Thumper Releases Today in North America

Let the rhythm hit ’em.

Developer Drool (Brian Gibson and Marc Flury) announced today that Thumper will be releasing a few days early on PS4 and Steam (in North America). Originally due to launch October 13, the devs thought an early launch would be a nice surprise for those of us who have been waiting to get our hands on this game. We couldn’t agree more. It should be available on Steam and PS4 by the time you read this article for $19.99 USD.

What is Thumper? The gnarliest nightmare fuel.

The official game description says it best, honestly. “Thumper is rhythm violence: classic rhythm-action, blistering speed, and brutal physicality. You are a space beetle. Brave the hellish void and confront a maniacal giant head from the future.” Like a flash of inspiration; like a great LSD trip; like any great work of art, it’s hard to describe Thumper to anyone who hasn’t experienced it for themselves. This clip from GDC 15 should serve as a great primer – watch Flury play through a brief portion of the game and explain what’s going on.

[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh1vYUxXvmA” width=”560″ height=”315″]

As you can see, the actual gameplay is fairly simple. For any of you who know me or read my articles, you know that I’m a huge fan of rhythm games, and of Rhythm Heaven especially. I was delighted to hear that the mechanics were at least somewhat inspired by Rhythm Heaven‘s simplistic call-and-response gameplay. A few buttons and simple cues are all you need to build a complex and gratifying rhythm game experience. Thumper seems to have built upon that very solid foundation in wholly novel and creative ways.

What about VR / PS VR / PS4 Pro support?

It’s all on on the way. Thumper will support PS VR on day one, and VR support will be coming to PC later this year. You’ll also be pleased to know that Thumper will take full advantage of the PS4 Pro’s extra horsepower. With Pro, Thumper will render at native 4K and see enhanced rendering quality in VR as well.

Check out Thumper today on PS4 and Steam in North America, and on October 13 everywhere else! Here’s a new launch trailer for those of you who have to wait:

[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrgC-SqEF90″ width=”560″ height=”315″]