It's an interesting, and quite interesting absurdist comedy if you ask me, and I find the Rhythm game aspect quite interesting in a way that's approachable for beginners, and those who love Rhythm games, might have to buy the soundtrack.

TROMBONE and the way a note is played no matter what is quite interesting.

"Trombone in the sky!"

The game surprises with its unconventionality and surprising approach to entertainment. Although it may seem strange at first glance, playing the trombone with real tones quickly proves to be an extremely fun and interesting experience.

In "Trombone Champ," you won't find traditional dialogues or a storyline in the traditional sense of the word. Instead, players take on the role of a talented trumpeter who competes in various musical challenges using real trumpet tones. This approach not only allows players to experience music in a completely new way but also to develop their musical skills in an enjoyable and humorous manner.

Despite its uniqueness, "Trombone Champ" also offers a certain form of storyline. Although it may not be as elaborate as in other games, it still provides a certain context and motivation for players to continue their musical journey.

One of the first memories I have of intaking the internet's opinion on games is learning that Wii Music, a game that I loved before I could put it into words, was nearly universally criticized and made fun of. And while I intentionally avoid playing Wii Music for fear of realizing that my nostalgia is hiding a pretty underwhelming experience, I've never forgotten the feeling that game gave me - a feeling that adult me, for the first time, got through Trombone Champ.

Trombone Champ is an extremely goofy game, to some pretty high highs, like some really great jokes, and some pretty low lows, like the requirements to beat the game pretty much just being random. But, when you actually get into the gameplay, it's just so much fun to play. It's not a rhythm game that you could sink your teeth into for months on end, and the actual music played doesn't always, or usually, sound that great - but the approach towards appreciation for the fun of playing is so immensely rewarding.


It's pretty easy to get custom songs downloaded too, and, while some people create not so fun tracks, when you find a song you love with an actually fitting track - it creates such a rhythmically terrific time. Definitely a game I'll return to a bunch, as the catalogue of songs, both official and unofficial, continue to grow.

9/10
Game #30 of 2024, May 16th

This game is unironically great. Like it isn't just a stupid comedy game, but also a great rhythm game. It is genuinely a fun time trying to toot in rhythm and pitch to the music, even if it can feel impossible at times. Heck it feeling impossible just adds to the comedy of the game, which I must say is quite great. Like they almost certainly could've used a trombone sound that sounded ya know... good, but instead they decided on this awful sound, which just makes the songs sound so incredibly stupid it's incredible. All the weird baboon/hot dog shit is just the cherry on top.

I do have some complaints with the switch version though. First off, it did freeze on my a few times when I earned some the rewards (like the trombone colors). Also I only saw one joke on the loading screen throughout the entire game. Neither is a big deal, but are certainly annoyances. What is kind of a big problem is that the tilt controls constantly drifted to the point where I essentially pointing the switch screen at the ground or 180 degrees away from my face. I often had to pause to recalibrate 2 or 3 times during some of the songs. Outside of calibration the motion controls worked really good actually, but constantly having to recalibrate definitely sucked. Honestly may have given this game a 5/5 if it weren't that one control issue, as I do think this game achieves exactly what it is going for. So probably play the PC version, if that is available for you.

Best rhythm game?

It offers a great selection of songs, and you can add a dozen more with mods.

I may or may not have grinded high scores for this too xD