When is the Thrasher release date? Thrasher is a new arcade psychedelic racer from the composer and artist behind Thumper, where you control a space eel that must drift across tight turns at a breakneck pace. It’s another music game with arcade-like combat, and it’ll be coming to VR first, with flatscreen versions arriving later.
If you own one of the best VR headsets, games like Thrasher allow you to immerse yourself in a musical experience that can’t easily capture the same effect outside virtual reality. So, if you enjoyed musical experiences like Rez Infinite and Beat Saber or raved along to Tetris Effect, here’s everything you need to know about the Thrasher release date.
Thrasher release date estimate
The official Thrasher release date is sometime in 2024, and it will be coming first to Quest and PC via Steam VR. Given how late in the year Thrasher was announced and that a small team is making it, it’s unlikely we’ll see it before Q2 2024 or the flatscreen versions until Q1 2025 at the earliest.
This news comes from Thrasher’s reveal trailer, shown during the Game Awards 2023 stream. A separate post on Thrasher’s Steam page also confirms that Brian Gibson, who created the music for Thumper, is part of the development team alongside Mike Mandel, whose credits include Rock Band, Fuser, and Fantasia: Music Evolved.
It was also announced that there will be a flatscreen version for Steam and consoles released afterward. However, as this was an aside made at the end of the Steam Community post, it’s not yet known when that will be.
Thrasher trailer
Deciphering precisely what we can see in the Thrasher trailer is a bit tricky. Still, it looks as if the player controls an avatar with some wand-like device, not too dissimilar in shape to that of a Nintendo Wii remote. With it, the player traces a path for the cosmic space eel that weaves around the screen, passing through lines to build combos before hurtling itself into an oncoming foe.
These are generally themed around the background itself, with some examples including an ominous-looking skull with sharp-pointed teeth, space squids, and a giant balloon. At the very end, we even see the creepiest-looking baby imaginable, which we imagine the cosmic eel will have to deal with at some point.
Thrasher gameplay
According to the Thrasher Steam page, how you play Thrasher is up to you. You can challenge yourself to “swoop, dash, and thrash across the void at breakneck speed, busting through obstacles and stacking up combos as you battle towards the next boss”, or have a chill time by simply letting the mesmerizing music and vibrant visuals take hold. Other than this, though, everything else we know is in the trailer, meaning there’s plenty more to be revealed in the near future.
Sadly, that’s everything revealed about the Thrasher release date and even the game itself. However, if you want more mind-boggling VR experiences, check out the best VR games list for our up-to-date recommendations. Those without VR devices may have to wait a while, so here are the best indie games you can play now.