Smash Drums conjures up a drum kit in your living room and is a lot of fun thanks to its Rock Band influence and a high level of polish.
I have never played real drums, but Smash Drums made me feel like a rock star from the first minute.
When I started playing, I was immediately reminded of my days with Rock Band. Smash Drums has a similar great feel, but without the space-consuming plastic drums that you have to put away after playing. I put on Quest 3 and within less than a minute, I’m banging away in my living room. Fantastic.
A rhythm game for everyone
Smash Drums is self-explanatory, and you can start playing right away (I recommend skipping the tutorial). The position of the drums and the interface can be adjusted to your needs, as well as the difficulty level of the songs. There’s really nothing to get in the way of your fun.
There are a number of fully immersive environments you can play in. As a mixed reality enthusiast, I prefer the passthrough view because I can always see the physical environment. Plus, the drums somehow feel more real when they’re standing in my living room.
Smash Drums currently offers 58 free rock songs and four paid DLCs (70s, 80s, punk and hard rock), each with five songs for $7.
For online players, there is a co-op and versus mode, as well as a leaderboard where you can compete with other drummers. I only tried the single-player mode.
Smash Drums is looking great on Quest 3
Smash Drums was released for Meta Quest in 2021 and has been regularly updated and expanded ever since.
In 2022, the studio released “Classic Mode,” which introduced an interface familiar from other rhythm games like Rock Band. A mixed reality mode with a passthrough view followed in September 2023 and in October a Quest 3 update rolled out that increased the render resolution by a factor of 2.6 compared to Quest 2. The latest update was released a few days ago and further improved the mixed reality mode: The game now launches and loads in passthrough view, and Quest 3’s room scan is no longer required, so you can jump right in.
It was the mixed reality trailer (see above) that piqued my curiosity and convinced me to give Smash Drums a try. A decision I don’t regret.
You can purchase Smash Drums from the Quest Store for $20. If you take advantage of the current Quest Sale, you can spend the money you saved on one of the DLCs.
Source: Mixed News
