Enjoy this collection of choice cuts that’ve been tickling our ears and ribs

Indie rhythm gameTrombone Champreleased on Steam last week, and it deserves a round of applause for its sheer commitment to the brass majesty of the ‘bone. Maybe it’s the selection of classic bangers such as Old Grey Mare and Take Me Out To The Ballgame, or perhaps it’s the constant prompts of NASTY and PERFECTO, but devs Holy Wow seem to be on to a winner. If you haven’t already witnessed the game in action then please do yourself a favour and watch the trailer below.

Trombone Champ was actuallyannouncedtwo years ago, but its release date trailer is just hysterical enough to have caught the imagination of the Internet over the past few days. Cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer got things rolling with a, uhh, beautiful rendition of Beethoven:

The world’s first trombone rhythm game is instantly a GOTY contender. And no, I’m not kidding. Turn up the volume and hear Beethoven like you’ve never heard it before.https://t.co/Qu7Cmkhjzcpic.twitter.com/jTXNdWx3Zm

Let’s get one thing out of the way though – some people are genuinely good at this game. I’m not sure that’s the point, but congrats to them for mad trombone skills:

Haters will say it’s fake (got an A rating on one of the hardest Trombone Champ songs after playing for two hours)pic.twitter.com/B6GXXEagp1

In a darker turn of events, Cursed To Golf dev Liam Edwards may be plotting some kind of supervillainous plan against Holy Wow. He did praise the game as “god tier”, however. Please rise for the national anthem:

Trombone Champ is literally the only game I wish I had made. It’s absolutely out of this world god tier. Fuck.If you have an respect for life, you will play it, laugh and curse the geniuses behind it.#TromboneChamppic.twitter.com/F9zlPwOgj9

Even Valve designer Lawrence Yang’s got in on the trombone action, using the Steam Deck’s gyro controls to play:

Gyro controls may not be the most accurate for Trombone Champ, but they’re definitely the most fun!#TromboneChamp#SteamDeckpic.twitter.com/M68I55lFPy

Best of all though, custom controller maker Rudeism has already crafted a trombone accessory for the game:

Ok, to hell with 3D printing. It’s gonna take agesWe’re building this controller old-school style– TROMBONE ACQUIRED –pic.twitter.com/1Upw6Jx1S4

If I don’t seem to be taking trombones seriously then I do apologise to anyone who rocks brass, but they are some of the most innately daft instruments. I should probably be more sensitive to brassism as someone from Yorkshire, but anything and everything from the simple cornet to the mighty sousaphone just brings a smirk to my mush. Sorry. It’s not because they sound like farts.

Trombone Champ is onSteamfor £11/$15/€13. It might be the best thing I’ve seen all year. You can read the game’s phase one roadmaphere.