Osu!

Osu! is a rhythm game primarily developed, published and created by Dean "Peppy" Herbert. Originally released for Microsoft Windows on September 16, 2007, the game has also been ported to macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Its gameplay is inspired by titles such as Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, Taiko no Tatsujin, Beatmania IIDX, Elite Beat Agents, O2Jam, StepMania, and DJMax.

Osu! has received generally positive reviews, and is also sometimes recommended by professional players of other games to practice or warm up.

Gameplay and features

There are four official game modes: "osu!" (unofficially called osu!standard), "osu!taiko", "osu!catch" (formerly "osu!ctb"), and "osu!mania". A level in any of these modes is called a "beatmap". In osu!standard, beatmaps consist of three items hit circles, sliders, and spinners. These items are collectively known as "hit objects", and are arranged in different positions on the screen and in different points of time. Taiko beatmaps have drumbeats and spinners. Catch beatmaps have fruits and spinners, which are arranged in a horizontal manner. Mania beatmaps consist of keys (depicted as a small bar) and holds. The beatmap is then played with accompanying music, simulating a sense of rhythm as the player interacts with the objects to the beat of the music. Each beatmap is accompanied by a background. The game can be played using various peripherals, however the most common setup is a graphics tablet or computer mouse to control cursor movement, paired with a keyboard.

The game offers a buyable service called osu!supporter, which grants many quality-of-life features to the user. Players are able to download beatmaps directly from inside the game, without the lengthy process of using browsers through a service called osu!direct. A heart icon beside the username on the official Osu! website, additional pending beatmap slots, faster download speeds, access to multiplayer on cutting edge builds, friend and country-specific leaderboards, one free username change, more in-game customization, a yellow username in the in-game chat, and more customization on one's user page (the "me" tab). osu!supporter does not affect the ranking system, or provide any in game advantage. osu!supporter is not a recurring service.