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Thanks to Spin Rhythm XD I have ‘midi DJ controller’ and several different DJ related websites in my Google history. The game from developer Super Spin Digital, who are based in Melbourne Australia, just released in early access on Steam and after spending some time figuratively spinning the disc on this new rhythm game I can safely say it’s one fans’ of the genre will want to rotate into regular play.

To get the biggest question out of the way: I have been playing Spin Rhythm XD with an Xbox One controller and it plays well like that. I tried using a mouse but didn’t enjoy that experience at all. I don’t feel like you need a DJ controller to enjoy the game at all, although I’m sure that is the ultimate way to play the game.

What makes Spin Rhythm XD stand out from other music rhythm games is its flowing gameplay mechanics that aren’t heavily based in constant button tapping. It still requires your undivided attention though and will draw you into the screen and music as you’re quickly lost to the constant flow of playing one song after another.

Let’s break down how it works. Start by checking out the gameplay video below.

This is Spin Rhythm and at first glance, this may look somewhat similar to many other games in the genre you’ve played before, but it’s very different. Firstly take note that there are only two colours — blue and red — on our wheel in the picture below.

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You can rotate that wheel endlessly holding right or left on the analog, which is the same as spinning a DJ deck indefinitely. Look at the upcoming ‘notes’ on that screen again; these notes don’t need any button press, you simply need to make sure they’re lined up with the correct colour on our deck.

Moving the analog stick left or right you simply guide these colours through, and this is the most common note you’ll see in Spin Rhythm XD. The new one in the picture below requires you to tap A as you come across it to hit it though.

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And this note below requires you tap and hold A and then guide the deck along its path.

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Finally, there’s the spinning. The symbols in the image below represent the direction you must strike the analog stick when you move across it to get the deck spinning.

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What’s intuitive and feels awesome when playing Spin Rhythm XD is that whatever note you must tap on your way out of a spin will be automatically selected as you hit the button. So in songs featuring a lot of spins and button taps at the end of it, you feel pretty cool, and I’d take a guess, even cooler if you were doing it on an actual DJ deck.

If you jump into Hard mode an extra button press is added in for these long notes pictured below.

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The song selection is currently 15 songs long featuring both licensed and original EDM music from an assortment of artists including Hyper Potions, Tristam, Nitro Fun and more. They all feel different and there’s a range of bangers to more chill or fun tracks. When the game fully launches there is going to be another 15 songs added as well, which is good because 15 feels small at the moment.

I’ve had some weird graphical bugs happen too like odd screen-tearing at times, but it hasn’t affected my ability to play the game so it’s not a huge problem, but hopefully fixed before the full release.

Considering I was having so much playing I looked into a DJ controller, you can safely assume Spin Rhythm XD is plenty of fun with an Xbox One controller. Will I buy one though? Not at the moment. It’s around $100AUD for the cheapest one I could find, but maybe if I turn into a hardcore Spin Rhythm XD junky it wouldn’t be a bad purchase.

You can currently play Spin Rhythm XD in early access via Steam for $24.99 AUD

(Spin Rhythm XD earyl access code provided)