Taiko Pop Tap, as it appears on my phone's home screen, is pure joy. If you've played the earlier games in the drumming series you will already know this. And I suspect, if you've played the earlier games in the drumming series, Taiko Pop Tap was your first download from the new drop of Apple Arcade games.
It works beautifully. Songs play, drum beats scroll, and you tap away to match them. Small red beats need a tap inside the circle, small blue beats need a tap outside the circle, bigger red beats require two fingered taps, and so do bigger blue beats. Now and then you have to do a drum roll.
Genuine happiness ensues. I have no idea why Taiko Pop Tap works its magic, but it almost never fails. The colours are bright, the track selection is really wonderful – Hello! Halloween is in steady rotation – and there is this lovely elastic precision to each tap. You really sense that you're hitting the drum and then bouncing off it.
