Fuser | Xbox Series X Review
I adore rhythm games. Ever since the original Amplitude on PS2, I’ve been obsessed. Despite despising every minute of the five years of piano lessons I was forced to endure, it gave me a love for music. Couple that with my obsession for video games, and you’ve got a match made in heaven. I was one of those guys who purchased every variation of every plastic instrument I could get my hands on. I still play Dropmix to this day with my students during indoor recess. Needless to say, I was eager to try out Harmonix‘s latest attempt at the genre, Fuser. Although it doesn’t quite scratch the itch like Guitar Hero or Rock Band did back in the day, it’s well-designed and supported.
I Need a Hero
With Fuser, you won’t need any plastic peripherals to live your fantasies of being a scratch DJ. Everything is right in the software, so you can play simply with your controller or mouse/keyboard combo. The gameplay is deceptively simple. Although it looks like it has the potential to be quite intimidating, once you wrap your head around the concept, it clicks quite easily.
As you would expect, you play as a DJ attempting to entertain a massive festival-sized crowd with popular music. At the beginning of each set, you’re given a selection of up to sixteen songs. You can choose which songs will be in your set if you like. You have at your disposal four different turntables, each one representing one aspect of the mix you create. There’s percussion, bass, melody, and vocals. When you drop a track into your mix, it will only play one of those parts of the song you chose. Your end product is a mix of four different songs as one, each adding its respective portion. The game changes the BPM automatically so everything synchs up nicely.
If you’ve ever played Dropmix, this formula will feel very familiar. This is a digital recreation of that product without the card game aspect. I would suspect that this game would be more comfortable playing with a mouse over a controller, however.
Show Me the Way
Although it might take you a few minutes to understand what you’re supposed to do, Fuser has a very intuitive tutorial. You’ll start with the very rudimentary drops, learn how to time them with the beat, and give the crowd what they want. It works quite well, as it gives you a very “learn by doing” routine to learn the basics.
As you progress, the challenges get a bit more tricky. Eventually, a metronome meter appears on the screen, and you’ll need to drop tracks at precise times in order to score more points. It gets a lot more complicated as you go, making for a very interesting gameplay experience.
Fuser Final Verdict
Fuser is a legitimately well-designed game that functions perfectly well. There’s a ton of music to pick from, the “campaign” is engaging, and the concept (while somewhat of an iteration) is quite a novel one. I’m honestly not sure why this title didn’t grab me like other rhythm games. Perhaps its my preference for rock music over dance music. Or maybe I just really like the feeling of a plastic guitar in my hands.
I’m in a weird position where this game strangely isn’t for me, but I would still recommend it for fans of the genre. I didn’t feel very compelled to keep going, but I can totally see why many people would. Harmonix keeps supporting the game with a ton of extra content as well, so it has legs for people who have a better experience than I. Don’t let my lack of deep interest keep you from a potentially incredible experience.
To hear me talk more about Fuser, be sure to listen to Episode 328 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 31:18 time stamp.
This review is based on an Xbox Series X copy of Fuser provided by Zebra Partners for coverage purposes. It is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows.
Fuser
$59.99
Pros
- Engaging Tutorial
- Novel Concept
- High-Quality Licensed Music
- Fantastic Support from Developer
- Fun Character Customization
Cons
- Might Be Too Involved for Some Players
- Would Play Better with a Mouse
- Personally Lost Interest Quickly
