By Kotaku | Created at 2026-06-23 14:52:40 | Updated at 2026-06-23 16:09:08
1 hour ago
Last night, Rhythm Heaven Groove got a surprise free demo on the Nintendo eShop ahead of its July 2 launch. So obviously I, actively in a state of Revenge Bedtime Procrastination, stayed up an extra 45 minutes to play it. It’s fun! I like Rhythm Heaven! The game with the chompy dinosaur is great and the Remix at the end is very cool!
But I hate this person. With a passion:
©NintendoNo, no, not the dogs. Waaaaaay in the back there:
©NintendoYes. Them. I hate this person.
These images are from a game in the demo called Disc Dog. Disc Dog is, on its face, an extremely simple game. The beat is in a really nice, basic 4/4, and there’s literally only one action you ever have to do. The person in the back will do a two-count whistle and throw a frisbee. After the first two counts of whistle, you then need to count seven more quarter-note beats. On seven, you press A, the dog leaps into the air, and catches the frisbee, and the thrower delivers a nice, “All right!” on the eighth beat. Easy, right?!
No!!! This game is hard for me and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the unintuitive button press on beat 7, instead of like 8, or 4, or something. I’m not even bad at most Rhythm Heaven games—I’m not finishing every game perfectly by any stretch but I’m getting through most of them with few mistakes. I had no issues jumping through the hoops with the little round guys, opening my umbrella with the “Pa-cho” fellas, or making this fantastic dinosaur eat flowers:
©NintendoBut I can’t seem to get more than a “Good” in Disc Dog, and I whiff every time this bastard pops up in the excellent Remix. And the useless little dog on the left just gazes into the abyss, and the frisbee thrower way in the back makes this mean little scowl at me:
©NintendoStop it!! Maybe learn to throw better, GEEZ!
Anyway there’s a Rhythm Heaven Groove demo and despite my whining, it’s pretty fun, if far too short. Go check it out.
