FUSER

Harmonix still feels the rhythm

- Hayden Dingman

Seasons don’t fear the reaper. Nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain.” It’s a song I’ve heard a million times – but never like this. The classic Blue Oyster Cult chorus floats above the downtempo drumbeat from Post Malone’s ‘Better Now’, the synth pads from J Balvin and Willy William’s ‘Mi Gente’, and a light piano flourish from Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’.

The result is haunting, a chillhop medley that sends goosebumps up your spine. Then it’s over, or rather ruined, as Blue Oyster Cult’s poetic ode to everlasting love is interrupted by the opening synth from ‘Party Rock Anthem’, and everyone in the room winces and then starts laughing.

Harmonix is revealing its new game, Fuser and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. I knew that as soon as I walked into my demo – because I’d already played it. Well, sort of. The game I played was called DropMix, and Harmonix released it in 2017. It was a collectible card game that required a physical board, mobile app, and some kind of external speaker to play, on top of booster packs.

“Fuser’s got a lot in common with DropMix from a mechanical standpoint. It’s got none of the headaches DropMix came with, having cards and boards and all that,” says Harmonix’s Daniel Sussman. Harmonix made a fantastic game in DropMix, the problem was nobody could find it. The required RFID-reading base station was difficult to find, and the packs of cards were even more scarce.