What's the gameplay like?

[Fantoche]

From the trailer you just... follow a straight line? What sort of interaction is there? Don't get me wrong, I'm fascinated, just puzzled.

[Aletheia]

It's a rhythm action game. You have to do multiple commands for elements you have on the track. Spacebar is used for thumps, it's the common beat square you'll see. But you also have walls, barricades and spikes. Everything is synced on the beat so you have to be the most precise on that. It's really fast so it's hard to read sometimes, and it's stressful. But yeah, a rhythm game.

[Fantoche]

Originally posted by Aletheia:

It's a rhythm action game. You have to do multiple commands for elements you have on the track. Spacebar is used for thumps, it's the common beat square you'll see. But you also have walls, barricades and spikes. Everything is synced on the beat so you have to be the most precise on that. It's really fast so it's hard to read sometimes, and it's stressful. But yeah, a rhythm game.

So basically a QTE, with a few actions, you press the key when required, with a trippy background and a soundtrack?

[piecewise66]

Originally posted by Fantoche Dreemurr:

Originally posted by Aletheia:

It's a rhythm action game. You have to do multiple commands for elements you have on the track. Spacebar is used for thumps, it's the common beat square you'll see. But you also have walls, barricades and spikes. Everything is synced on the beat so you have to be the most precise on that. It's really fast so it's hard to read sometimes, and it's stressful. But yeah, a rhythm game.

So basically a QTE, with a few actions, you press the key when required, with a trippy background and a soundtrack?

By your definition DDR is "just a QTE"

Hell, every game is just a QTE. Things happen on screen and you have to press the right buttons or you die. Wow. Gaming really is ♥♥♥♥ when you reduce it to its basic elements and cut out any sort of depth or nuiance.

Have you ever played audiosurf? It's audiosurf but harder.

[Kilvoctu]

Originally posted by piecewise66:

you ever played audiosurf? It's audiosurf but harder.

The gameplay isn't like Audiosurf at all. If anything, it's closer to a Rhythm Heaven game. You press a button or a combination of a button and a direction according to a visual and audio cue. In other words, Thumper is a rhythm game (like Aletheia said).

Calling it QTE style gameplay isn't terribly incorrect, but QTE typically means timing inputs during a cutscene or some sort of scripted event or animtion, not to music.

[piecewise66]

Originally posted by Kilvoctu:

Originally posted by piecewise66:

you ever played audiosurf? It's audiosurf but harder.

The gameplay isn't like Audiosurf at all. If anything, it's closer to a Rhythm Heaven game. You press a button or a combination of a button and a direction according to a visual and audio cue. In other words, Thumper is a rhythm game (like Aletheia said).

Calling it QTE style gameplay isn't terribly incorrect, but QTE typically means timing inputs during a cutscene or some sort of scripted event or animtion, not to music.

How is it not like audio surf? They're both rhythm games where you play as a little vehicle thing flying down a fixed track and have to press buttons and shift directions based on obstacles in the track that sync up with the music.

[YinYin]

I'll just give ya a list of interactions:

thumps (beats on the ground, hit A - sometimes mandatory/triggering damage if you miss)
turns (red walls around corners, hit and hold A+left/right, can be hit perfectly - damage if you fail)
barriers (hold A to smash through - damage if you fail)
flying (hold up while hitting a thump with A, required to get over damaging obstacles or hitting overhead barriers - flying is limited but can be extended via perfect turns and hitting things)
pound (hitting down onto a thump while flying - resulting shockwave can break boss shields or activate upcoming thumps for additional score or replenishing your shell)
switching lanes (left/right on multi lanes without holding/pressing A)

You can freely control your beetle at all times (hop with A like in mario kart, lean left/right, open wings up or drift left/right while holding A - only flying and ground pounds are a bit conditional as you need thumps for those), so it's not really pure quick time events to predefined visuals. The amount of control despite being on a linear track feels great.

All these things, multiple hazards on the tracks and boss fights are combined pretty well. 9 levels with 10~30 phases each - all having a different theme (audiovisually and mechanically).

[Uncertain]

It's much deeper than it appears. I just spent 3 hours stuck on the 24th stage of level 6, partially because it's unbelievably difficult, but I had trained myself to play for a high score. This made learning the track super-hard, because it puts a lot more information/noise on the screen, requires very good accuracy and more moves/inputs, and occasionally pauses time for big impact effects. I eventually had to change my whole approach and play the stage in a simpler style.

Certainly not a QTE game - you can get through a lot of it with basic moves and timing, but the meat of it is in choosing to play it in a more difficult way for fun, points, awesome satisfaction and S-ranks. When you pull off a really tight sequence in the hardest way possible it's VERY satisfying. Sort of like Tony Hawk's or something, in that sense. It doesn't really get going until about level 3, then level 5 seems to be where the difficulty starts to ramp up. I am not even going to try level 7 until my hands stop hurting.

[Aletheia]

Originally posted by Uncertain:

It's much deeper than it appears. I just spent 3 hours stuck on the 24th stage of level 6, partially because it's unbelievably difficult, but I had trained myself to play for a high score.

And here I am, just at the beginning of level 5... Because Level 4 was a real pain haha.