Thank you Creature Label for providing us with a review code!

Thrasher doesn’t have its story explained in the game, however there’s a video on the Steam store that provides a backstory to this trippy experience.  In this game you are a parasitic worm (also referred to as a space eel) whose goal is to infect the cosmic star child.  This infant is protected by beings who defy dimensional law.  If you can subdue these forces with your powers, you’ll be able to achieve your goal.  

Thrasher consists of nine levels which are divided into three stages.  Each stage consists of nine waves.  At the end of each stage, you’ll have to defeat the boss.  After the boss’ third trouncing, you’ll move on to the next psychedelic realm.  Completing all twenty-seven levels may take less than four hours, but there are multiple game modes, including a harder Play+ mode and a Time Trial mode.  You can also go back and redo the Play mode to improve your scores and global leaderboard rankings.  

Each wave in a level gives you a minute to collect all the multicolor circles or smash through columns of multi-colored lines.  You have to avoid the red-colored objects in the process.  Sometimes the objects you need to destroy are shielded, and you’ll have to break through their barriers to get to your target.  Your score for the level is determined by how much time you have left on the clock.  If you run out of time, the boss will appear and vaporize you with laser beams shot out of its eyes.  Thankfully, you can restart from the wave you left off at, so you won’t lose much progress.  By doing combos, you can add time to your clock.  At the end of each wave you’ll get a letter grade based on your performance.  You’ll also get to see your ranking on the global leaderboards.  Most of the forty-seven Steam achievements require you to finish the levels with an S rank.  You’ll also get achievements for completing each of the nine levels.  

I originally streamed Thrasher in VR using my RTX 4090-powered laptop with an Intel i9 14900HX while wearing the Pimax Crystal Light headset.  The controls were very responsive and accurate.  I appreciate that this game supports non-VR gameplay, and the mouse controls are highly recommended over the Steam Deck controls.  I performed equally well with mouse or VR controls, but was struggling with the Steam Deck’s controller mode.  

The visuals are psychedelic and the objects will go beyond the screen borders no matter if you’re playing in VR or normally.  The 105° field of vision that the Pimax Crystal Light does provide comes in handy, though!   Though I played on the same laptop both ways, I witnessed some stuttering in both VR and normal modes.  My RTX-5080-powered desktop seemed to run better.  

Thrasher is not a relaxing game.  I could only play it in short spurts and enjoyed completing a level during each sitting.  The background music is very tense and definitely adds anxiety while playing!  If you enjoy the soundtrack, you can buy it on Steam for $9.99.  

There’s little to complain about morally, but there is some violence as you have to attack bosses that look like giant heads.  The final boss is a fetus that you have to enter into in order to compromise it.  

The asking price of Thrasher is $9.99, but there are a couple of bundles worth mentioning.  You can get the soundtrack too for a bundle price of $16.98.  If you own Thrasher, you can also get the developer’s previous game, Thumper, for an additional $8.49 which is 15% off. The Steam reviews for Thumper are pretty positive, and many of the reviewers prefer that title over Thrasher.  I have not played Thumper so I cannot comment on that.  I do enjoy and recommend Thrasher, though.