Not many people have had the opportunity to conduct a 50-person orchestra to the tune of Hedwig's Theme on the grounds of Hogwarts Castle, but I have. Watching brooms fly through the sky as the woodwinds seemingly controlled them with their sounds was both mesmerizing and haunting.
In his weekly column, Android Central Senior Content Producer Nick Sutrich delves into all things VR, from new hardware to new games, upcoming technologies, and so much more.
Or maybe you'd rather be in the orchestra, playing the instruments instead of conducting everyone's performance? Two new rhythm games on the Meta Quest platform let you do just this, and they've instantly rocketed themselves on the best Meta Quest games list for their ingenious design. While these two share a few themes in common, their energy couldn't be any different.
Maestro is a semi-serious orchestra conducting simulator in which you play as a conductor and use your hands—not your controllers—to keep the group playing on time and in the right order. Get it right, and you'll be "unleashing the heavens" of music, as maestro Eric de Roch puts it. Get it wrong, and tomatoes will fly at you and your valiant troupe.
Trombone Champ Unflattened is all about silliness and fun, bridging the taboo sounds between notes in a way you can't fully appreciate until you've tried it. You don't even have to get the song right! Just play to your heart's content and make it to the end. The goal is fun, not winning, but there's room for both.
The magic of the symphony
I've never been to a symphony in real life, but I've been part of a big band back in my school days. I never really understood the purpose of a conductor until I was in the shoes of one myself. Trying the Maestro: The Masterclass free demo convinced me that I needed to give this game a try, and I'm so glad I did.
Most music games give you an instrument to play from a first-person perspective. This is usually shown as music notes sliding down a linear path until you press the right button or slice the block the correct way. Everyone is familiar with the Guitar Hero interface, as I like to refer to it, and few games change up this formula for fear of confusing the player.
Maestro is both similar and different at the same time. Notes do progress from the back of the orchestra hall toward you as the conductor, but they don't all appear in one location. Rather, each section of the orchestra has its own set of notes and actions that will appear over their heads when the time is right.
It's your job as a conductor to take the appropriate action to tell the right sections of the orchestra when and how to play. A slow palm movement down will keep things quiet, while a quick jab of the finger lets a section know it's their time to shine.
Things start off simple enough but quickly get harrowing as song complexity and difficulty ramps up. Within a few songs, you'll be directing up to 120 musicians with your full range of movement. I've rarely had so much fun playing a rhythm game, and not with one that's a fully hand-tracked experience since Unplugged: Air Guitar debuted many years ago.
What's more impressive to me is the breadth of actions you can perform. Unplugged works well because the camera can see your individual fingers at all times, so playing notes on a guitar is relatively easy for it to track. But Maestro uses your whole hand and your entire arm as you sweep across the landscape of musicians in front of you.
I had no idea I would enjoy conducting an orchestra so much, but the game's brilliant mechanics make you instantly feel like an expert.
It's mesmerizing enough to play on your own, but even watching someone else play feels truly inspiring. The game dropped its first DLC, Secret Sorcery, just after the new year and represents an impressive list of songs that include favorites from "Harry Potter," "Fantasia," and more classical composers.
And while the main game mainly relies on a catalog of classical songs, I promise you won't get bored if classical isn't normally your thing. What begins as a normal orchestra stage quickly transforms into anything from the streets of New York City — in very Broadway-stage fashion — to the backdrop of the French Revolution, with cannons booming and fireworks popping as you hit the notes.
It's a stunning game that everyone absolutely needs to play, and like I said before, there's a free demo to try first. If nothing, Eric de Roch's character was enough to get me interested in the tutorial, and the gameplay finished sucking me into the glorious atmosphere that awaited.
The not-so-serious rhythm game
There's little doubt you've heard of Trombone Champ. The game launched in September 2022 to critical acclaim and was nominated for a BAFTA award. It spawned countless YouTube videos where content creators hilariously played the trombone as terribly as possible. Everyone, apparently, loved it.
So why would you want to play it again in VR? Because, this time, you're actually playing a trombone instead of just sliding a mouse or joystick up and down. You'll hold both controllers as if you're holding a physical trombone and slide your leading hand forward and backward to change notes.
While it uses a similar sliding note UI from the flat version, it's not right in front of your face. Instead, you'll find it placed at an angle going away from you so that the notes float forward, similar to other rhythm games. Being on both sides of the screen encourages more movement and makes it easier to see what's coming up next.
Physically sliding the tuning slide forward and backward is an incredibly fun and visceral mechanic. This gives you true control over the notes and makes it more fun to play than just tapping a joystick up and down. Because of it, you'll develop muscle memory over time, so playing each note feels authentically like playing a note from a real trombone.
Of course, this is where the "real" portion of the game stops and, quite frankly, why it's so much fun. Very little in the game is taken seriously, and it is absolutely a fun-first approach. Songs can be completed without playing a single note correctly, and while you won't score very well, you'll have a blast the whole way through.
Music selection is incredibly varied, featuring 58 tracks that encompass everything from classical to literal meme internet songs. But it doesn't stop there! The Lunar New Year update that just launched features full custom song support in-headset, which means you won't have to hook up a PC or do any modding to get your favorites in game. Eat your heart out, Beat Saber.
It's the best $15 you'll probably ever spend on the Quest store.
Progression is pretty standard rhythm game fare, but you can always free-play if you don't want to follow the required progression track. My favorite part of the progression is how the game requires you to earn specific collectible cards to unlock different trombones and other items.
Each collectible card is usually about a real composer, musician, instrument, or other musical item, but all of them have hilarious descriptions and artwork. The game is weirdly obsessed with hot dogs and always interjects hot dog-related humor into these cards. It's as bizarre as it sounds, but in keeping with the rest of the game's theme, it's pure comedy.
Custom trombones can also make custom sounds, so they do something more than just look cool or funny. Laughter is medicine for the soul, and it's clear my soul is pretty healthy after playing this game. I've never laughed so hard at any rhythm game before, and it's become a weekly "prescription" for me since its launch in November.
Seriously, it's the best $15 you'll probably ever spend on the Quest store.
