Thumper

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 55 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 55
  3. Negative: 8 out of 55

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  1. maluigario
    Dec 5, 2022
    6
    Listen. It takes a lot for me to review a game. And it is very, VERY difficult to get me to DISLIKE a music-based combat game. So when you mess up #2 enough to make me #1, we have a problem.

    The game is SO CLOSE to awesome. The beats are bumpin', the premise is lost in the acid trip, and your little space beetle beats up voodoo faces to the thumpin' sounds of the cosmos. There's only one    Listen. It takes a lot for me to review a game. And it is very, VERY difficult to get me to DISLIKE a music-based combat game. So when you mess up #2 enough to make me #1, we have a problem.

    The game is SO CLOSE to awesome. The beats are bumpin', the premise is lost in the acid trip, and your little space beetle beats up voodoo faces to the thumpin' sounds of the cosmos.

    There's only one problem: there is one master volume control and that's it. So this super fast-paced reflex-heavy DDR for your fingers has no way to tune the sound effects, music, and specific sound queues that alert you to what's coming up. Like, the music is supposed to be like call-and-response: you hear *thump thump clap clap* and you know that you've got two jumps and two turns coming up. But the sounds effects of your jumping and smacking your hull off the walls mixed with the little DING you get for doing it perfectly in sync with the beat PLUS the sounds of you racking up points drowns out the NEXT set of queues. Before you know it, you've got nothing but a maddening cacophony in your ears and your beetle is moving far too fast for you to play by sight alone.

    Obviously plenty of other people played this game and can hear just fine. Maybe I'm in the minority of those whose auditory senses get overwhelmed to the point where all the noise just blends together. But this would have been easy enough to remedy if I could have turned the music and sound effects down while turning the sound queues up. Instead I just have tinnitus and a blood pressure problem.    … Expand
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 15, 2016
    8
    Thumper
    A mix of frustrating and fun
    Thumper is a rhythm based game compatible with console, pc, as well as vr.. It starts out fairly simple.. tap x when a shiny part shows up.. and slowly the game adds more to the basics like sides to slide against and walls to crash through.. And thumper won’t let you leave an area until you get it down… Thumper consists of 9 levels with 15 – 30    Thumper
    A mix of frustrating and fun
    Thumper is a rhythm based game compatible with console, pc, as well as vr..
    It starts out fairly simple.. tap x when a shiny part shows up.. and slowly the game adds more to the basics like sides to slide against and walls to crash through..
    And thumper won’t let you leave an area until you get it down…
    Thumper consists of 9 levels with 15 – 30 sections in each level…
    You have to be able to pass through each section with an obstacle to move on, and you have to do it for real as the game allows 1 mess up per section…
    At first the game is thrilling.. It’s a blast dodging obstacles and adding beats to the music playing in the background…
    But 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... and again youre allowed 1 mess up per section…
    So its not too much to ask of the player to get used to patterns and figure things out in each checkpoint…
    The issue comes down to the bosses…
    There are 2 bosses in each level that of course bring that levels gimmick to the table…
    The only problem is each boss has around 4 stages….
    This doesn’t sound too bad, but unlike the rest of the game... the actual fun part of the game… the bosses have no checkpoints…
    In a game about rhythm….
    This is a problem for numerous reasons…
    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 in each of these 4 stages is an issue because again.. This is a rhythm based game…
    Forcing me to go back to clear 3 stages perfectly after I’ve proven myself time after time only to get to the 4th stage and die to do it again kills the rhythm…
    You’re trying to figure out a pattern, and just as you’re about to get it, you have to deal with 3 other patterns that jumble the rhythm you had going on the stage of the boss you died at…
    Usually the stage that slams you with its gimmick, which some of them like the slam to break objects are complete garbage where timing feels more luck based
    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 check points 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..
    So much so that at the time of this review, only about 1 in every 200 people that play it, beat it
    if you’re a rhythm based master, this is the perfect game to test yourself with…
    As while yes the boss battles unfortunately left a sour taste in my mouth... The game play here and fast paced obstacle dodging is addicting and will definitely give you that one more try moment as your thumb begs for mercy…
    I give thumper
    an 8.0/10    … Expand
  3. fbnaulin
    Jul 25, 2020
    9
    I'm not good at rhythm games, but Thumper had this combination between music and cosmic horror that was too attractive to ignore. It could be a bit repetitive to some people, but I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Thumper has one of the most breathtaking endings and final levels that I have played. Great job, really.
  4. JLK88
    Oct 23, 2016
    9
    Best rhythm game I've played in years. I love the aggressive nature of the game and the sense of speed obtained. Everything is harmonized into a picture perfect nightmare dreamland. Hoping for some DLC or a sequel in the future.
  5. everin
    Feb 6, 2017
    9
    TIER 1

    + Coming from someone who never plays rhythm games, this is a deeply compelling and mind-blowing experience. No game has ever gotten me "in the zone" to the degree that this title has. + A good mixture of mechanics and a stupidly smooth difficulty curve that opens itself up to a high skill ceiling of mastery for those who want to pursue it. ? As difficulty ramps up, elements    TIER 1

    + Coming from someone who never plays rhythm games, this is a deeply compelling and mind-blowing experience. No game has ever gotten me "in the zone" to the degree that this title has.
    + A good mixture of mechanics and a stupidly smooth difficulty curve that opens itself up to a high skill ceiling of mastery for those who want to pursue it.
    ? As difficulty ramps up, elements can feel unforgiving. Certain aspects are easier to handle in VR (obstacles hidden around bends inside tunnels), but might feel cheap on a flat screen.
    ? Some levels have a BEAUTIFUL attention to rhythm and music, but most of them feel more focused on simple reflexes and twitch skills with little effort given to musicality.    … Expand
  6. ntsarb
    May 16, 2018
    8
    I'm playing Thumper on HTC VIVE and I find it to be one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played!

    Thumper offers the kind of rollercoaster experience, on a much longer and much more adventurous rider!!!

    I very much liked it on the monitor, too, but the VR experience is just thrilling, unreplaceable.
  7. RagingPoet
    Jun 16, 2018
    8
    Thumper is a rhythm game with stylish visuals, great sound effects and responsive controls. It is also quite challenging, maybe even too much. Finishing levels 6+ feels almost exhausting but very satisfying.
  8. gurtrock
    Aug 17, 2020
    0
    This game is absolute garbage. I love rhythm games and this is by far and away the worst I've ever played. The music is trash and so boring i had to refund it after half an hour.
  9. Metacritic376
    Jul 21, 2021
    9
    Thrilling

    An amazing combination of music, art and video game. It has so much replay value or perhaps it's just the need to perfect your runs. Just grab your controller, put on your headphones and get on the rollercoaster.
  10. Mandulum
    Feb 9, 2018
    5
    Five Word Review: Neat rhythm game, rather repetitive.
    Favorite Thing: The combination of music and super fast gameplay make it pretty intense.
    Least Favorite Thing: It gets repetitive fast. I have no desire to continue playing. Date Stopped: 2018-01-12 Playtime: 4h Enjoyment: 5/10 (I enjoyed it more for the first few hours) Recommendation: It's a decent experience to start with    Five Word Review: Neat rhythm game, rather repetitive.
    Favorite Thing: The combination of music and super fast gameplay make it pretty intense.
    Least Favorite Thing: It gets repetitive fast. I have no desire to continue playing.

    Date Stopped: 2018-01-12
    Playtime: 4h
    Enjoyment: 5/10 (I enjoyed it more for the first few hours)
    Recommendation: It's a decent experience to start with so, tentatively, I recommend playing it.    … Expand
  11. Suplex
    Dec 22, 2016
    7
    Rhythm with a violence is a nice description for this game.
    Frustrating sometimes, but nothing you can't handle.
    I love the aggressive nature of the game. Best played with with earphones.
  12. edxtan
    Jun 19, 2023
    3
    The exhilaration of speeding through Thumper is obstructed by the explosive visuals and the soundtrack is repetitive, especially for a rhythm game.
  13. Miotke
    Dec 1, 2019
    7
    Cool                                                                                      
  14. Helmspire_Gugli
    Jul 25, 2022
    10
    The best unorthodox rythm game you can play.
    Absolutely intoxicating and mesmerizing.
  15. wright_and_left
    Dec 24, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. An awesome rhythm game that constantly keeps you on your toes. This is far from a perfect game though I do feel there is some areas lacking. For one, while I think the idea of having the player replay sections of the game is cool, it just ends up becoming boring once you do have that section mastered. This feels more triumphant in the later parts of the game, but it feels boring up until then.

    During the late game however, the game treats the player even harsher than before by having sections where you ultimately have to die over and over again before you learn the pattern of a certain section. It doesn't really give the player a chance to just understand it when they first see it.

    I think this is a great game that I could see myself putting in the effort to 100%, but at the end of the day it's far from perfect.

    7.75/10    … Expand
  16. CyanGlitchy
    Jan 19, 2022
    10
    Even as a rage game that's supposed to make you angry, Thumper is the best rhythm game i have ever played. I went through the campaign to the end, and this is the first time i've done this with any rhythm game ever. The angry drumbeats of the "music" you're making is meant to get you riled up. The game uses your heat-in-the-moment feelings to aid your performance. Good memorization of theEven as a rage game that's supposed to make you angry, Thumper is the best rhythm game i have ever played. I went through the campaign to the end, and this is the first time i've done this with any rhythm game ever. The angry drumbeats of the "music" you're making is meant to get you riled up. The game uses your heat-in-the-moment feelings to aid your performance. Good memorization of the patterns will get you very far as well. The controls are quite simple, you can get most movements done with the space bar or the X button. And the campaign mode is wonderful too. In the later game, you'll get the feeling that you aren't supposed to win, and i guess that's why Drool chose a beetle as your character. To make you feel like every level you pass is unexpected and the game gets more and more frustrated at you the further you go. The music is really good too. Even if it's not music. It's intense, it's supposed to get your heart pumping quicker. I really had fun with this game, and i would recommend to everyone.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Metro GameCentral
    May 29, 2019
    90
    On a flat screen Thumper already seems like a near perfect video game experience but in VR it becomes its own reality, one that’s thrilling and unnerving in equal measure.
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  2. GameOver.gr
    Jan 28, 2017
    70
    Thumper manages to offer quite a fresh gameplay experience for the rhythm games genre, something that is no small feat. On the other hand its electronic music is an acquired taste in our opinion, and the repetition of tracks in its 9 levels doesn’t help.
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  3. PC PowerPlay
    Dec 18, 2016
    90
    An all but perfect condensation of what makes rhythm action good. [Issue#257, p.56]
    Read full review
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