Rhythm games are usually easy to describe badly. You press a button on time. The screen does something cute. You miss a beat and a cartoon animal looks disappointed in you. That is technically true of Rhythm Heaven Groove, but every review that landed today is really circling the same better point: Nintendo's odd little rhythm series has always been about listening harder than a normal game asks you to listen.
That makes it a good fit for this week. July is starting with one game that critics have already scored and one Nintendo experiment that is still in preview mode, but both are asking the same question in different ways. Can an old formula still surprise people if the rhythm changes underneath it?
For Rhythm Heaven Groove, the answer from critics is mostly yes. For Splatoon Raiders, the answer is more cautious, but the preview tone is warmer than I expected. It is not just "single-player Splatoon." The most interesting previews are describing roguelite structure, buildcrafting, persistent progression, and a version of Splatoon that might be easier to love if the competitive side has always felt like too much.
This is a preview roundup, not a verdict on both games. Rhythm Heaven Groove has full reviews and scores live ahead of its July 2 release. Splatoon Raiders launches July 23, and the current wave is hands-on preview coverage after the Direct. That difference matters. One game is being judged. The other is still being watched.
Rhythm Heaven Groove review roundup: critics hear the beat, then argue over the side mode
Rhythm Heaven Groove releases July 2, 2026 for Nintendo Switch. GamesRadar lists TNX and Nintendo EPD as the developers, with Nintendo publishing. In Europe, the same game is being reviewed as Rhythm Paradise Groove, which is worth knowing if you are searching for scores today.
The score range is strong. IGN gave it a 9/10, Nintendo Life gave it an 8/10, and GamesRadar gave it 4/5. Eurogamer does not attach a score, but its review is firmly positive. The shared line across those reviews is simple: the main rhythm game grid still works. The new questions are about docked play, feedback, and Beatspell, the RPG-like side mode that seems to be landing very differently depending on the reviewer.
IGN's review is the cleanest endorsement. It calls Rhythm Heaven Groove "a superb sequel" and says it "hits all the right notes." The review praises the campaign's approximately eight-hour runtime, the remix stages, the co-op games, and the way the game hides real challenge under tiny jokes and bright animation. The criticism is mostly aimed at Beatspell, which IGN says "starts novel but quickly becomes tedious." That is the one recurring wobble in an otherwise glowing review.
Nintendo Life lands a little lower at 8/10, but the tone is still affectionate. It calls the game "a surprise and a delight" and frames it as a low-key final bow for the original Switch. Its most useful warning is practical: docked play can introduce enough audio lag to make the game feel wrong, even after calibration. The reviewer says handheld or tabletop mode gave the best experience, which is not a small note for a rhythm game. If you plan to play mostly on a TV, that is the caveat to remember.
GamesRadar also scores it highly at 4/5, but has almost the opposite reaction to Beatspell. Its verdict says the mode is "a quiet revelation," and the review later says the RPG combat was one of its favorite surprises of the year. That divergence is interesting because it is not really a disagreement about whether Rhythm Heaven Groove works. It is a disagreement about whether the experiment inside the package feels like a bonus, a drag, or a seed for another game.
Eurogamer, writing under the European title Rhythm Paradise Groove, is more lyrical about why the series still works. The review says the game gets the player "inside the music" and makes them pay attention. That matches what the other outlets are saying in plainer language: the best parts are not about following a note highway. They are about learning a sound, then trusting it when the visuals get weird.
What reviewers agree on is easy enough. The music is strong. The minigames are strange in the right way. The remix stages are the high point. The series has not lost its gift for teaching you a rhythm, then messing with your confidence just enough to make mastery feel earned.
Where they diverge is more useful if you are deciding whether to buy it. Beatspell is either a clever surprise or a slightly underbaked detour. Docked play may be fine on your setup, but Nintendo Life's warning makes handheld and tabletop sound safer. GamesRadar also notes that performance feedback can feel vague, which is the kind of thing that matters when a game asks you to improve by tiny margins.
The watch point for Rhythm Heaven Groove is not whether critics like it. They do. The watch point is whether the side modes and TV calibration become friction after launch, when players with different screens, speakers, and patience levels start posting their own experiences.
Splatoon Raiders preview roundup: the single-player pitch is stranger than expected
Splatoon Raiders releases July 23, 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2. The preview cycle kicked into a higher gear after the June 30 Direct, and the early hands-on coverage is unusually specific. That is a good sign. Preview language can get mushy when writers only get a short demo, but these pieces keep coming back to structure.
Nintendo Life's own hands-on closes on a careful hope: "If the stages themselves can keep on innovating," it writes, the formula may have found its "true single-player potential." That is the frame to keep in mind. Splatoon has always had solo content, but the identity of the series has lived in multiplayer, territory control, weapon rhythm, and the social mess around all of it. Raiders seems to be asking whether the movement and ink systems can carry a fuller solo game without feeling like an extended tutorial.
IGN's preview gives the clearest mechanical hook: "Turns out, Splatoon Raiders is kind of a roguelite with persistent progression." That one sentence changes the shape of the game. It suggests repeat runs, upgrades, tools that stack over time, and a reason to keep returning that is not just story completion. IGN also points to Shiver's Showstopper, a giant rocket-powered shark, as an example of the toys the game wants players to use. The loop still sounds like Splatoon at the surface: blast through Salmonids, gather stuff, repeat. The promise is that the build variety keeps it from turning flat.
Polygon's preview, quoted in Nintendo Life's roundup, is more interested in what Raiders could mean for the series. It says the game may be less intimidating for players overwhelmed by Splatoon 3's volume of content, and that its buildcrafting could have a "game-changing impact" on Splatoon 4. That is probably the most important strategic read in the current preview set. If Raiders works, it may not just be a side project. It could become a testing ground for how Splatoon handles progression outside ranked play.
Game File draws a comparison that sounds odd until you sit with it: Ratchet & Clank. The preview says that may not seem like a compliment, then insists that it is. The point seems to be that Raiders is leaning into playful third-person action, gadgets, spectacle, and readable combat spaces rather than treating single-player Splatoon as multiplayer with bots.
Vooks is more modest but maybe more grounded, calling it "a good change of scenery" and a chance to enjoy the world without jumping into an online session. That may end up being the whole point for a lot of players. Splatoon has a style people love even if they do not want to live in its competitive queue. A strong solo game gives that audience somewhere to stand.
CGMagazine is high on the presentation, calling out improved Switch 2 visuals and the details in the backgrounds, ship, and exploration bot. That is less mechanically revealing than the IGN and Polygon notes, but still relevant. Splatoon depends on texture and movement. If the new hardware gives the world more readable mess, that matters.
The current preview consensus is cautiously optimistic. Nobody can score the full game yet, and nobody should pretend they can. But the same phrases keep coming back: roguelite, persistent progression, buildcrafting, less intimidating, solo potential. Those are not small additions. They suggest Nintendo is not simply stretching a campaign around the old multiplayer verbs.
The watch point for Splatoon Raiders is variety. If the stages keep changing and the builds meaningfully alter how you play, the previews may be right to treat it as a real branch for the series. If the loop becomes a prettier version of clearing Salmonids for resources, the early excitement may cool fast.
What to watch before launch
The cleaner buying signal today belongs to Rhythm Heaven Groove. Four named outlets line up around the same basic conclusion: it is joyful, precise, funny, and built around the kind of listening that makes this series more than a novelty. The score range, from Nintendo Life's 8/10 to IGN's 9/10, is not really a warning. It is a reminder that the package has quirks around Beatspell and docked latency.
Splatoon Raiders is more open-ended. The previews are strong because they are describing actual systems, not just vibes. Still, it needs the full review cycle before anyone can say whether those systems hold up for a full campaign. The best version of this game is not a replacement for multiplayer Splatoon. It is a calmer doorway into that universe, one with enough buildcrafting and progression to stand on its own.
That is the thread between both games. Rhythm Heaven Groove is a familiar series proving it can still make old timing tricks feel alive. Splatoon Raiders is a familiar series trying to find a new solo shape. One has the scores. The other has the question.
For anyone keeping a game journal, that difference is useful. Some games arrive with a clean critic consensus. Others arrive as a hunch you want to test for yourself. Perthro is built for both: the five-star rating after you know how you feel, and the backlog entry before you do.