Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival beats its way onto Steam today, with 70+ songs (and 700 more behind a subscription)

I had my first experience playing Taiko no Tatsujin in an arcade in Japan (because I’m very cool), where the game is controlled by hitting a recreation of a taiko drum. It was so enjoyable that I now wish there was a taiko drum peripheral available for PC since the series is now on our platform.

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is now available on Steam, offering over 70 songs to drum through, with an option for a subscription service to unlock over 700 more songs. I might consider trying to get my Donkey Konga drums working on PC, but I’ll likely stick to playing it with a gamepad.

For those unfamiliar, Taiko no Tatsujin games are rhythm games where players hit a drum (on the top or on the side) in time to the beat, following color-coded notes flowing onto the screen from right to left. The games are bright, silly, and feature a drum mascot named Don Chan cheering players on. The songlists predominantly feature J-pop, vocaloid music, and anime soundtracks.

The previous game in the series, Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master, was available on PC through Game Pass and the Windows store, but Rhythm Festival is the first to be released on Steam.

It includes various modes, practice sessions, online multiplayer, and multiple difficulty levels. Players can expand their song selection through the Taiko Music Pass subscription or by purchasing DLC packs. For example, fans can get the track “Tank!” from Cowboy Bebop through the Anime Pack Vol. 2.

If you’re interested, it’s recommended to try the demo on Steam first to see if the gameplay difficulty, song selection, and progression system appeal to you.