There are few things in life better than music, so obviously there are even fewer things in life better than music and rhythm games. Music evokes more emotional responses than any other and usually does so within a few short minutes. Games can make us feel things over time, but music is often much more immediate.

Similarly, building videogames around music takes a few key ingredients – gameplay remains top of the pecking order, of course, but you wouldn’t play a rhythm game if the soundtrack wasn’t up to par. Imagine if Guitar Hero swapped out its iconic song catalogue for tracks you hadn’t heard of – it arguably wouldn’t be worth playing. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of the best rhythm games around.

From 2D rogue-likes with a solid beat, to lightsaber-wielding VR games, to games that can teach you how to play your instrument or let you play using your own music library – and even a game where you just press one button on the beat in increasingly challenging scenarios. A brief disclaimer – Tetris Effect was considered for the list but arguably doesn’t make rhythm its focus, so it misses out. In any case, you really should play Tetris Effect. Seriously.