THRASHER Review (PC & PC VR)

THRASHER isn’t a game; it’s a psychedelic experience that feasts on flamboyant dreamscapes and whimsy details, beaming brushstrokes and fluid dynamics to create a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s the kind of art installation that you would typically revert back to after a grueling RPG—a beacon between storms that you know will remediate your soul, if not with its vibrancy and hallucinatory charm, then with its fluid design and seamless execution. And the soundtrack? Well, that’s almost like the icing on the cake, really.

If THRASHER is anything at all, it’s a rabbit hole into a psychedelic realm where eels and intergalactic wonders collide, and gleaming lights and primal dreams formulate mesmerizing auras and magical visions. It is, despite being coined as an arcade game, an exhibit for the senses—a theatrical experience that pulls you along for the journey without telling you who you are, where it is that you’re going, or even what it is that you’re doing. It grabs you by the collar, and it gives you the fundamentals to take flight.

THRASHER doesn’t spend a ludicrous amount of time padding out its world with unnecessary jargon. Instead, it presents you with an electric eel, a basket of stages, and a unique circular system that allows you to build combos and evolve. It doesn’t do much more than that. But then, with a backdrop that’s as striking as it is, honestly, it doesn’t need to do anything else to whet the mood. It gives you the means to continue, and it watches on as you ascend through the motions.

What Dreams Are Made Of

THRASHER gives you one objective to accomplish: take a small eel and guide it through nine stages. In each of said stages, the eel has the chance to evolve and, after a while of gliding through a myriad of hoops and psychedelic dream worlds, tackle a wealth of leviathan bosses in vibrant rhythmic wars. But that’s just a small section of what THRASHER is; it’s also an art exhibit in which users gracefully soar through a wealth of vibrant vistas and engage in some good old-fashioned fast-paced theatrical stunts, such as twisting, dashing, and smashing through obstacles en route to their next destination. It’s quick, stylish, and above all, an absolute blast to marvel over.

The game itself adopts a charming circle-based hook—a mechanic with which you can utilize to stack combos and tackle monolithic entities. It’s high-octane and, frankly, a lot to feast upon. Yet, it’s also a delight to watch unfold and a real pleasure to mesh with the beating heart of the game’s signature soundtrack and accompanying visual storytelling aspects. Naturally, there are hundreds of moving parts to gawp at, but, when they’re all in the same pot, it’s a banquet for the senses—a psychedelic showcase of roaring fireworks and blistering beams, powerful auras and dashing intergalactic effects. And the best part is, it feels great to witness it in its prime, more so once you evolve your eel and traipse into the latter portions of the journey.

Simply Dashing

In the nine stages that THRASHER brings to the forefront of its sci-fi platform, there are nine epic leviathan battles to conquer, an entire timeline of original evolution sequences to complete, and not to mention a fitting score to keep you company as you bolt through its universe and into the great beyond. Short, you could say, yet not the slightest bit boring.

Although a bit of a challenge to beat, THRASHER makes it so that each attempt that you make is unique from the previous. Thanks to its bombastic dioramas and flurrying audiovisual effects, it feels that each run is distinctly different from the last. And that’s one of the things that I love about THRASHER: the fact that it gives you something to come back to, even if you happen to fail along the way. Not many games can pull that off, frankly.

Let it be said that, while THRASHER is an accessible game with the free-flowing controls of a feel-good rhythm game, the second half of the journey can be a little perplexing and frustrating. There’s a challenge there that, honestly, ought to invoke some sour notes. Yet, for when THRASHER flaunts a challenge, it often balances the playing field with captivating action-oriented arcade sequences and psychedelic imagery. And it does all of that incredibly well. Lest we forget THUMPER.

Of course, if you are looking to blaze in the same trail as the likes of THUMPER or any other psychedelic boost-blasting rompers that compliment the market, then you should be able to find a solid foundation to set alight here. As for whether or not THRASHER is a better game than its predecessor is another question. For what it’s worth, though, if you’re desperate to hover on a similar wavelength as Puddle and Creature Label’s alternate works, then it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be disappointed with what this latest chapter has to offer its fan base.

Verdict

THRASHER is a feast for the senses that just feels fantastic to flow through come hell or high water, be it in a psychedelic dreamscape or beneath the cascading watercolors of a fluorescent reel in motion. It’s cool, slick, and pulsating with all of that wondrous energy that we adore and crave from tempo-boosting rhythm battlers.

If you’re a fan of THUMPER or The Artful Escape, then I have no doubt in my mind that you will adore romping through THRASHER and experiencing all of its intergalactic adventures firsthand. It’s a game that you don’t easily forget—an “experience” that goes above and beyond to leave a lasting impression once all of its cards have been played. Granted, it won’t be to everyone’s liking, and it probably won’t appeal to the whole spectrum. But it will, on the other hand, resonate with those who share a joint enthusiasm for powerful dreamscapes and eighties-like arcade games. If you happen to fall into the latter, then you’ll find no shortage of quality elements here.