Thumper
Main game
3.57 average rating based on 406 ratings
- Developers
- Drool
- Publishers
- Drool
- Events
- The Game Awards 2019, Stadia Connect 6.6.2019, +2 moreThe Game Awards 2019, Stadia Connect 6.6.2019, Limited Run Games E3 2018 Press Conference, PlayStation E3 2016 Press Conference less
- Platforms
- Android, Google Stadia, Meta Quest 2, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation VR, PlayStation VR2, SteamVR, Xbox One, iOS
- Genres
- Adventure, Arcade, Indie, Music
- Themes
- Action, Horror, Thriller
- Steam
- View on Steam
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Thumper?
Related Content
I no longer feel the Thump
This review is for the PlayStation 4 version
I used to play rhythm games a lot. From DDR and PIU to Cytus II. With its trippy aesthetics and dark-electro-industrial music, Thumper seemed made for me. I loved the challenge... but it become a chore faster than I thought.
I don't know if its because I'm too old for it, if my hearing is failing or what. But I no longer could feel the rhythm halfway the game. I know is not 4/4, but it wasn't there for me. I found myself playing just by reflexes. It was frustrating.
What I played of Thumper at first wasn't fun per se, but it was very engaging. For a while, It was a really enjoyable challenge with great visuals and music. I still don't know what happened to the game or to me to stop "feeling" it. But its a real shame I can't enjoy it anymore.
deepdoop's review of Thumper
8.5/10
Not usually one for the genre, but every now and then I play one. This is just awesome: simple to understand but hard to master, combining an action title with a rhythm game in an interesting way that makes sense. Ultimately, it's so pleasant to play because it's gorgeous, challenging and the music is amazing and makes sense. The audio goes beyond being cool and actually ends up creating a real, foreboding atmosphere.
Oooohhh... Aaaahhh. *timed hit*
This review is for the PC (Microsoft Windows) version
So one time I did so much DMT I fought god in my soul's true form which is an illusion to the iconography of the Egyptian beetle and- Oh I'm not on anything right now? Well Thumper is a "Rhythm" game, but really it is more an arcade racing game with rhythm sprinkled thorough out. I know that is harsh to say but the reality is that the rhythm is just some beats sprinkled around and don't follow that much of a structure really, it is not like let's say Rhythm Heaven where you have a good concise song to play to, it is more like, a simple ancient like beat is played and then beats on top of that are added as courses.
It might not be the best designed rhythm game because of it's loose connection to it's music, you won't exactly be humming the songs of any of this game, you will just be feeling it, it is hard to explain but you might get what I mean, there is a disconnection between the music. What it does most importantly though is successful: A game that distracts you enough that you are completely 100% tuned into the …
So one time I did so much DMT I fought god in my soul's true form which is an illusion to the iconography of the Egyptian beetle and- Oh I'm not on anything right now? Well Thumper is a "Rhythm" game, but really it is more an arcade racing game with rhythm sprinkled thorough out. I know that is harsh to say but the reality is that the rhythm is just some beats sprinkled around and don't follow that much of a structure really, it is not like let's say Rhythm Heaven where you have a good concise song to play to, it is more like, a simple ancient like beat is played and then beats on top of that are added as courses.
It might not be the best designed rhythm game because of it's loose connection to it's music, you won't exactly be humming the songs of any of this game, you will just be feeling it, it is hard to explain but you might get what I mean, there is a disconnection between the music. What it does most importantly though is successful: A game that distracts you enough that you are completely 100% tuned into the game, and for an arcade game that is the bare minimum you want to do.
A game that you cannot look away and you are completely sinked in, the hypnotic visuals also help quite a lot with this constant distraction, so if you did buy yourself this game you at least have guaranteed an experience that will last a while until you beat it, maybe you will go back and try to perfect the stuff (and you will have to re-do some as really at the end of the day a lot of these are built around memorization and don't tell me otherwise because, how else are you gonna know if something requires you to do a hover jump or stay on the ground unless you know what rings are up next?) but for the most part it really is just a fancy rollercoaster you rode that introduces neat mechanics every now and then, and like some arcade games can be a bit repetitive with it but at least is good and worth the shot if you want more rhythm games.
No but really for a rhythm game there is hardly any songs at all, it is mostly just timed hits and random beats thrown in the course, whenever the game gives you an actual beat or rhythm they throw in a screw ball in the middle and there is no longer any formation of what could be a song, there are moments sure but still.
A mix of frustrating and fun.
Thumper is a rhythm-based game. It starts out fairly simple and slowly the game adds more to the basics and Thumper won’t let you leave an area until you get it down. Every level adds a new gimmick and it ends up getting completely out of hand at times. Each level progressively gets harder as you go.
The issue comes down to the bosses. To beat the boss you literally have to complete each of the stages with complete perfection in terms of hitting each beat with only 1 mess up allowed, with sometimes getting the opportunity to get that mess up back if you clear 1 stage sufficiently. But no checkpoints! This leads to the bosses feelings frustrating and not even the least bit fun.
I appreciate the fact that the limited lives teach you the game in the obstacle portion of the game, but boss battles should either have checkpoints or work off of a collection meter rather than force perfection 4 times in a row or perhaps be a score challenge impossible to fail with penalties rather than the punishment of a restart loop. Thumper is an intensely challenging game..
A trip through rhythmic neon hell
This review is for the PC (Microsoft Windows) version
This rhythm game delivers some freshness to the genre. Thumper is laid on a simplistic gameplay core, making you time the twitchy manuevres over obstacles and for highest possible score at each level segment. The movements require quick reflexes and learning through trial-and-error at times but isn't too punishing, thanks to the check points and rechargable armor. The visuals are mainly dark, neon schemes with hell-like surrealism, mainly highlighted in the boss designs. The music you're playing to have a set rhythm defined by the orchestral timpani and synth overtones. It changes between levels but the great thing is that it unfolds new layers, reflected by your chain performance. Eventually, I got to try the VR mode on Thumper and find the immersion at its best, although latency optimization is a must for optimal experience. Neat work!
A_Wilmot's review of Thumper
Oh hey, it's a game made explicitly for me—a synaesthete who loves horror and spent their childhood playing in rhythm sections.
Weirdest part is, I'm also someone who suffers from anxiety, and while this game absolutely triggered that for a lot of people I know, I found myself completely trancing out to it. It's also one of the only games in years, alongside Spider-Man and Horizon, that I actually cared enough about to platinum.
lil_pushkins's review of Thumper
"EDM Rhythm Game" sounds like something that has the potential to make me absolutely ill, but it turns out it's quite fun! I like the idea of a kind of scary rhythm game, stands in contrast to what I expect from the genre, and while I first thought the aesthetics felt (in my own invented term) "App Store Edgy," as I played more I came to appreciate the look.
Thumper - 7/10
LIKE
- Hypnotic audiovisual experience
- So satisfying/rewarding to nail a section
- Beating levels is managable but high scores adds near infinite challenge
DON'T LIKE
- More frustrating than fun in later levels
- Some repetition throughout
Do the levels after 4-15 have any rhythm? I swear I can't feel it. I'm just navigating by eye now, trusting my increasingly failing reflexes to go on.
I just played this for the first time for about an hour or so.
My thumb hurts and my head feels funny.
I liked it.
If you ever need a game to illustrate the lag inherent to Stadia, play Thumper. I thought Thumper on Stadia was fine until I started playing it on local dedicated hardware. There’s enough of a lag on Stadia to affect your performance versus local hardware. It’s more than noticeable.
This is terrifying in VR. It's like a journey into hell.
A lot of fun though.
Pretty incredible.
It is cool to see a rhythm game that isn't about custom-tracks and auto-generated gameplay. This is a fine-tuned experience that is fast, anxiety-inducing and increasingly insane as you proceed through the levels and for that it is extremely unique among rhythm games. Hard as balls too.