#Thumper ps4 full#

There is a disappointing lack of visual variation to distinguish levels from each other beyond speed and mechanics, and sometimes sights, like the tentacles that surround the track or the interior of a sci-fi looking tunnel disappear too soon into your periphery. More PlayStation VR Launch Reviews See more PlayStation VR launch game reviews here. I also fought a devilish starfish that seemed to be made out of galaxies, and - another favorite - an unsettlingly massive machine that sped along the track in front of me, whipping around curves with an uncanny agility and barreling impossible tunnels into thin air. Its menacing size and eel-like movements dominated my field of view as it loomed overhead and stretched into the distance, making it one of the more terrifying monstrosities to witness in VR. The most frightening boss I went up against was an ethereal being that looked like a sinister cross between a jellyfish and a centipede. ThumperвЂ™s bosses also represent the height of its bizarre imagery, ranging from massive, cosmic geometric shapes that pulse to the beat of the music to sinister aquatic demons. Watching the boss finally explode in a flurry of flying bone, steel, and whatever else theyвЂ™re made of is a fine reward for your efforts. Bosses go down in about four hits, but the difficulty of the sequences that couch each вЂњattack thumpвЂќ gets tougher and tougher with each level. Punishing you with repetition is actually a nice tradeoff because it lets you practice the sequence even when you mess up. Missing one beat forces you to play through the sequence without the final вЂњattack thump,вЂќ then resets the loop once it reaches the start so you can try again. вЂњTo fight bosses, you need to perfectly hit increasingly demanding sequences of glowing green thumps on the track, ending in one glowing thump that sends out a devastating wave of energy to attack the enemy. In many ways, Thumper is basically a horror game. Most of the nine levels have one mini-boss and one recurring final boss, a burning red skull who grows gradually more horrifying and malformed with every appearance - and itвЂ™s huge in VR. This level of intensity and precision culminates most strongly during ThumperвЂ™s many visually stunning and challenging boss fights. At its speediest and most intense peaks, I found that Thumper emulated the satisfaction of playing a musical instrument as I rapidly hit and held notes to the beat of its haunting music. Against the musical backdrop of ThumperвЂ™s dramatic war drums, industrial noise, and orchestral wailings are the thumps and clunks and creaks of my actions, punctuating the score and adding a separate, but unifying melody. вЂњOnce things really start ramping up past the tutorial-heavy first level and mechanics like jumping over spikes, flying to collect rings, and switching lanes are introduced (all also conveniently done with some easy combination of X and the left analog stick), these sound cues become more than just rewarding signals of a job well done - they become necessary to the beat.

Everything in Thumper has smart sound cues that indicate whether youвЂ™ve done something right: a deep, bassy thump when you land beats, a bright creak when you bank a perfect turn, multiple clunks increasing in pitch with each red bar you destroy. As a rhythm game, Thumper is all about the music, but itвЂ™s the little reactive noises here and there that make up the bulk of its captivating audio experience. ItвЂ™s nice to see my name climbing up the as-of-now scantily populated leaderboards, but the most rewarding part is the sheer satisfaction of executing each beat in a sequence and hearing the way my movements perfectly match the beat of the music. This invites replayability, and even after running through several levels for the third or fourth time, IвЂ™m still finding small new ways to milk more points from each track. Doing the bare minimum of avoiding dangerous obstacles will get you through all nine levels just fine, but if you want to move up from the low C to a B, A, and finally S rank, you need to learn the nuances.

#Thumper ps4 full#

вЂњYou donвЂ™t need to know most of this to complete the full game, which keeps Thumper accessible to players of all skill levels without requiring any adjustable difficulty settings.