Screenshots
Watch trailer on Steam ↗Diatonic
Nonzero Games · Published by Nonzero Games · Official site ↗
Last updated 28 Sept 2026
Diatonic is a piano roguelike that sharpens your music reading, whether you're a beginner or a pro. Play as a music game with a MIDI keyboard, or as a typing game on your computer keyboard!
Action, Indie, Casual · 2026 · More free games
Experience the thrill of playing a piano roguelike as you navigate challenges with either a MIDI keyboard or your computer keys. Dive into Diatonic, an action-packed indie game released in 2026 by Nonzero Games.
About this game
Diatonic is a rhythm roguelike where your piano becomes the controller. Play with a MIDI keyboard to test your sight-reading or tackle each song as a typing game on your computer keyboard.
Randomized Runs
Learn new songs by turning them into roguelike runs - sections of the song become different levels to make learning easier and more fun. Each run features randomized levels for a fresh experience every time.
Learn Naturally
Whether you’re new to piano or experienced, Diatonic helps sharpen your piano skills. Play along with sheet music-style notes to naturally practice sight-reading.
Your Controls
Play with a real MIDI keyboard (any size!) for the most authentic experience. You can also use a computer keyboard for a typing game, a controller, or the on-screen piano with mouse/touch controls.
Features
Play through 20+ songs included with game
Load custom MIDI files to play your own songs
Practice treble clef, bass clef, or both together
Set your own pace: speed up or slow down the tempo
Learn with a mode that waits until you play the correct note
Supports sharps, flats, and all key signatures
System Requirements
Will my PC run this? →Minimum
- OS: Windows 10 or newer
- Processor: Intel Core i3-3240, AMD FX-4300
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 560 Ti (1GB), Radeon HD 7750 (1GB)
- Storage: 1 GB available space
Supported Languages
*languages with full audio support
Latest news
AnnouncementsOfficial
Playtest is Live!
The playtest has been launched! It will stay up until March 13 at 11:59PM PT. I will be working on improving the build throughout the week and will update this thread with any changes. If you have any feedback, feel free to comment here or in this Google Form. There's a ton of rough edges currently, so I appreciate your patience while working through those. My goal is to address as much feedback as possible from this playtest before adding more features.The songs are ordered roughly in order of difficulty - and I'll be trying to add more songs of varying difficulty over the week.There's no tutorial yet (apologies!), I'll try to get something passable up soon. In the meantime, here's a quick summary:Each song can be played as the full song or as a "roguelike" run.Since these particular songs are short, there's only 6 levels in each run.You can buy an upgrade on levels 1, 3, and 5.When you defeat an enemy, you get 15 coins and 1 coin per note hit after.The "Tempo" difficulty system helps with learning new songs, you can adjust it to any value before starting a run.Read full article on Community Announcements (Nonzero Games)AnnouncementsOfficial
Playtest Details and New Backgrounds
Playtest DetailsThere is now an option to join the playtest on the Steam page - so press that and you'll be notified when it launches!I'm pushing back the targeted start date to March 6th (apologies for the delay!), and it will last for a week. There's a few more features I want to add / waiting for approval from Steam on the initial build.Here's what to expect from the playtest:7 different songs of varying levelsroguelike learning systemupgrade systemprogressive difficulty system The game is still in early stages, so there will be a lack of polish in several areas - I'm mainly trying to get feedback on the overall game loop and catch technical issues before the public demo. New BackgroundsI've updated the background style for consistency between levels - they're now more colorful / more abstract! I'm excited to add more backgrounds, which is a lot easier to do with the new style.Read full article on Community Announcements (Nonzero Games)AnnouncementsOfficial
Upcoming Playtest, Typing Mode, and Split Staff
Upcoming PlaytestI'm targeting a Steam technical playtest at the end of February. This will show a vertical slice of the game - stay tuned for more details in the next update.Comment below If there's any songs in the public domain that you want to see in the technical playtest, I'll do my best to get them in! Typing ModeIf you don't have a MIDI keyboard or you just want to play a typing game, I've got good news!I've added a new setting that adds letters to the notes / piano keys to make it easier to play the game as a typing game - no knowledge of how to play piano required at all.Split StaffPreviously, the grand staff was "joined together" so that every note had exactly one possible spot on the staff - the gap between treble and bass clef was only for middle C.The grand staff is now "split" like real sheet music! This makes it much easier to see which notes should be played by the left hand vs. which notes should be played by the right hand.Read full article on Community Announcements (Nonzero Games)
