3.5/5 ★ – TheShazMo's review of Thumper.

Platform: Apple Arcade Developer: Drool ——————————————— The best way to describe Thumper is that it’s a crushingly difficult, dark, bombastic, and borderline horror rhythm game where you play as a mechanized beetle. You may think that “horror” and “rhythm” may not go together, and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking so, but Thumper melds the two genre’s very well, resulting in a truly unique experience. I played the game on Apple Arcade, and it ran perfectly. It’s a 1:1 port of the console versions and the touch controls work surprisingly well. So much so that I actually connected a PS4 controller to my iPad to get a more console-like experience, but actually ended up reverting back to the touch controls. Visually, the game is mesmerizing. Each stage, though don’t differentiate much from one another, are almost like looking into a mind-bending, gothic kaleidoscope. From the eerie tentacles that sprout from underneath the rails you’re forced to glide across, to the demonic skull-shaped bosses you must fight at the ends of each level, to the claustrophobic tunnels, it’s all captivating and evoke those futuristic horror-like elements really well. Just as memorable is the soundtrack, however, surprisingly, as good as it is, I felt it took a backseat when compared to the visuals and gameplay. Much like the stages themselves, the soundtrack didn’t differentiate too much from level to level. Not only that, but there were times where I even felt that the beats of the drums, or the thuds of the bass didn’t fully line up, rhythmically speaking, to the actions you were taking; to the point where I would even miss a tap or a flick expecting the beat to drop (or continue) a certain way to match with the rhythm of the music. Honestly, I’d argue you could play the game muted (though you shouldn’t), and still be able to perform just as well, which for a rhythm game, is quite curious. As for the gameplay itself, it’s impeccably tight, though unforgiving in its difficulty. Full transparency, I was only able to complete 5 of the 9 levels - each of which contain ~27 stages - of this game. Though I’m sure after enough practice I could most likely get through it, since I had the same thought of, “oh, there’s no way I’m beating this level” three times beforehand, but I thought to put my iPad down before tossing it out the window in full-blown gamer rage. The sense of speed is exhilarating, and the game pushes you to react within milliseconds. You will fail, a lot, but the sense of accomplishment is genuinely thrilling. It’s also helpful that each stage is fairly short, and every time you die you’re only set back to the beginning of the stage, not level (though there is a “plus” mode that gives you a more difficult option that does set you all the way back). Thumper is going to be one of those games I’ll have to continue playing in bursts, but it’s definitely one that I’ll come back to as the years progress, chipping away at each frenetic and frightening stage until my beetle finds their way home.