Same goes for Thumper - I’m not sure how long I want to endure its electronica existential crisis in a single sitting, but I have no doubt that it’s a sensation I’m going to be coming back for again and again. Imagine for a second that youre a chrome-plated beetle participating in a life-or-death luge race set in a tangled web of undulating cables. Whether it’s the whimsy of Katamari Damacy, the terror of Silent Hill, the creativity of Super Mario Galaxy, the emotion of Gone Home, or the awe of Journey, my favorite experiences in all of games are the ones that left me with a new outlook on some sort of human condition. Thumper is like most rhythm games youve played before, but its also a powerful, moving experience-especially in VR-that stands out as something completely different from its forebears.
Playing Thumper in VR made me realize that the thing I love most about our medium is when a game is able to make me feel something.anything. It's like a drug that delivers an insane, immediate high, and requires you to take a moment to ground yourself after a bit. It was a sensory overload, completely overwhelming, and an utterly unique sensation. Racing down the track in Thumper for the first time brought forth a sensation similar to the first time I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey, and watched as Bowman races through space in the midst of the cosmological phenomenon. Like the time I spent with Rez on PlayStation VR back at PSX, Thumper showed me the power that a carefully-crafted, psychedelic experience can be in VR. This was why I was super hesitant at the idea of Thumper on PlayStation VR, and why I was completely floored at how much I dug my experience. I eventually found myself needing to take a moment and walk away from the constant build of sights, sounds, and tension. Thumper is a rhythm game with a premise so strange that most will wonder why it's getting so much attention. And while I’ve loved every chance I’ve had at playing it on a television, it definitely felt like one of those games I only wanted to experience in small doses at a time. Thumper isn't VR's best take on the first person horror survival genre.
Playing Thumper delivers an intense, immersive rhythm experience that gets you in that special "zone" like the aforementioned games.