Indie Quickies #2 - Spin Rhythm XD & South Scrimshaw Pt. 1
This month: an intuitive yet challenging rhythm game and a free visual novel/nature documentary!
Ah yes, two of the most popular genres: rhythm games and visual novels. I'm sure that there are still plenty of folks for whom these sorts of games are their bread and butter (and I'd be interested to see a rhythm-based visual novel, too), but I've long taken a distant interest in both. I remember spending hours and hours playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band with friends in college, and in recent years I've dabbled in more narrative-focused games like 13 Sentinels and AI: The Somnium Files. I just wouldn't say that I'm a fan of rhythm games and visual novels in general—I just happen to like a few.
With that said, this round of Indie Quickies features two excellent games that immediately grabbed me within the first few minutes of play. The first puts a novel spin (har-har) on traditional rhythm game mechanics with synesthetic flair; the second is a much more low-key experience that still impresses due to its art style and writing.
Spin Rhythm XD
Steam - $19.99
Nintendo Switch - $24.99
Single player and 2-4 player local multiplayer
Released March 14, 2023
Spin Rhythm XD is an approachable and satisfying rhythm game whose simple control scheme and diverse input options distinguish it from the rest of the pack. Typically, rhythm games fall into two camps. The first uses some kind of peripheral—such as Dance Dance Revolution's dance pad or Guitar Hero and Rock Band's plastic instruments—to mimic the physical activities themselves, while the second simply requires players to time controller inputs to the beat—think Rez, Gitaroo Man, and Amplitude. The interesting thing about Spin Rhythm XD is that it sits neatly in the middle, abstracting the music away from any specific instruments and mapping them to a series of subtly tactile inputs.
There are only two primary colors of notes: pink and blue by default. Players must rotate the center dial so that the notes on the track match up with the notes on the wheel. However, not everything requires an input. Only the larger, underlined notes must be met with a timed click or button press—all the others just need to be lined up with the dial at the bottom of the screen. Thus, the majority of notes on most difficulties can be "played" by simply moving the dial side-to-side. Easy, right?
Well, things quickly escalate after that. There are sections with arrows that require players to "spin" the dial by flicking the mouse, analog stick, or gyro-capable controller to the appropriate side (the game also feels great to play on the Steam Deck's touchpads). Further difficulty levels add in mechanics like notes that must be held/released and kick drum "beats", along with cranking up the board speed and score penalties. But even on lower levels, the game is a joy to play. I've already spent several hours gleefully clicking and swinging my mouse to electronic music that I wouldn't enjoy half as much if it wasn't for the gameplay—surely the sign of an engaging rhythm game. There's nothing quite like locking into a flow state and actually feeling the notes as you play.
It should also be noted that the game offers an impressive array of accessibility options, such as a no-fail mode, customizable colors for notes and UI elements, toggles for the twisty track animations, and more. These won't necessarily guarantee a win on harder difficulties, but they will make it easier for more players to tailor the game to fit their needs.
The game's only minor shortcomings exist outside of the gameplay itself. The UI is functional but can be awkward to navigate, and the way that the game suggests your next track does not seem to have any particular rhyme or reason, which was annoying when I just wanted to beat all the tracks on a given difficulty. Instead of hitting "next", I found myself backing out to the track list and manually choosing the next song. There is also a custom track editor for outside music, but the game lacks a song/track browser, presumably for copyright reasons. User tracks have to be searched and downloaded using external websites. I could nitpick forever, but for the price, Spin Rhythm XD is a delightful musical experience that I can see (and hear) myself playing for a while.
South Scrimshaw, Part 1
Some might hesitate to call this a "game", but I still found South Scrimshaw Part 1 to be a worthwhile experience despite its limited interactivity. Created entirely by Nathan O. Marsh, a freelance artist who has contributed to The Grand Budapest Hotel and American Horror Story, the game takes the form of a sci-fi nature documentary set on an alien planet. Players follow a baby whale from birth up through adolescence while gradually uncovering lore about the planet, its fauna, and its place in human history, and while I can't guarantee that everyone will shed a tear before the end of this hour-long journey, you'd have to be pretty heartless to not feel something as the story progresses.
So, is there actual gameplay? The game consists of a linear series of watercolor paintings accompanied by generally passable AI voiceover. To advance to the next point of narration, players simply press a button or click their mouse, with the only digressions being a handful of highlighted words that offer optional tangents, sort of like footnotes. I'm sure that this doesn't sound terribly exciting, but that's the thing—South Scrimshaw has the measured pace of Planet Earth, and just as viewers of a nature program cannot influence the animals' fates, players of this game are merely observers watching as dramatic scenes unfold. With that said, the writing is consistently strong, combining convincing worldbuilding, lyrical descriptions, and occasional humor to create an engaging narrative package.
Part 2 will likely release in 2025, and I look forward to seeing where Marsh takes the story of our young brillo whale!