It's becoming rarer than ever to see new Xbox exclusives these days, with Microsoft employing a multiplatform strategy for some of its new releases, but there are still plenty of examples if you go looking for them hard enough.

For example, we talked about a game back in December called Rhythm Doctor, which had been in early access on PC for ages but was only now getting a console version — a single console version for Xbox One, Series X and Series S.

Following its release a few weeks ago, I decided to pick up Rhythm Doctor with some Microsoft Rewards points last weekend, and ended up being treated to one of my favourite new releases of 2025.

The premise is simple — you play as an intern at a hospital where they've embarked on a new kind of treatment that involves rhythm. Each level requires you to focus on hitting the seventh beat in a bar (using just one button), but there are all sorts of obstacles that are thrown your way. There are often constant time signature, tempo and rhythmic pattern changes, for example, or missing beats that you have to count rather than listen to, or crazy visual sequences where you can't even see what you're doing. It's deceptively simple, but also punishingly difficult in its later stages.

I've thrown one of my favourite songs from Rhythm Doctor into the top of this article — it's one of the simpler stages that focuses on a kid who's a coffee addict and chronic overthinker, who beats himself up about being a perfectionist when trying to write songs in his spare time (pretty relatable to be honest!). There are various genres represented in the game, from basic instrumental dance beats to more elaborate pop songs, and it does a good job of switching between laid-back tunes and more up-tempo affairs throughout the campaign.

Here's a look at a more complicated level from Act 5 that involves working with multiple patients at once:

What elevates Rhythm Doctor beyond just being a simple rhythm game is how it makes you care about its characters. You come to learn about the overworked staff at the hospital and the bosses who are making their situation worse, as well as individual patients — an elderly couple who are concerned about each other's wellbeing, a young couple who are in love but too scared to fully show it, a baseball player traumatised by their latest injury... the list goes on. The songs, and how they play out, revolve around these stories, and there are also intermission-style levels where you can watch them interact with each other and develop their personalities.

The question is, why is nobody talking about this game? Well, a few people are - the Steam version has over 1,000 recent "Overwhelmingly Positive" positive reviews, but it seems the Xbox release attracted very little attention. The UK Xbox Store shows zero user reviews, for example, while the US Xbox Store only has seven (all five stars).

It probably doesn't help that the Xbox release doesn't include the Level Editor like in the Steam version (and despite being an Xbox Play Anywhere title, even the Xbox PC version doesn't have it), while the game also suffered a last-minute delay on Xbox due to certification issues, perhaps affecting its discoverability in the process.

So, this is me telling you that Rhythm Doctor is a truly fantastic Xbox console exclusive from 2025! There's word that it might be coming to Switch at some point in 2026, so don't expect it to remain Xbox-exclusive forever, but I think it's well worth picking up for £16.74 / $19.99 on the Xbox Store regardless.

Have you played Rhythm Doctor? Grabbed it for Xbox? Tell us down in the comments section below.