Some may say that many skills in sports require a rhythmic action to them, and now you can put that statement to the test with Super Beat Sports.  It’s a music/rhythm game with a sports theme and you can download it on the Nintendo Switch.  In the game you play as a human who travels to a whimsical alien world where they play sports based on music and rhythm.  It’s cute and quirky and reminds me a bit of the Rhythm Heaven game series (those games even had golf and ping pong rhythm games).

Before you start, you can customize your player character and change their skin tone, outfit, and apparatus for hitting the ball (bat, club, hockey stick, hammer, fish, etc.).  As you play you’ll earn points which can fill up a meter.  When the meter is full, you’ll get a gift, like a new outfit to wear or club to use.

There are five main gameplay modes altogether.  In Whacky Bat, aliens will pitch the ball and you must hit it in time with the beat of the music.  You can also watch the aliens for picture cues to let you know which alien is pitching to you.  The game will let you know if you hit right on time, or too early or late. Net Ball is similar, but with a volleyball theme.  You must watch when an alien serves the ball to you and you must volley or spike it back in time with the beat.  And in Gobble Golf, aliens will sing to the music and you must swing your club at the right time to feed them golf balls as their mouths open.  Each of these modes has dozens of tiers of difficulty including a super hard Pro Mode, and they can be played with one or two players.

The last two modes are more multiplayer-centric.  Buddy Ball can be played with up to four players, and it’s like a combination of Whacky Bat and Net Ball.  You must hit the ball to one of three aliens who will knock it back at different speeds to another player.  You must try to get other players to miss hitting it and losing a heart.  Whoever is left standing, wins.  And Rhythm Rocket is like a music-based super fun version of air hockey.  Both these modes can be played with a single player and CPU opponents as well.

The game’s graphics are cartoony and very simple, and look like something that could’ve been done on the Wii or even PS2.  But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it gives the game a kind of ‘neo-retro’ feel if that makes any sense.  It definitely looks like a game that would’ve been released on the Wii.  You can even use motion controls instead of pressing buttons if you want.  Speaking of which, play control is simple and intuitive as well.  If I had any problems with this game, it’s that I wish there were more varieties of modes.  Maybe other sports like football or soccer or hockey.  Although you’d be doing the same thing, which is understandable as to why they didn’t do that, but it would be nice to have a change of scenery every once in a while.  But if you enjoy quirky rhythm games, you may want to check this one out anyway.

Kid Factor:

Nothing very violent or objectionable here.  You can hit aliens with sports balls, but it doesn’t seem to faze them much.  Reading skill is needed for the instructions.  The game starts out super easy, but younger players may need help with the tougher stages.  And they do get pretty tough!  The game could be considered almost educational as it reinforces basic music and rhythm skills.   Super Beat Sports is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews