It's been awhile since a music-rhythm game has really gotten any attention. The genre was everywhere in the mid-2000s, with games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band popping up everywhere from bars to rehab clinics to an episode of South Park. But while those games fizzled out in the last decade, Harmonix has never really gone away. In addition to still supporting 2015's Rock Band 4 with new DLC songs, the developer has continued to release new music-rhythm games, experimenting with VR, dance and turntablism throughout the 2010s. Its next game, Fuser, takes the lesson of Harmonix's past hits and brings the genre into the 2020s.
The concept of Fuser will be familiar to those who remember Harmonix's 2017 game, DropMix. Also a DJ-ing game, DropMix used a special board that read NFC-equipped cards to play and combine music samples. An interesting concept that incorporated the toys-to-life craze of the 2010s, the game's reliance on a physical board with a high cost of entry and collectable cards kept it from really taking off.
Fuser eliminates one of the most charming but frustrating aspects most people associate with Harmonix games: the bulky peripheral that you'd need to find room for or lug out of storage every time you wanted to jump back into the game. Not only this is a welcome and inviting change, it also fits with Fuser's goal. You don't need a plastic recreation of a guitar, board or turntable to play a recreation of someone else's music; with Fuser, you are creating something of your own.
Fuser is a game that embraces creativity and customization on every level. At launch, the game will feature over 100 songs, about 30 of which have already been announced. These include throwbacks like The Clash's "Rock the Casbah" and Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," as well as contemporary hits like Billie Eilish's "bad guy" and Lizzo's "Good as Hell."
The songs cover a wide range genres from country to R&B to pop that can be combined in surprising and exhilarating ways. While some combinations sound better than others, and it takes some practice to create anything that sounds as good as what you'll hear in the trailers, there's nothing quite as satisfying as putting two songs that shouldn't go together in your mix and finding that the combination inexplicably works. Certain tracks, like the strings from "Call Me Maybe," the keyboard of "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and the beat of "Bodak Yellow" sound good with almost anything, even when combined with the oft-memed vocals of Smash Mouth's "All Star." The number of "Old Town Road" remixes that blew up last year makes so much more sense after playing around with Fuser and finding how versatile that song really is.
On top of combining licensed tracks, players can also perform with instruments by interacting with a grid to play different sounds. These can also be turned into a loop and added to your mix. It sounds pretty good even if you're just messing around with the controller around to see what works, but skilled players who have practiced or have a solid understanding of music theory will certainly be able to create some awesome loops and solos with it.
If all of these options seem intimidating, the game's Campaign acts as a tutorial, introducing new mechanics and upping the difficulty and volume of challenges as you progress. While there is something of a narrative with NPCs to meet and learn from, the developers have said the game doesn't tell a "rise to fame" story. It's simply about being a DJ and performing on a variety of stages.
You'll start out building a mix one track at a time, switching things out before it gets stale and completing different goals, like playing vocals from a country song or having at least two R&B tracks going for a certain amount of time. These'll challenge players to switch it up and drop tracks at the right time without overwhelming the crowd with a new song every beat. These levels, at least in the demo, can be punishing, as if you fail, you'll need to go back and redo the entire thing. This includes being taught the level's basic skills. Regardless, the campaign will help you learn the various mechanics you'll want to use in your mixes. There's also Freestyle mode, which allows players to refine their skills and experiment without the pressure of a crowd to impress.
The music isn't the only place where players can get creative, as they'll also be able to customize their character and stages. Here, there are tons of options, with more to unlock as you go. Theses allow players to create a DJ that truly represents them regardless of race, body type and gender identity, even providing skin color options for players with vitiligo. None of the options are gender-locked, so you're free to combine masculine facial features with feminine hairstyles and any of the various clothing options, which comes in solid colors and loud patterns.
A huge part of festival culture is the celebration of self-expression and individuality, and Fuser embraces that. Also notable is the fact that the default avatar (at least in this demo) is a Black woman, and darker skin tones come before lighter ones in the menu. This is a subtle but welcome way to emphasize the massive contributions of Black artists to DJ culture.
While during gameplay you'll be more focused on the crowd and your mix to focus much on yourself, you can pick from different personalities to affect how your character acts during performances. These styles, like joy, originality and energy correspond with those of your mentors from the campaign, so you'll likely unlock more as you work with different characters.
As for the stages, there's plenty you can play around with to create an epic venue for your performance. Not only can you customize the effects, pyrotechnics and time of day, you can also pick out holograms and crowd items. For example, you might want to give the crowd glow sticks for a nighttime performance and signs during the daytime. Just like the character options, there's plenty to customize and unlock here. You can create whatever setting appeals to you, whether that's a traditional, cool stage with dancers and fireworks, or a colorful, whimsical stage full of cupcakes and corgis.
This demo is only the start for Fuser. There are still dozens of songs to be announced, and Harmonix has said there are plans to support the game with DLC tracks and customizations so long there is a demand for more content. The developers also teased multiplayer modes, which will be shown off later this Summer. While no specifics have been announced yet, Harmonix says there will be competitive and collaborative modes that'll allow players to test their skills in comparison to others and work together on mixes.
With so many options available, it'll be interesting to see what players will be able to put together both in terms of music and visuals once Fuser launches. The game's customization gives players unique opportunities to create brilliant, extravagant, Coachella-like performances, as well as meme-worthy, uncanny combinations of colorful, saccharine stages and eerie, minor-key mash-ups. It may also scratch that itch for music festival attendees saddened that these kinds of huge, lively events that are highlights of the summer are on-hold for the time being.
Developed by Harmonix and published by NCSoft, Fuser will release for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2020.
"Demo" - Google News
June 30, 2020 at 10:25PM
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Fuser Demo: Harmonix's New Rhythm Game Offers Freedom, Music and Corgis - CBR - Comic Book Resources
"Demo" - Google News
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