Games Like Muse Dash

The closest games to Muse Dash are Rhythm Doctor, Thumper and Spin Rhythm XD. Below, 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Muse Dash, and what does not.

What Made Muse Dash Work

Muse Dash is a rhythm game disguised as a side-scroller: two buttons, enemies arriving on the beat, and a soundtrack of doujin and electronic tracks that is genuinely the reason people buy it. It is cheap, it is enormous, and it plays perfectly on a phone or a handheld.

Muse Dash released on the Nintendo Switch. The list below is not restricted to that console — a recommendation is only useful if you can actually play it, so it spans generations and platforms.

9 Games Like Muse Dash

  1. 1. Rhythm Doctor

    One button, on the seventh beat, and far deeper than that sounds.

  2. 2. Thumper

    Rhythm violence — the same genre taken somewhere frightening.

  3. 3. Spin Rhythm XD

    The best-feeling rhythm game on a controller, and a superb soundtrack.

  4. 4. Hi-Fi Rush

    An action game where every hit lands on the beat.

  5. 5. Crypt of the NecroDancer

    A roguelike you play in time with the music.

  6. 6. Rez Infinite

    Rhythm shooting reduced to light and sound.

  7. 7. A Dance of Fire and Ice

    By the Rhythm Doctor team, and brutally precise.

  8. 8. Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival

    Drumming, enormous track list, and works for anybody.

  9. 9. Space Channel 5

    The Dreamcast rhythm game everything stylish here is downstream of.

Several of these have their own page here: games like Rhythm Doctor, games like Thumper.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the game most like Muse Dash?

Rhythm Doctor. One button, on the seventh beat, and far deeper than that sounds.

What games are similar to Muse Dash?

Rhythm Doctor, Thumper and Spin Rhythm XD are the closest. The full list of Muse Dash similar games is on this page — 9 of them, each with the reason it is here rather than a genre tag that happens to match.

Are there games like Muse Dash on Switch?

Yes — Thumper is catalogued on the Switch here. The Switch list further down has more from that library.

Why are these not all on the Switch?

Because the thing you liked about Muse Dash is not a property of the hardware. Restricting the list to one console would drop most of the good answers, so the picks above span platforms and eras. If you specifically want more from that library, the Switch list further down is the place to start.

How are these chosen?

By hand, one game at a time, on what the source game actually does — its pacing, its movement, its difficulty, its tone. Genre tags alone put Muse Dash next to games that feel nothing like it, so they are not the basis for this list. Each pick carries the reason it is here so you can judge it yourself.

Do I need an account to see the full list?

No. The whole list is on this page, free, with no sign-in and no email. We earn a small affiliate commission if you buy through a retailer link, which is what pays for the site.

Narrow It Down by Genre

If you already know what kind of answer you want, these are the same list cut by genre — and each one says what it leaves out as well as what it includes:

Other Great Switch Games

More from the Nintendo Switch library, each with its own recommendations page:

Browse Games by Console