![]() Once I fall into the groove, the whole thing feels like an extremely satisfying version of Hack and Slash gameplay. I found that I never needed it as the environment is bouncing or pulsing with the rhythm plants bounce, pipes pulse, platforms shift like clocks, and Chai is constantly tapping his foot and snapping his fingers. The biggest assist is the optional timing gauge that can appear on the bottom of the HUD. If you need a visual sense of timing, they have a couple of ways to make it easier. If you press the button again right when the hit connects, you can stay on time and create combos. ![]() Even if you input a command off beat, the game plays a slightly different animation that makes a move take a smidge longer so every single hit lands on the beat. Think Devil May Cry set to a basic 4/4 metronome. The combat in Hi-Fi Rush is entirely rhythm based. Thankfully,those were far outweighed by genuine chuckles and smiles. As I previously mentioned, there is a sizable dose of meta-humor that mostly lands, but there were a couple of jokes that made me genuinely roll my eyes. It isn’t going to win any originality awards in the core plot, but it was engaging and genuinely charming. It is a fun, well-paced narrative that is always in the background of what you’re doing. I was surprised at how serious the game took its storytelling. If you’ve ever wanted a game where you destroy robots using a Cherry Red Flying V guitar made of scrap metal, you’ve found it. This is the reasoning behind the game’s rhythm-based combat and puzzle solving, which runs throughout the experience. In the process, Chai’s MP3 Player accidentally gets implanted Iron Man style into the chest piece that is powering and sending commands to his new robotic magnet arm. We’re introduced to some of the executives of the Vandelay Corporation, this game’s literal and narrative “Bosses” (the game relies on a healthy dose of meta humor along with the more slapstick physical gags). Seeing our slacker hero running along a colorful path in perfect timing to The Black Keys while a blue sky and warm sun shine down from above is absolutely infectious. The game clearly intends to set a mood immediately and does it well, as it’s some of the best mood setting I’ve ever seen. He’s signing up for an experimental procedure to fix his broken arm. We’re introduced to Chai, a happy go lucky but kind of dumb hipster dancing along to his nondescript MP3 Player. The opening cinematic is a beautifully realized animated sequence that would best be described as Anime-lite. Even still, I can’t help but give a full-throat shoutout to the designers behind how this game looks because it is phenomenal. It is a shame that a large portion of the levels focus on similar factory settings because the open-air portions stand out with such strength. I found myself exploring just to prolong getting to look at the environments. The cell shading in Hi-Fi Rush is the best I’ve ever seen. I have always been a fan of well-done cell-shaded graphics. The art design and graphics Tango Gameworks have created is nothing short of fantastic. ![]() Related Reading: Hi -Fi Rush Director Says Game Has Been in Development Since 2017, Pre-Bethesda Buyout.But right from the opening, Hi-Fi Rush sets itself apart. We’ve also seen a few other attempts to mix rhythm with different genres that have achieved varying success. Anyone above a certain age can remember the absolute cultural dominance that Guitar Hero and Rock Band once commanded. While there have been releases in both genres in the past few years, both have become far more niche since their glory days. The rhythm genre and the Japanese hack-and-slash variety of action games have both seen better days. Not to get ahead of myself, but it’s a blast. But it has made such an impact that we decided to discuss it in this review anyway. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’ve already played the game since it is on Game Pass. That and the fact that this colorful, blue skies and happy times style action rhythm game has been in secret development at Tango Gameworks, a studio known for the dark horror franchise The Evil Within, made the announcement even more surprising. Microsoft and Bethesda didn’t even make us wait that long after announcing and releasing Hi-Fi Rush on the same day last week. The most recent in memory was the big shadow launch was Apex Legends, which had about a week between announcement and launch. ![]() We rarely get complete and out-of-nowhere surprise releases in the video game world. ![]()
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