Thumper

VideogamerAlice Bell

9/10

Thumper is a great rhythm action game, with strong visuals, fantastic design, and more speed than Keanu Reeves on a bus rigged to explode.

GamingTrendElisha Deogracias

90/100

Thumper is a terrifyingly difficult game, but don’t let that deter you from experiencing its rhythm violence firsthand. The Switch port takes advantage of the system’s features quite well, and its speedy performance and killer sound design will rock your world.

Nintendo LifeThomas Whitehead

9/10

Thumper is a fantastic video game, an extravagant rhythm experience that's also a brutal assault on the senses. It's extremely difficult, painfully so at times, yet we feel the need to persevere, retrying tough stages over and over again. Even when that's done the drive for better ranks remains, simply because the game compels us to play on. The level of challenge, though, shouldn't be underestimated - even for strong players short sessions may become necessary in the latter third of the game, in particular. The only real flaw of Thumper, in actual fact, is that it offers so little respite and...

TheSixthAxisDominic L

9/10

However, no matter how punishing it might be on every single front, I found myself returning to earlier levels in order to improve my run, and just as crucially, thinking about playing it even when I wasn’t. Every section is graded, with a final mark for the entire level based on these, and extra points are gained for hitting obstacles with perfect timing, enabling you to fight for position on both worldwide and friends leaderboards. It’s certainly worth returning.

Gaming NexusMatt Mirkovich

9/10

It's a great game overall. It doesn't pull any punches, and is relentless in its 'rhythm violence' and that makes it one of the most satisfying games out there. Now to try and S rank these songs.

Playstation LifestyleMichael Briers

9/10

Our Thumper PS4 review finds Drool's blistering rhythm violence game to be an electrifying thrill ride, even if it does feel like an assault on the senses.

Nintendo World ReportJustin Nation

8.5/10

As has been the case with quite a number of games I’ve enjoyed on the Switch to date I would gladly recommend Thumper to anyone, but would throw out two caveats as well. First, while I don’t think being good at rhythm games is necessarily essential to you being successful in the game, there’s no getting around the fact that being able to feel and anticipate the beats will help you immensely. The second is that this game gets to be extremely challenging, playing it has maxed out my personal intensity to the point that my thumb hurts from me mashing down the A button with apparently all of…

KeenGamerMatthew Smail

8/10

Thumper blasts onto the Nintendo Switch with sumptuous, foreboding visuals, a pulsating soundtrack and its own unique brand of "rhythm violence." Intense as it was on the PC and PS4, the Nintendo Switch version of Thumper seeks to maintain the pressure through the intense visual and aural connection of Nintendo's handheld platform, but does it deliver?

GameSpewMatt Eakins

8/10

In the end, you might struggle to play Thumper for hours, especially in VR. While the PSVR version of the game is fantastic in terms of immersion, sound and colour, it isn’t necessarily a betterment. Simply playing with headphones can capture much of the same feeling. That said however, while there is rhythm to the game, the music in the game is a bit “off”. The sound is fantastic but you never really feel enveloped by the music, which I was hoping for in a rhythm game. Also, the game never changes, it just gets much, much faster. In VR, it can get a little disorienting, and that definitely li...

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TechRaptorSamuel Guglielmo

5/10

Thumper looks great and has some interesting ideas, but it's bogged down by strange decisions, obstacles that blend in with the environment, and a soundtrack that doesn't have much to do with the on-screen action.

EurogamerChristian Donlan

Great art and a distinct approach to rhythm action makes this a brilliantly horrible twitch experience.