The IndieBeat: How Rhythm Doctor was 1 second away from losing its pulse

Rhythm Doctor‘s catchy riffs and clever one-button gameplay have mesmerized a few notable indie game events this year. It was an official nominee at IndieCade and earned a spot at Double Fine’s Day of the Devs festival. It also won the award for best audio at the Indie Prize Showcase in Asia, the Busan Indie Connect Festival, and more. Though these particular accolades are recent, it’s been a six-year journey for 7th Beat Games, the three-person studio behind the innovative rhythm game. Now it’s nearing completion, with plans to release its debut for PC, Mac, and iOS and Android devices in the first half of 2018.

As the name might imply, Rhythm Doctor’s story takes place in a hospital. You play as an intern who’s in charge of a remote defibrillator. While the music plays, you press the button on every seventh beat. The visuals echo the theme as the song dances along a line, pulsing like a heart monitor. Then the system begins acting strangely, infected by a virus that glitches out the screen and even affects the music. That’s when the real challenge begins. The concept is straightforward, but the gameplay gets its hooks in fast, especially as 7th Beat has just added co-op play. The one-button mechanic draws inspiration from Nintendo’s touchscreen-based Rhythm Heaven, as well as the desire to make the game accessible to folks who are visually impaired.