Did you know that anyway three images of an “onion knight” in the mainstream media? I certainly didn’t. You have your classic Onion Knight of the Final Fantasy variety, the only one I knew of until now. Then there’s Game of Thrones’ Davos Seaworth whose nickname is Onion Knight, a fact that completely blew my mind despite watching the whole damn show. Finally, there are the Knights of Catarina from Dark Souls, derogatorily nicknamed Onion Knights. Poor guys.
However, do you want to know what my gears do to this? Neither of these guys is actually an onion. They’re just guys with swords! Thank goodness for Rhythm Sprout: Sick Beats and Sweet Treats, a game that actually features a literal onion knight. He’s a lil’ bulb with a knight’s helm! And, strangely enough, a blue sports tracksuit. So imagine my delight when I saw a demo I could tinker with before the full game came out in February.
Rapscallion
I’ve been on a bit of a rhythm kick lately, and I always like the ones that take the traditional formula and put their own spin on the delivery, like the way Bit.Trip Runner mixes combat and sidescrollers, and how Rhythm Doctor uses visuals and a single button to make each level unique. Rhythm Sprout is another fun twist on the genre, a kickass rhythm game with a great dungeon-crawling vibe. Notes fly across the screen, and each successful hit takes my tracksuit-wearing little vegetable one step closer to the goal. It’s a simple control scheme with three buttons: left, right and a dedicated obstacle dodge button and some sweet bad guys.
These enemies – gingerbread men, chocolate bars and other sweet treats with comically gigantic human noses – get in the way of my onion knight’s quest. If my stench doesn’t take them out, my sword certainly will. The travel takes a short break to chop up the critters before happily jumping each level again. Reach the end of the level and my little onion man celebrates by heading straight for the target. Saving the world must be a tiring job.
It’s one of those games that surprised me with how much fun it is. I’m quite picky with my rhythm games – and especially the music – but Rhythm Sprout’s five demo tracks have been stuck in my head for the past few days. I found most of the note schemes a bit on the simpler side, but some of the more complex patterns in the fifth level give me hope for what’s to come in the full game. There are also modifiers like mirror mode, turbo, and note randomizers that can be tweaked to make any graph a bit more difficult.
If you are a fan of rhythm games, Rhythm Sprout is one that should definitely be on your radar. It’s easy enough to get into, contains some absolute bangers, and I can see later levels becoming a fun challenge for seasoned genre players like me. Developer SURT promises all kinds of music such as K-Pop tracks, Lo-fi and Drum’n’Bass, so there should be something for everyone. If all levels are as good as what the demo has to offer, I’ll be a happy scallion.
You can check out the Rhythm Sprout demo on steam (opens in new tab) now, with the full game releasing on February 1.