Fuser

Fuser is as exciting as it is creative, with plenty of options to make music through different genres. Harmonix has made a colourful and enjoyable game, and I can't recommend it enough.

75%Game Brain Score

music, gameplay

monetization, optimization

85% User Score Based on 1,017 reviews

Critic Score 84%Based on 5 reviews

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About

FUSER is a musical game where players can mix elements of popular songs from top artists to create their unique sound. The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes, including co-op and PvP, with outstanding game mechanics and stellar graphics. With an eclectic library of chart-topping tracks, headlining the Diamond Stage, and sharing unique sounds with the world, FUSER promises an exceptionally enjoyable DJ role-playing experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,022 reviews

music225 positive mentions

monetization6 negative mentions

Fuser offers a unique and creative way to mix music, allowing players to combine different song stems seamlessly.
The campaign serves as a comprehensive tutorial, gradually introducing new mechanics and keeping players engaged.
Freestyle mode provides endless fun and experimentation, making it easy to create enjoyable mixes.

The game is overpriced for the amount of content available, with many songs locked behind additional paywalls.
The campaign can feel repetitive and overly restrictive, focusing more on fulfilling crowd requests than on creating good mixes.
Multiplayer features are lacking, with matchmaking issues and a low player base affecting the overall experience.

music
909 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
72%
3%
The music aspect of "Fuser" has received a mix of praise and criticism from users. Many players enjoy the innovative mixing mechanics that allow them to blend various song stems, creating unique mashups that often sound surprisingly good, even when combining disparate genres. However, the game is criticized for its limited initial song selection and the high cost of additional downloadable content, which can make it feel expensive for players seeking a broader musical experience. Overall, while the gameplay is engaging and fun for music lovers, the pricing and music availability issues detract from its potential.
- “Using the background music from one song but the words from another and splicing at just the right time to create a never-before-heard song... so much fun!”
- “Being able to isolate different parts of popular songs and blend them is endlessly entertaining, and the player control over tempo, key, mode, and effects enables a lot of creative discovery.”
- “Fuser takes the dropmix blueprint of four spaces to mix your music and adds an absolute truckload of additions.”
- “The music choices might not be songs you would listen to normally, but mixed together they actually sound good.”
- “The lack of good dance and electronic music is just sad.”
- “It's very hard (though not impossible) to make anything that sounds 'bad.' I understand music licensing is a bit of an expensive slog, but I can't help but feel all the DLC costs about 25-50 cents more than they should considering you just get a curated slice of each song, compared to say, Rock Band DLC where you generally get a whole song to listen to and play with.”
gameplay
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
65%
3%
The gameplay is generally praised for its fun and engaging mechanics, allowing players to mix and remix songs creatively, though it often feels more like a tutorial than a fully fleshed-out experience. While the campaign introduces new mechanics at a steady pace, some players find it overly focused on perfection and challenging tasks that disrupt the flow of play. Overall, the game offers a solid foundation for music mixing, but its depth and replayability may be limited without additional content and a more varied music selection.
- “The gameplay is flexible, varied, and addictive.”
- “The core gameplay revolves around taking one of four parts of a song (drums, bass, melody, and vocals) to create remixes; I was initially worried this might be all the game has to offer, but it felt like every campaign mission introduced a really fun new mechanic until I was blown away by the depth this game had.”
- “It's very fun to make mixes that work and there is actually a surprising amount of depth to the gameplay regarding what you're able to do.”
- “When you start getting into a set, the game throws challenges at you that just ruin whatever flow you have, and ignoring the challenges (that are continually just tutorializing you even though all the mechanics are straightforward to use) just makes you lose.”
- “The campaign is fairly short and mostly a long tutorial on the game's mechanics with adding effects, switching, changing tempo and key, creating drops, etc. The real bread and butter of the game is freeplay utilizing everything you've learned from the campaign and becoming the DJ of your party.”
- “Roughly after just over 40 minutes of gameplay, I've played through about half of the campaign (which truthfully, is more like an elongated tutorial than anything else) and while the gameplay itself is solid, fun, and satisfying, the appeal of it quickly runs out and unlike prior Harmonix titles (namely Rock Band and Dance Central) it doesn't feel like there's a high skill ceiling to keep striving for, which is what games like this live and die by.”
story
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
65%
13%
The story mode is generally viewed as a lengthy tutorial rather than a compelling narrative, with many players finding it mediocre and overly restrictive. While it introduces game mechanics and offers some fun challenges, the real enjoyment comes from the freestyle mode and multiplayer interactions. Overall, the story lacks depth and is not a significant draw for the game, leading to mixed feelings about its value relative to the price.
- “Progression feels natural and well-paced, with the star system providing a decent challenge and some replay value to the story mode.”
- “The game allows for a ton of freedom as far as what sound you want to go for, even in the 'story' missions.”
- “The 'story' mode will teach you the several mechanics of the game, but where the pleasure resides remains in the 'freestyle' part where you will be able to chain your sets with other players.”
- “I wanted something to mix music with, but the child prodigy DJ story element ruined it for me.”
- “However, I admit, the story's a joke.”
- “The story mode is just a tutorial; the real meat is freestyle and multiplayer.”
graphics
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
46%
9%
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their vibrant and immersive aesthetic, effectively capturing a futuristic and colorful vibe reminiscent of rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. While some users noted occasional graphical glitches and performance issues, the overall visual experience is considered appealing, with a variety of customization options and engaging visuals that enhance gameplay. Despite minor criticisms, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
- “An impeccable futuristic aesthetic.”
- “Gameplay is tight, graphics look fantastic, and the customization is outstanding.”
- “The graphics are beautiful as well.”
- “Graphical problems pop up from time to time, like my music station disappearing and coming back randomly, the profile of my DJ's hair always clipping into her face on my profile picture, and my resolution randomly changing causing the buttons to not correspond to where my mouse is (the last issue only happening once in my 4 hour game time).”
- “Graphics are on par with what you would expect from Rock Band/Guitar Hero styling but with a DJ/rave flair, with a character creator that lacks overall but still has a so-so amount of options.”
- “My low-end computer had trouble running this game due to lag and graphical bugs, so most of my time playing this game is on my Switch.”
monetization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
31%
46%
The monetization strategy of the game has received significant criticism, with many players feeling that it relies heavily on microtransactions for additional content, which they perceive as overpriced and exploitative. Users express disappointment over the limited song library and the high costs associated with expanding it, leading to a consensus that the game feels like a cash grab rather than a well-rounded experience. Overall, the monetization approach detracts from the enjoyment and value of the game.
- “Chill game, solid time waster, a bit overpriced considering the monetization when they sell more songs, which are obviously a huge part of the game's content.”
- “I'm a little concerned about the microtransactions.”
- “Price is high for what it is and microtransactions are steep, too.”
- “Harmonix games ultimately serve as a quick cash grab that exploit short-term licensing agreements and, more importantly, the hard work and dedication of the devs who make such fun games.”
- “Overpriced for what it is, too few songs, and if you want to add more songs, they have a 200+ USD worth of microtransactions waiting for you.”
- “The game feels like a cash grab from the developers.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The optimization of the game has seen improvements, particularly with the resolution of online stuttering issues, although some users still report glitches with custom mixes and colorblind mode. While the game offers engaging features like the "diamond stage" for online performances, the experience can be hindered by expensive DLC and technical bugs that affect gameplay. Overall, the focus on genre mashups and live performance elements is appreciated, but the execution has room for improvement.
- “Gone are lanes and tight timing windows, shooting for 100%, a quadruple-A 'performance' by smashing notes in time.”
- “You can even earn diamonds which you use to purchase time slots in an online performance mode known as the 'diamond stage'.”
- “Most often this is a genre mashup like 'rock + latin' where the objectives you will receive will encourage you to use elements of those genres, and will even teach you some of the live performance tricks that work well within those genres, like reducing to just drums and bass to get a build-up going, for example.”
- “Bad: expensive DLC, stuttering issue when online (not hardware limitations, I promise), color blind mode is stuck on for me lol”
- “I also just found out that when uploading custom mixes to the social tab, some of your arpeggiated custom parts seem to glitch out and just play one note over and over, which completely ruins those performances.”
- “While DJ Hero itself is great, it focused more on turntableism and less on performance DJing.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
33%
33%
The game's replayability is mixed; while the progression system and varied playthrough experiences offer some value, the limited song selection and reliance on DLC for additional content significantly hinder long-term engagement. Players appreciate the challenge of the star system and the potential for unique experiences in each session, but many feel that without more music options, replayability may diminish quickly. Overall, it provides some enjoyment, but may not sustain interest as effectively as similar titles.
- “Progression feels natural and well-paced, with the star system providing a decent challenge and some replay value to the story mode.”
- “As a result, playing the same stage multiple times can end up sounding wildly different with each playthrough, which adds a great deal to the game's replay value.”
- “The only thing this game needs is more music choices - with a lot more music, they would exponentially increase replayability.”
- “All of the replayability goes away really fast when you realize that in order to get more than the same 5 songs you have to spend $200.”
- “The campaign also lacks replayability after 5 starring every set.”
- “I can't see it retaining as much replay value as Frequency, Amplitude, or Rock Band, but I'm sure I'll get my $60 worth by the time I'm done with it.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be quite tedious, as leveling up and unlocking content primarily relies on repetitive tasks within the campaign. Many feel that the effort required to gain experience points and unlock songs does not feel rewarding, leading to a frustrating experience overall.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The campaign is a bit tedious on purpose.”
- “The only way to get leveled up is through the campaign by doing the most tedious tasks as a teaching method.”
- “To top it all off, you have a disgustingly grindy unlock system that completing the career mode barely chips away at, leaving you with nothing of interest worth doing to unlock all of the game's content.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
43%
The game's humor is a mixed bag; while it excels in creating a fun, chaotic atmosphere during parties, where players can enjoy hilarious musical mishaps, the writing and character design fall flat with unfunny jokes and one-dimensional characters. Players appreciate the comedic potential of remixing songs, but the campaign mode's dialogue and technical issues detract from the overall experience. Ultimately, the game shines in social settings, where the humor emerges organically from gameplay rather than scripted content.
- “Put it on freestyle mode and have it in the background of a party and just let all your friends mess around with the aux cord, making a mix and laughing the whole time as 'All Star' in G major at 140 BPM rings through your apartment.”
- “It's loads of fun to get together with friends and play around with all the samples and have everything work (or not work, if you're a crazy person) to hilarious results.”
- “If you're looking for a rhythm game where screwing up is more funny than frustrating, this is it.”
- “The writing is really unfunny, with 'wacky' one-note characters talking your ear off while trying to play campaign mode.”
- “The humor falls flat, making it hard to enjoy the game when the jokes feel forced and repetitive.”
- “The attempt at humor is overshadowed by frustrating gameplay mechanics, leaving little room for genuine laughs.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by various bugs, including issues with the campaign mode, saving mixes, and server reliability, which have led to frustration among users. While some players report a smooth experience and enjoyment in creating mixes, visual glitches and problematic interactions detract from the overall gameplay. Despite these issues, many still find the game enjoyable and worth the price.
- “The campaign mode was garbage, saving and exporting mixes was buggy, and the game servers shut down barely over two years from launch.”
- “I've encountered quite a few different visual glitches, and it's not as streamlined as it pretends to be, which makes organizing your DJ booth quite frustrating.”
- “Recording the instruments seems buggy, especially when you put something on loop and rewind a recording.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Character development in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding the character design unsettling and lacking depth. However, there are positive aspects for those who enjoy self-expression, such as music mixing and customizable effects for performances. Overall, while the character development may not resonate with everyone, it offers creative outlets for players.
- “There's a lot here for people that enjoy expressing themselves in games, from the music mixing to character design to picking effects for your stage show.”
- “The worst part of this game to me comes from character development.”
- “The character design is really off-putting, but that's not the only issue.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express that the game evokes a strong emotional connection, particularly highlighting the immersive experience of feeling like a DJ. The excitement for future content further enhances this emotional engagement, with one user rating it a perfect 10/10.
- “It genuinely made me feel like a DJ at times.”
- “10/10 made me feel like a DJ, can't wait for new songs to be added.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
100%
The atmosphere is highlighted as vibrant and engaging, particularly in the context of a lively, packed private room where players can experience the unique magic of jamming together, despite the absence of text chat.
- “You'll never recreate the party atmosphere of a packed private room where the magic of jamming together is perfectly synced, even without text chat.”
- “The immersive atmosphere draws you in, making every moment feel alive and engaging.”
- “The hauntingly beautiful soundtrack perfectly complements the visuals, creating an unforgettable atmosphere.”
- “You'll never recreate the party atmosphere of a packed private room where the magic of jamming together is perfectly synced - even if there's no text chat.”