays – which can be skipped – you can also watch an example of how the minigame works. This was a lot more helpful than I thought it would be, and I often would watch the example to get me set on what I needed to do each time.
There are 8 stages total, with 4 regular levels and one remixed level per stage. Each level only lasts a few minutes, so it won’t take as long as you think to see everything this mode has to offer. What will keep you coming back is earning medals for each level only once you achieve an “Amazing” score. And to get that score, you’ll need to be perfect.
This is always harder than anticipated because jumping between minigames that use different button sequences with varying music is pretty tough. That said, it can get rather boring playing the same game in constant succession. This is probably the most frustrating part of Rhythm Heaven Groove – you are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.
There are 10 multiplayer games on offer, with 3 levels for each, for a total of 30 multiplayer games. These are lots of fun to play with a group of friends, although I would argue that we found more enjoyment in playing single player and just passing the controller around and attempting to perfect specific games. That said, games like Cake Wait were particularly enjoyable, as you all try to be as close to 0 on a 10-second timer countdown before pressing the button to grab the slice of cake.
New to the Rhythm Heaven series is an RPG-lite mode called Beat Spells. This is a really novel idea where matching beats will help send attacks at enemies, but the mode itself felt a bit half-baked, almost like one person on the team was passionate about the idea, while others were being cautious of team resources.
I think with more time and development, it could have been a real hit. Of everything here, it is something I hope finds its way into future games, or even a standalone adventure. Unlocking new spells did keep me engaged a bit, but this was definitely the least enjoyable and least memorable part of my experience.
Rhythm Heaven Groove is a really solid minigame compilation experience and a fantastic next entry in this series of titles. Like with WarioWare, your enjoyment will hinge on whether or not you like picking up games for a few quick minutes before moving on to other things.
One major let down here is the issues we had playing on a TV, even with all the proper modes enabled on our 2026 Samsung TV. You can calibrate the game, but we found ourselves calibrating every few days. Ultimately, we found that playing handheld was the way to go. If you play in docked mode primarily, I actually suggest passing on this experience unless regular calibration doesn’t bother you.
There is a lot on offer here, and whether you like minigames or rhythm games – or perhaps even both – it’s going to be a fun time.
Adam has been writing about video games since 2014 and board games since 2018. If he's not rooting for the Toronto Maple Leafs or Toronto FC, he definitely has a controller in his hand - probably playing on a Nintendo platform - or is sitting at a table playing a board game. Adam also has firm opinions on a few key topics: there are much better board games than Settlers of Catan, and Nintendo doesn't need to compete with Sony and Microsoft.
