Thumper asks you to kill Crakhed, via the medium of rhythm racing

What is it that games have against the English language? If they're not replacing letters with numbers, they're offering up some weirdly capitalised monstrosity. On a related note, meet "T H U M P E R", or "THUMPER", or, from here-on out, just "Thumper", a rhythm racer from DROOL... or Drool. It's a game that appears to sit inside a Venn diagram containing WipEout, Audiosurf and Dyad, only none of those featured a giant and jagged metallic beast called Crakhed.

"Due for release in 2014, the game stars the titular THUMPER, the ultimate space beetle with a high-polish chrome exterior. Players must guide THUMPER through high-speed action and uncharted psychic territories towards his nemesis, CRAKHED."

It's being made by ex-Harmonix programmer Marc Flury, and Lightning Bolt bassist Brian Gibson. That's a strong line-up for a rhythm game, and as someone with an appreciation of both the genre and of nightmarish metallic hellscapes, I look forward to seeing how it plays.

THUMPER is DUE OUT sometime next YEAR. Oh god, I'm doing it now. For more DETAILS, head to the game's website .

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.