Possibly the Best Music Game Ever Made - accordion-games.com

Possibly the Best Music Game Ever Made

Writing on Games
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PHOTOSENSITIVE EPILEPSY WARNING: this game moves around incredibly quickly and features a lot of bright, flashing imagery.

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In which I do my best to explain how Drool’s 2016 release Thumper, by distancing itself from any recognisable visual cues such as an audience, a stage and instruments, does a better job of representing what it feels like to perform music than any rockstar simulator that came before.

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Intro text animation by Draz:

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Interview footage from Noclip (), DellLounge () and Gamereactor ()

Lightning Bolt footage from Poopathelegend (), DITVids () and Apollosmouse2801 ()

Trailers from Activision and Harmonix

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Thank you all so much for your continued support!

Production work by Nico Bleackley

31.03.2022

118 Comments

  1. Beat Saber would like to have a word. It’s a rhythm game, BUT WITH LIGHTSABERS

  2. The thing that I loved a lot about DJ Hero 2– I loved both games, but specifically the second, was that certain sections allowed you to crossfade between both tracks in a mashup freely. Sure, there was only so much you could do with a crossfader and two pre-made music tracks, but it allowed you total freedom for a few moments in a game that based itself on Guitar Hero's rigid hit/miss notes, and provided the 'solo' aspect that you mentioned towards the beginning.

    Good stuff as always!

  3. wish you uploaded more man love ya videos

  5. Haha yeah definitely painfully you don't play many rhythm games (although I do really love thumper so continue talking about it.) But yeah I was capable of beating thumper within a month but just so you're aware there are rhythm games out there you can put in YEARS and still not be capable of doing some of the harder songs. When thumper is fantastic in terms of difficulty it's definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. Try out some DJ max fever or technica for that matter Koreans are actually fantastic at making rhythm games it's not just Harmonix you know.

  6. Hey Hamish, fuck you. I'm the real Hamish.

  7. I need writing on Bit.Trip.Runner

  8. Really just sounds like you have never explored other rythm games. You act as if thumper is the only game that makes you practice or that has fast notes which you can't see before you've already hit them.

  9. So I get why you like the game but doesn't the difference between it and guitar hero come down to "it's more scary"? I struggle to see a fundamental distinction when both games are about following a rigid track that demands rigid input to complete. Maybe guitar hero is more inside the uncanny valley and you notice the obvious flaws of the simulation more? But thumper doesn't seem to be more varied or expressive to me, it just has cooler atmosphere.

  10. These fools out here not knowing the difference between rhythm games and music games… Rhythm is more about memorizing patterns and relying on the music to intuit what's going to come next, as well as focusing on memorization. While memorization is pretty important in music games, there's often a call-and-response aspect (iirc you mentioned in your first thumper vid, or the article?) where the player is "playing" the music in the game, sort of creating it themselves, rather than "playing alongside it" in rhythm games.
    Great vid as always!

  12. halfway thru the video, you just sold the game to me

  13. I also never got into the Rockband / Guitar Hero genres, I just never understood them. But when I first played Thumper, I was blown away of how much I actually enjoyed it. And while playing it, I got into this trance, especially in VR. At the moment I've only S Ranked the first 3 levels and haven't played since but I found level 3 extremely difficult and I heard it just get 10 times harder after that. So I need to find the time to get back into that trance.

  15. Sounds like an amazing game.

  16. Good video, but it is lame that you only compare Thumper to guitar hero and rock band

  17. Keep up the good work!

  18. Anyone like Jubeat or MaiMai? (The arcade versions)

  19. Well, Audiosurf and Beat Hazard are still sweet in my heart.

  20. Bloody hell, you always end up doing some fantastic videos and the thing that I love the most about it is the language, you never go in some overcomplex and vague explanation employing a really stilted lingo but you keep it simple and straightforward without making it sound simplistic or dumb.

  21. Awesome video as ever Hamish! 🙂 I continue to tremendously enjoy the way in which you go through and give a structured & well-balanced analysis/argument while also taking the time to further explain and justify your reasons for your opinions and conclusions. I've heard a lot of good things about Thumper I'll be adding it to my Steam wishlist after watching this keep up the stellar work mate!.

  22. I haven't seen a game move forward at such a fast speed since F-Zero GX. Godspeed, Nintendo, please fucking make a new F-Zero game. That game is so old it's a fond childhood memory at this point, and it's the newest in the series.

  23. What's the music in the background here??

  24. used to be thumper until Beats Saber comes out. lol

  25. Platinumed this game on the PSvr, awesome experience

  26. Look at that beetle boi go

  27. Should have edited the video so we could hear the game at points.

  28. Try Geometry Dash or Shapes and Beats. They are EXELLENT Rhythm Games. :3

  29. Also geometry dash? Not all levels are as good as you say thumper is, but some of the creators there are really quite skilled in what they do

  30. What are your thoughts on Osu though?

  31. Strongly agree, are you aware of any games that deeply explore pitch in a similar way?

  33. Thumper is on sale right now for like 6.50$

  34. Check out sound voltex ;P

  35. Seriously missed opportunity in not featuring any audio from the game. Especially when you were talking about the different rhythms, an example would have helped.

  36. You're missing one important point: neither the visuals nor the soundscape undergo any major changes, and with the game's padded length it feels extremely samey all over, as if you were playing one and the same song on different difficulties over and over and over.
    Also it's kind of lazy to only compare it against guitar hero type games when much more technical rhythm games like beatmania, popnmusic, osu, and hardcore stuff like sound voltex exist.

  37. Love the Eldritch horror of this game and music is sooooo good and unnerving

  38. Wrong . Songs from those games are epic , bands paved the way , plus most of those games have old school and add one , so you telling me going fast with that corny shit is better then playing a nirvana song surround sound , your out your mind .

  39. I came here looking to remember the name of the game "Audio Surf", and 5 mins in you've convinced me to but this. Thanks.

  40. Thumper is a rhythm game.

  41. Would be good if you explained what the hell I'm looking at..no idea how this game works

  43. I love this game, and I kinda hate how it goes under everyones radar.

  44. The fact that the bassist from lightning bolt worked on this explains sooooooooooooooo much

  45. I like games that convey their desired emotions/feelings through gameplay, but I’ve never thought about what you said when it came to Thumper!

  47. lmao at 0:38, who comes to a concert with a giant hand painted "YOU SUCK" sign?

  48. The time signature is the same as the level number

  49. You gotta try it in vr tho, it's wayyyy better

  50. Could not agree more. I just wish this game would have gotten more recognition. The first rhythm based game where I find when I reached the end of the level, I was actually holding my breath.

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