Fuser

Genre: Music-Rhythm

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Online) + Spectator Support

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Review:

Fuser, released on multiple platforms in 2020, including Nintendo Switch, is a Music-Rhythm game from Harmonix, the developers of Rock Band and the original Guitar Hero, although this game is completely different in the way it plays, even though it remains in the same genre. The basic idea is that players are virtual deejays combining the percussion, bass line, guitar, and vocal sections of different songs in line with demands from a crowd and in time with the beat, ideally to produce the perfect blend of numerous tracks all in one song. Picture layering together the bass from Bad Guy, the guitar from Moves Like Jagger, the cowbell from Don’t Fear the Reaper, and the vocals from Rehab, then replacing the percussion with Ghosts ‘N’ Stuff’s synth, dropping the other two instrumental tracks and replacing the vocals with Rick Astley crooning Never Gonna’ Give You Up before moving on to something different entirely, and you have an idea of the sort of malleable experience that can be created in this game.

In regards to the visual presentation here, it’s decent but somewhat underwhelming and honestly feels unnecessary. You have a 3D avatar performing in a 3D arena to a 3D crowd, but they all look cartoony and particularly unrealistic in their movements. Honestly, I wish I could just shut it off and have some sort of abstract light show in the background, which would make this a better audiovisual piece for a party, which kinda’ seems like what this game aims to be in the first place. However, I do have to make note of how this game’s visuals get blurry and distractingly low in framerates in cutscenes.For a moment at the beginning I was seriously worrying if the Nintendo Switch version would even be playable, but thankfully the gameplay itself looks fine.

At least on the audio side of things, this game sounds great, and does a good job of seamlessly combining music tracks that have no business being together. A part of this is thanks to changes in the tempo of some of the songs selected here, but I’m sure a lot of work was done in getting the sound mixing just right to ensure a smooth transition between tracks too… at least when you play the game well.

As an easy-peasy deejay tool for average Joes like me, Fuser is a pretty great tool. As a game? Well, I have a few issues with it…

Firstly, this game brings to mind Harmonix’s classic PlayStation 2 games Frequency and Amplitude, that were also built on constructing a track piece by piece (although only within one song at a time). However, those games has a beat-tapping style of gameplay similar to what we would later see in Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and it really added a visceral feel to the game that made you truly feel like you were building the song from the ground up. That’s all missing here, as mixing tracks in Fuser feels strangely detached and passive – you do have to time when you drop a track to choose the most ideal moment, but just down to the section before the beat you want the track to start on, not timed to the beat itself. This works fine, but it lacks that something special that those earlier games had.

However, by far the worst problem with this game is its controls, which require the use of an on-screen cursor that moves in a loose, floaty way that’s not as responsive as you’d like, almost as if the game is trying to simulate your on-screen persona being under the influence of something passed around at the festival they’re playing. However, to make matters worse, this control setup would have been absolutely ideal for use with the touchscreen, something that would have really made the Nintendo Switch version the version of the game to get… except this game has no touchscreen support whatsoever, or motion control support for that matter. This is an absolutely massive missed opportunity that takes what could have become the definitive version of the game, and instead makes it yet another competent but lazy port.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Fuser. This is a good Music-Rhythm game, and something that could be fun to bring out at parties to treat guests to your favorite custom mix of songs. But its detached gameplay simply isn’t as compelling as Harmonix’s earlier titles, and the poor controls bring down the game in ways that seem like they could have been easily addressed if Harmonix bothered to make use of the Nintendo Switch’s unique features. As a result, while I do like this game, I can’t help but be severely disappointed by it.

tl;dr – Fuser is a Music-Rhythm game that has you mixing the instruments from various tracks to create your own custom songs. It’s fun and makes for some amazing-sounding music, but the detached gameplay and lacking controls make this an underwhelming experience as a game. Nintendo Switch owners looking for a sort-of “deejay for dummies” software may find this to be an amazing experience, but fans of Music-Rhythm games will likely find it lacking.

Grade: B

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Music/Rhythm Game, Best Sound Design, Most Disappointing

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