What is osu!?

The logo of Osu!

So, what is "osu!"?? Well, first of all, it's not pronounced "oh-su," it's pronounced "os." Why? Because it's a Japanese game, obviously! Except it wasn't developed by a Japanese person. In fact, it wasn't developed by an Asian, either! Dean Herbert was who started this infuriatingly fun rhythm game. And yes, the exclamation point in it's name is a part of its title. It is currently (and probably always will be, thankfully) a free PC game.

But what is a rhythm game? Ever heard of Guitar Hero? The style of that game is where the objective is to pass a certain song by "playing" it. By "playing" it, you're essentially doing something specific that can generate the success of passing a song. osu! is nearly the same thing, but not.

What's different from osu! and Guitar Hero?
There's a huge difference, which is why osu! has become so overwhelmingly popular from people around the world.

• Gameplay: The gameplay of osu! is organized into several difficulties and gamemodes. The difficulties are often E (Easy), N (Normal), H (Hard), I (Insane), and X (Extra/Extreme). The objective, much like Guitar Hero, is that you can either pass a song, or you can fail it. How do you fail it? By not doing what you're supposed to do, or by lacking the required amount of skill. To acquire the required skill in rhythm games, the key is to practice. Essentially, the targets of the game are to correctly complete three things: hit circles, sliders, and spinners. With hit circles, you literally hit  them. With sliders, you drag them. Finally, with spinners, you guessed it: you spin 'em. The other gamemodes are Mania, Catch the Beat (CTB), and Taiko. Now, I won't get into the details on the gameplay just yet; I'll leave that to another post.
• Complication: osu! is complicated to the point where one may think they cannot understand everything about it, which is why there's this blog. Just as an example, there is precise accuracy in the game, so your accuracy, depending on how good you are, can range from 1-100%, but are often seen in the 90 percentages. 
• Multiplayer: osu! can be played with your friends and/or the worldwide community! Yay! It's a online PC game!!

Although that's not all there is to it, I think I wrapped up everything basic about the game in this post. Feel free to ask me questions! I'll be glad to answer. :) 

If you would like to check out the website for yourself, click here.