Until recently, my only experience with virtual reality was a one-minute demo about nine years ago. With an Oculus Rift strapped to my face, a virtual catapult launched me over a low-resolution city. It was painfully disorienting and I felt my legs give out a little. I gave up on virtual reality for a long time after that unpleasant experience.
Fast forward to 2024 and I was finally ready to try again. A proved irresistible. But I felt I needed to get my legs under me before tackling something more involved and ambitious like the bundle Horizon: The call of the mountains.
As it happens, the day my PS VR2 unit arrived also marked the debut of a VR version of one of my favorite games of recent years, Trombone champion.
The original game is a bit like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, except instead of using a plastic imitation of a musical instrument to play the notes as they appear on the screen, you move a joystick or mouse and press a button to ” play”. This time, inside , you hold a virtual instrument to your mouth with one hand while using the other to glide over the correct (or wildly incorrect) notes, mimicking a real trombone.
Unfortunately, I had some issues setting up my PS VR2. The right controller worked great in my PS5 menus and such, but button presses didn’t work in the game and I couldn’t grab the virtual trombone slide. I found the solution on Reddit, where users have mentioned similar issues with the new controllers, which in some cases appear to be due to debris . In my case, I was able to solve the problem by desyncing the controllers and re-registering them on the PS5 only once I entered the game.
Obviously, the first thing I had to do in the Trombone sample: not flattened the tutorial was more or less clear of the principal SuperMario. brothers theme. From there I dove straight into the countryside.
The aptly named Flat2VR (who created a highly regarded VR mod for Half-life 2) has adapted Trombone Champ for virtual reality. He did an admirable job of bringing Holy Wow Studios’ game to a new format with a new look and feel. Instead of trying to follow the notes of a song on a 2D chart, you’ll have to watch out as they fly at you from both sides. After a couple of songs, though, I changed a setting to have them on only one side to make it easier to concentrate.
You’re also playing these (mostly royalty-free) songs on stage in front of an audience of Nintendo Mii-style characters. I was trying my best to play these songs correctly to get a good score, so I shut out the audience most of the time so I could concentrate.
That changed when I tried a ska song that I don’t remember hearing before. I didn’t know where I was going and struggled to keep up on the highest difficulty. The crowd was having none of it. Unlike Guitar Hero and Rock Band, there is no failure state here if you miss multiple notes in a row. The song continues, no matter how much you screw up. As such, the audience booed me incessantly and I couldn’t get them back on board.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been on stage in a band or done a musical theater (yeah, I was one of those guys), but I’ve never had a reaction like that. It strangely touched my soul, but at the same time I was having a lot of fun. Sorry to disappoint my virtual haters. I tried turning them with floating hands, but it didn’t work. I resorted to pointing at myself with my thumbs in a “that’s right, this guy” motion, another thing I wouldn’t try in a non-VR experience.
Trombone sample: not flattened it’s incredibly fun and easily one of the most delightful gaming experiences of 2024. Astrobots AND Another crab’s treasuretwo of my favorite games of the year, both made me smile the whole time, but Trombone sample: not flattened It made me laugh out loud. I can’t imagine I could have picked a better introduction to virtual reality.
There’s more, including a free play mode that unlocks all the songs for you (DLC tracks appear to be on the way). I also enjoyed vandalizing – I mean, personalizing – my trombone with spray paint. I’m sure Glenn Miller would have loved it.
Maybe I’ll get better Trombone sample: not flattened over time. If not, I don’t care. Being bad in this game makes it even more fun. The game is at its best when you play a song that is familiar to you. You know what it’s supposed to sound like, so messing up is a lot more fun.
Even though there are challenges that reward you for doing well, it’s almost like it’s a game wants you must suck. The most difficult songs would be nearly impossible to perform, perhaps even for true professional trombonists, as they wouldn’t have the same tactility of having the instrument in your hands.
The PS VR2 PC Adapter has been out of stock for a while in Canada. But when I get one I will probably buy the PC version too Trombone sample: not flattened there because modders are already adding custom songs to the game.
A song that modders inevitably added to Trombone champion it was the rhythm game song par excellence: “Through The Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce. In the original game, it’s so difficult that even an “autotoot” tool plays notes automatically . So I have no doubt that trying to play it myself in VR will go very wrong and be a lot of fun.
Trombone sample: not flattened is now available on PS VR2, Meta Quest and Steam VR
