Rhythm Fighter is an irresistibly awkward beat-'em-up Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Rhythm Fighter is an irresistibly awkward beat-'em-up And breve. Feature by Robert Purchese Senior Staff Writer Updated on 3 Jun 2020 6 comments Wow Rhythm Fighter makes my brain hurt. It's the controls: it's like learning to type on a different language keyboard. There's an easy option but it puts you at a disadvantage overall and you can feel the game frown at you for choosing it. I'm getting ahead of myself. Rhythm Fighter is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up where you have to do everything in time to bopping music. And it looks like a cartoon. And you fight giant vegetables. And you only get one life. Got it? Rhythm Fighter preview Developer: echo games Publisher: Coconut Island Games Platform: Played on PC Availability: Out now on Steam for £11.40 OK, the controls. They don't sound difficult but let me tell you: they do not feel natural. You can turn left and right, and move, roll and attack, but you can't do this freely. You have to do it within the window of a beat. So if there's an enemy on the other side of you, you have to turn to face them, then attack, then turn back the way you're facing and then move on - each button-press as in time to the music as you can manage. Hit it perfectly and you'll get a damage bonus, hit it OK and the result will be OK, but mess it up and your flow will be interrupted. Those bloody carrots. However, you can rid the awkward turnaround move if you opt for the advanced control scheme, and you should. It's here where the finger-tying comes in. In this mode, you have two sets of movement keys - one for facing left and one for facing right. You know the keys with the raised bumpy bits on? They're J and F on my keyboard. The Rhythm Fighter keys are anchored there, which is useful because you can feel them. Incidentally, I didn't realise these raised bits were to help you type until recently. I'm such an idiot. Then again, I did teach myself my mangled way of typing by playing MMOs so... Anyway! On the left side, you use F, D and S to move, roll and attack, and then E and R above them for special abilities. Meanwhile on the right side, you use J, K and L with I and O for special abilities, oh and U to interact with things. Got that? No of course not. But here are some enemies! Quick roll behind them! Don't miss the beat! Aaaaah! It's like riding a bike with the handlebars turned around. Hey, I beat a boss! But with a bit of practice you'll get the gist of it and eventually your mind will match your fingers, leaving you freer to concentrate on things like the beat and power-ups and attack patterns and even bosses, which I'm struggling with. It's all so charmingly awkward. It's the kind of game I can't wait to make someone else play so I can chuckle at their bewilderment before dazzling them with skills of my own. It's a bit Getting Over it with Bennett Foddy, a bit Surgeon Simulator. It's striking. It's fun. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store