Smash Drums – Oculus Quest Review

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Fast Facts

A New Rockstar Enters

Smash Drums on Oculus Quest 2 shadow dropped on December 2, 2021, after the UploadVR Winter Showcase. The game developer Mr. Potam on Twitter reached out to us and sent us a review code to try out the game in its full release ahead of the release date. I had played the demo of Smash Drums in its App Lab release which had 3 or 4 playable tracks and a few backgrounds to play in.

Now that Smash Drums is fully released on Quest 2, I am happy to share my thoughts and reviews on Rapid Reviews UK. Rhythm games have been a staple in VR with games like Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, and Super Hot being some of the most popular titles. Smash Drums takes the block slicing style gameplay found in Beat Saber and moves it to the drum kit complete with cymbals and tapping your sticks in rhythm on a quest for high scores.

There are four difficulty levels within each song that will challenge you to stay in tempo and rhythm as you play through each song. As music genre games go, hitting notes in succession lead to multipliers. With Smash Drums, you get points with each correct hit but can net 1500 perfect scores for hitting the drums or cymbals with 100% accuracy. 

During songs, you will need to smash drums that are glowing with flames or hit lightly the ones made of crystal. There are also drums that need to be hit 2 or 3 times in quick succession. They will display a number on top of them corresponding to how many hits they require. There are also drums and cymbals noted with exclamation points coming in as half notes that you will have to contend against.

Smash Drums has over 30 tracks in its game. Including songs including Lover Boy, Gamer Girl, New American Dream, Stand Here and Wait, Fan Tas Tick, and more. As I said earlier there are four difficulty levels that add complexity to songs as you move up in the ranks. 

You don’t have to play Smash Drums alone though. You are welcome to join in arena mode which pits you eight others to smash drums. Before going in, you can vote on a song to play and watch as each of you blast along to your songs. There are also a variety of venues to play in such as a prison cell, cave, classroom, the moon, and more. The eight venues you can play in add variety to the surroundings.

If you are looking for another great rhythm game in VR or prior games such as Unplugged, Synth Riders, and Beat Saber didn’t click with you, then Smash Drums on the Quest is a great addition to your library. The visuals are simple and the gameplay is fast and addictive. If you pick up the game let me know on Twitter @jonathanober so we can join up in a multiplayer matchup.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4 out of 5

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