At PAX East, Harmonix announced their latest title, FUSER, and we went hands-on with the intoxicating new rhythm game. In the realm of music-based gaming, few names are held in as high esteem as Harmonix. The Boston-based studio has spent years amazing audiences with games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Amplitude, among others. The studio's goal has always been to create new ways for people to interact with music. Now, with the help of publisher NCSOFT, their latest title looks to expand on that legacy in a significant way.
FUSER turns gamers into DJ artists by allowing them to dissect over 100 licensed songs from across all realms of popular music, mixing and matching tracks to create a unique mix, all while earning points, completing challenges, and winning the crowd's affections. FUSER is played with a traditional gamepad – no instrument peripherals here – and doesn't feature falling gems for players to hit with precise timing. Instead, the provocative new game aims to capture the free-form expression that comes with making music.
The game was formally unveiled at PAX East, but at an earlier press event in New York City, we had the opportunity to go hands-on with FUSER. After spending time with the game under the watchful eye of Harmonix's Daniel Sussman and NCSOFT's John Hardin, we came away impressed by the ambition and execution of what is shaping up to be a truly special game. All it takes is a single hands-on session with FUSER to understand just how perfectly it captures the DJ/producer fantasy while simultaneously creating an entertaining and engaging gameplay loop.
The premise is simple: players take on the role of a DJ/producer, and perform for a crowd, creating unique mixes based on the different tracks from across a variety of songs. From the outset, FUSER is clearly one of the "easy to learn, difficult to master" types of games. There are no difficulty modes to choose from, so player scores will be dependent on personal skill and the ability to keep track of emergent challenges. Before each show, the player creates a palette of 16 songs, parts of which will be chosen to create the performance. Each song has four tracks, and players can have four tracks active at once. What follows is entirely determined by personal taste, artistic ambition, creative expression, and what we can only imagine is some complex behind-the-scenes programming by the developers at Harmonix.
The four face buttons of the gamepad represent drums, vocals, rhythm (usually bass or keyboards) and lead (usually guitar or brass), and any combination of four tracks can be tossed together. Want to hear four different drum tracks at once? Go for it. How about three different vocal performances set against the bassline from Bad Guy by Billie Eilish? That can be arranged. Some combinations work better than others, of course, but players have the freedom to do what they want, when they want. The game handles the tempo and key signatures on its own, though they can also be altered manually to make things even more personalized.
It's tough to explain how it's a game and not necessarily a straight-up legitimate DJ suite, but just messing around with the tracks is so fun for anyone who loves music and studying the instrumentation in any pop song. As soon as you start mixing and experimenting, the appeal of FUSER becomes crystal clear. There's something completely magical about taking the vocals from Lady Gaga's Born This Way, the drums from Rock the Casbah by The Clash, the soaring brass from Lizzo's Good as Hell, and the bouncy keyboard from All-Star by Smash Mouth and hearing them all fit together perfectly.
There's still a lot to learn about FUSER, but it's already enticing beyond out wildest expectations. Harmonix isn't ready to talk about multiplayer yet, but it will come in both synchronous and asynchronous varieties. The final soundtrack will include over 100 songs, and they're already promising a deep character creation system. There are also plans for players to be able to share their mixes online. We can expect to learn more at E3 and beyond.
FUSER releases this fall for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.