It’s almost a cliché to say at this point, but VR is a medium still in its infancy. It’s a medium that still hasn’t found the inherent level of consistent polish present in traditional AAA games.
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However, despite this, one genre you have to say that VR hasalways nailed is rhythm games. Whether it be the iconic Beat Saber, or the John Wick-esque Pistol Whip, VR has a lot to offer in this department, and it seems there’s a new kid on the block looking to join the party.
Many will be familiar with a ludicrously silly game,Trombone Champ,that had you use your mouse to follow along a line on screen, frantically blowing a trombone as you go.
This simple 2D format suited the game to a tee, but rather unbelievably, a hop, skip, and a jump to a 3D VR setting has been a very successful one, retaining all the quirks and charm but equally offering an engaging and challenging rhythm experience.
So, take a deep breath and join me as we break down why Trombone Champ: Unflattened might just be the VR sleeper hit to end 2024 on a high.
Blow Me Away
To say that I went into this game expecting very little would be an understatement. I couldn’t comprehend how such a simplistic 2D game like Trombone Champ could competently pivot to VR without feeling like some labored shovelware. But the egg is all over my face, as the game does a super job bringing the manic musical action to life in VR.
The gameplay is as simple as it gets, but in the best way possible. One hand controls your breath as you will need to time your blows to the notes on screen. Then, your other hand controls the slides to change the pitch of your notes. It’s super accessible, but as you soon find out, it’s easy to pick up, but tricky to master.
This game takes itself much less seriously than Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and it’s better for it.
On-screen to your left and right, notes come at you thick and fast, and the challenge comes from controlling your slide to move your little notch to the pitch you need to play. And inevitably, you’ll be met with a crowd of little Nintendo Mii adjacent NPCs either staring at you in complete disbelief, or booing for you to get off the stage.
It’s humbling, to say the least, but with some free play sessions and practice, you’ll be able to play your first rudimentary classic tunes and get the crowd onside. At which point, you’ll be hooked.
It’s essentially a game that feels very similar in form to titles of old like Guitar Hero, as you need to hit beats in time, hold them for long periods, change your pitch to bend notes, and much more.
But obviously, this game takes itself much less seriously than Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and it’s better for it.
Becoming a Virtuoso
The core gameplay loop of Trombone Champ: Unflattened is two-pronged. You have a series of world tours where you’ll have to play through a setlist of classical tunes, aiming for high scores as you go while also trying to complete set challenges.
Then, when you aren’t on stage drinking in the crowd’s adoration, you’ll be able to visit a consumables shop and spend your hard-earned notes on packs of cards.
These cards are essentially fun little baseball cards featuring classical musicians of old, and can then be traded in pairs for new cosmetic trombones.
It’s a little mobile game-esque if we’re being super critical, but it’s a fun little aside to break up the action between performances, and deep down, we all love a fun little cosmetic, provided there aren’t any microtransactions linked to them.
However, aside from this momentary respite, the only other thing you’ll do here is strive to become the biggest boner of all time. That’s what they call themselves, right?
This constant push to perfect songs, complete challenges, and earn enough acclaim to move on to the next portion of the tour is something that is great to chip away at with short gameplay sessions. However, if you like a game where you can lose yourself for a few hours, I would argue that Trombone Champ is not that in the slightest.
The novelty wears off eventually, and after the silliness isn’t the driving force of your experience, you’ll find that the rhythm-based gameplay is rather shallow and repetitive. It’s not quite as dynamic as games like Beat Saber, nor do stages change drastically from one to the next, like in Pistol Whip. Therefore, mileage may vary for this one in the long term.
Babe, Wake Up, New Mozart Just Dropped
A rhythm game such as this lives and dies by the songs on the roster, and usually without a thumping techno assortment or a slew of licensed songs, a game like this stands no chance. Yet, with a selection of classical tunes like Ode to Joy, and Zarathustra, Trombone Champ manages to make classical cool. Or, at the very least, camp.
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When you’re playing a song that you’re at least somewhat familiar with, it’s a blast to try and nail the tune and become a classical music savant. However, unless you are a classically trained musician, a time will come when you don’t know the tune at all, and you have no tangible link to the music on screen. Which leads to a sort of mindless feeling of going through the gears.
The brilliance of other games in the genre has been that there are songs we know, love, and feel motivated to learn and master. However, with this one, there aren’t many songs you’ll even be aware of unless you attend Gatsby-themed parties on the regular, or play in a grotesquely unpopular ska band at the weekends. So, once again, while it has its moments, mileage may vary.
Being A Blow Hard
As much as I would love to chalk this one up as a disposable, and stupid experience, as a critic I can’t really do that. Which means I need to be critical of this jovial and ridiculous little game. Which, truthfully, feels like kicking lumps out of a cute little puppy, so I take no joy in it. But the game mechanically isn’t perfect and needs some fine-tuning.
The one major issue comes from the fact that the slide doesn’t work as it should, and it’s very easy to hit your pitch without using the slide at all. You see if the player just tilts their instrument up and down, this has the same effect and is much easier to compute in real-time than using the in-and-out slide motion.
But here’s the thing. The entire difficulty of the gameplay comes through that in-and-out slide motion. So, as a result, it’s all too easy to cheese each song and progress along the world tour at rapid speed.
Combine this with other minor complaints like a lack of difficulty modifiers outside of the ludicrous Turbo Mode, a lack of a campaign mode to keep you motivated to push onward, and no ability to import or buy licensed songs at the time of writing, and you have a game that, while novel, isn’t perhaps the finished product just yet.
Closing Comments
Trombone Champ is exactly what you would expect if you’ve played the original 2D title. It’s hilarious rhythm game action that doesn’t take itself to seriously, but if you peel back the quirks and the ridiculousness, there is a competent rhythm game humming under the hood. Mileage may vary due to the games reliance on classical songs, not to mention a rather one-note and repetitive gameplay experience. But all in all, if you love Trombone Champ and want a more involved, laugh-a-minute experience, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Trombone Champ: Unflattened
Reviewed on PSVR2
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