Playdate game Agents of Groove

Made by Synaptic Sugar

A story-driven rhythm action game. Join the undercover dancers of secret agency G.R.O.O.V.E. and help them master the power of the Rhythm as they stumble upon a sinister plot and attempt to stop it!

Play to the rhythm of 11 unique music tracks that expand and contract depending on your performance, across 15 game levels that will ask you to use the Playdate buttons and crank, often at the same time, with surprises along the way. Customize your experience with a rich suite of difficulty and accessibility settings.

Gameplay progresses along 4 variations, all riffing on the theme of moving along with the rhythm. Sway, sneak, and slide; when all else fails the only way to solve a dispute may be a good, old-fashioned dance-off. Need a break? Listen to the game music in the Jukebox.

The agents of G.R.O.O.V.E. will meet many characters as a rich story unfolds via both gameplay and conversations, fully localized to English, Italian, French, Spanish and Japanese.

Made by humans without the use of GenAI

Development:

Nicola Cocchiaro - programming, design, music and audio, writing, Italian localization
Kimberly Cocchiaro - art, animation, graphic design

Localization by Warlocs:

Christophe Pallarès - project management, French localization
Irene Igualada Baeza - Spanish localization
Shu Miyasaka - Japanese localization
Toki Okada - Japanese localization QA
Stefano Rossitto - review of Italian localization

QA by Lollipop Robot:

Iván de Rosa - QA management
Daniel Benzal - QA testing
Daniel Garin - QA testing

Playtesting:

Ludovico Gardenghi
Bruce Stringer
Ryan Walker

Special thanks:

BK Box
Nicholas Cocchiaro
Aurora Cocchiaro
Stefano Paolucci
Miki & Ryan Schneider
Andrew Walker

Notices:

Main font based on Asheville Ayu by Jackson_57, in turn based on Asheville by Panic Inc., under the CC BY 4.0 license. Some glyphs removed, added, or modified.

Synaptic Sugar™ and Agents of Groove™ are trademarks of Synaptic Sugar LLC.

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Scoreboards

01 - First Day (easy)

1: wildbat; 2,650
2: 8173702409510029; 2,050

01 - First Day (normal)

1: uko; 2,650
2: wildbat; 2,650
3: 9506798452792943; 2,600

01 - First Day (hard)

1: wildbat; 2,450

01 - First Day (normal + perfect)

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01 - First Day (hard + perfect)

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02 - Getting All Hyped Up (easy)

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02 - Getting All Hyped Up (normal)

1: 9506798452792943; 2,298
2: Ratmachine; 2,056
3: uko; 1,971

02 - Getting All Hyped Up (hard)

1: wildbat; 1,367

02 - Getting All Hyped Up (normal + perfect)

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02 - Getting All Hyped Up (hard + perfect)

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03 - Putting It All Together (easy)

1: DocNo; 13,331

03 - Putting It All Together (normal)

1: Ratmachine; 16,394
2: 9506798452792943; 15,955
3: ichihito_ohi; 14,463

03 - Putting It All Together (hard)

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03 - Putting It All Together (normal + perfect)

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03 - Putting It All Together (hard + perfect)

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04 - The Cat and Fox (easy)

1: Bomadeno; 30,223

04 - The Cat and Fox (normal)

1: 9506798452792943; 32,524
2: labradorius; 30,144
3: 6746122407706396; 27,784

04 - The Cat and Fox (hard)

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04 - The Cat and Fox (normal + perfect)

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04 - The Cat and Fox (hard + perfect)

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05 - Hot On The Trail (easy)

1: Bomadeno; 6,605

05 - Hot On The Trail (normal)

1: ichihito_ohi; 7,782
2: Ratmachine; 7,566
3: 6746122407706396; 6,359

05 - Hot On The Trail (hard)

1: uko; 7,188

05 - Hot On The Trail (normal + perfect)

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05 - Hot On The Trail (hard + perfect)

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06 - Between A Robot And A Hard Place (easy)

1: 3314612517549408; 2,205
2: Bomadeno; 2,087

06 - Between A Robot And A Hard Place (normal)

1: Ratmachine; 2,617
2: ichihito_ohi; 2,567
3: 6746122407706396; 2,341

06 - Between A Robot And A Hard Place (hard)

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06 - Between A Robot And A Hard Place (norm+perf)

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06 - Between A Robot And A Hard Place (hard+perf)

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07 - Mission: Improbable (easy)

1: Bomadeno; 6,926
2: 3314612517549408; 5,965

07 - Mission: Improbable (normal)

1: ichihito_ohi; 6,396
2: 6746122407706396; 6,039
3: Ratmachine; 5,642

07 - Mission: Improbable (hard)

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07 - Mission: Improbable (normal + perfect)

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07 - Mission: Improbable (hard + perfect)

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08 - Out Of The Pan, Into The Fire (easy)

1: Bomadeno; 50,393
2: 3314612517549408; 49,752

08 - Out Of The Pan, Into The Fire (normal)

1: ichihito_ohi; 12,807

08 - Out Of The Pan, Into The Fire (hard)

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08 - Out Of The Pan, Into The Fire (norm+perf)

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08 - Out Of The Pan, Into The Fire (hard+perf)

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09 - Master Of Disguise (easy)

1: 3314612517549408; 8,750

09 - Master Of Disguise (normal)

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09 - Master Of Disguise (hard)

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09 - Master Of Disguise (normal + perfect)

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09 - Master Of Disguise (hard + perfect)

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10 - Groovy Dreams Are Made Of This (easy)

1: 3314612517549408; 44,819
2: Bomadeno; 43,702

10 - Groovy Dreams Are Made Of This (normal)

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10 - Groovy Dreams Are Made Of This (hard)

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10 - Groovy Dreams Are Made Of This (norm+perf)

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10 - Groovy Dreams Are Made Of This (hard+perf)

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11 - A Pirate's Life Is Not For Me (easy)

1: Bomadeno; 3,074
2: 3314612517549408; 3,027

11 - A Pirate's Life Is Not For Me (normal)

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11 - A Pirate's Life Is Not For Me (hard)

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11 - A Pirate's Life Is Not For Me (norm+perf)

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11 - A Pirate's Life Is Not For Me (hard+perf)

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12 - Until Morale Improves (easy)

1: Bomadeno; 33,388
2: 3314612517549408; 33,181

12 - Until Morale Improves (normal)

1: 3314612517549408; 33,173

12 - Until Morale Improves (hard)

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12 - Until Morale Improves (normal + perfect)

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12 - Until Morale Improves (hard + perfect)

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13 - ...And Your Enemies Closer (easy)

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13 - ...And Your Enemies Closer (normal)

1: 3314612517549408; 8,900

13 - ...And Your Enemies Closer (hard)

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13 - ...And Your Enemies Closer (normal + perfect)

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13 - ...And Your Enemies Closer (hard + perfect)

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14 - Hanging By A Thread (easy)

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14 - Hanging By A Thread (normal)

1: 3314612517549408; 23,615

14 - Hanging By A Thread (hard)

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14 - Hanging By A Thread (normal + perfect)

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14 - Hanging By A Thread (hard + perfect)

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15 - The Root Of All Conflict (easy)

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15 - The Root Of All Conflict (normal)

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15 - The Root Of All Conflict (hard)

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15 - The Root Of All Conflict (normal + perfect)

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15 - The Root Of All Conflict (hard + perfect)

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110.3 MB.
First published 01/06/2026, last updated 01/23/2026.
This game's developer created it without the use of generative AI.
We think this game is appropriate for everyone.
This game may use the A and B buttons, the D-pad, the crank and occasionally the accelerometer. It requires a fair amount of precision and holding down buttons by default, but provides granular configuration settings to alter both the precision and the types of input required, or simply remove all penalties from making mistakes. Additional accessibility toggles can disable screen shake and flashing effects.

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