Being a rhythm game, Trombone Champ understandably takes a lot of its core gameplay mechanics from other massive rhythm franchises such as Guitar Hero, but does enough to entirely stand on its own two feet. While its gameplay is decidedly unique, it is the way that the title has attained such an instantaneous viral status that is intriguing many players.
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The Basics of Trombone Champ
Trombone Champ is a recently released indie title on Steam, developed and published by the New York based studio Holy Wow. Being a rhythm game, the core gameplay of the title revolves around timing button presses to match the overwhelming amount of beats and notes that appear on-screen.
The title is unique, however, in the comedic and almost slapstick way in which it conducts itself. Like a real trombone, players are able to hold notes and slide the octaves up and down to match other beats while having to monitor their breath intake, often leading to a range of funny sounds. The often vibrant and whacky backgrounds and animations that appear during gameplay only enhance the comic tone. Trombone Champ is also complimented by a Nintendo Mii inspired character that moves in sync with the player’s trombone inputs.
Outside of gameplay, Trombone Champ features a tongue-in-cheek take on the loot box systems that are often found in contemporary videogames. Players earn “toots” for completing tracks well, with the game’s music catalog almost entirely being made up of historic and iconic trombone-centric classical music pieces. Toots can be exchanged to purchase card “sacks,” which randomly give the player four fact-sheet cards of famous historic trombone players. These cards provide a tangible goal for the player to fully attain, but in the process Trombone Champ manages to teach its players an element of musical history under the guise of comedy.
How Trombone Champ Became A Viral Sensation
Thanks to Holy Wow’s multifaceted emphasis on the funny sides of Trombone Champ, the game has quickly managed to go viral, despite its small indie roots. While rhythm games have historically been vibrant and entertaining, they are also often typified by intense and demanding gameplay, which Trombone Champ does not build itself around by any means.
The gameplay of Trombone Champ is decidedly quite difficult, but this only further fosters comedic gameplay in forcing the player to wildly slide between juxtaposing octaves to create an amusing array of sounds. The fun absurdity of Trombone Champ is only further aided by the music that is actually being played, with players regularly if inadvertently butchering the works of classical music icons such as Beethoven and Mozart.
The funniest clips of Trombone Champ are easily sharable and digestible, since viewers don’t have to understand anything else about the title to appreciate any gameplay that they may come across, which only helps its rapid level of viral attention. Additionally, the immediate association with the title’s Guitar Hero-like mechanics provides an instant connection between what is usually seen as serious and meticulous gameplay with gameplay that is more overtly relaxed and of lower stakes. With the lack of seriousness in what is otherwise a very focused and difficult genre, combined with recognizable music and a flamboyant flair, it is no wonder that Trombone Champ has risen to the kinds of instant online popularity that it already has.
Trombone Champ is available now for PC.
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