When Hi-Fi Rush released at the beginning of this year, it was not a title that I was all that fussed about. This was due to a combination of things including the fact that the game was officially announced for the first time on the same day that it was being released. Beyond this baffling shadow-drop marketing strategy that Bethesda opted for, there was also the fact that the game was released directly to GamePass, meaning that there was little to no hype for the project, until it was suddenly playable for anyone with a GamePass subscription.
Hi-Fi Rush is out now and is available on PC, Xbox and Gamepass.
It was not until after the game released that I even realised that this was a Tango Gameworks title. Frankly this makes the game’s lacklustre release strategy even more frustrating. Tango Gameworks could really have used a win after the letdown that was GhostWire: Tokyo, and Xbox are in a similar position. 2023 has been a really disappointing year for Xbox, both in terms of exclusives and generally. The recent release of Redfall has been a catastrophic failure for the company and making people aware that a solid title like Hi-Fi Rush is out there could have mitigated some of the bad press that Xbox is currently facing.
The reason that I bring all of this up is because Hi-Fi Rush is a truly fantastic game that deserves better than to be lost to the annals of time due to the poor marketing decisions made by Microsoft and Bethesda. The fact that this is a project that spawned from a seed planted by the grandfather of survival horror himself; Shinji Mikami, is utterly mind-boggling in the best possible way. It is a shame that Mikami has since left Tango Gameworks, as Hi-Fi Rush seems as though it will usher in a fresh, new era for the studio.
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Although Hi-Fi Rush does indeed feel like a breath of fresh air for the developer, it simultaneously manages to feel familiar and somewhat nostalgic. This is likely owed to the game’s bold commitment to its, ‘Saturday morning cartoon,’ aesthetic. If Insomniac’s recent Ratchet and Clank games are the video game equivalent of a Pixar movie, then Hi-Fi Rush is the video game equivalent to the Cartoon Network’s heyday.
As stylish and visually stunning as the game’s look is, the immaculate presentation of Hi-Fi Rush goes beyond just a few cel-shaded textures. The UI is functional without being overwhelming and some of the cinematography used in certain cinematics genuinely caused me to forget that I was watching a video game cutscene at times. Also, the design of each of the game’s characters is striking and the animations present are smooth and flow fantastically with the game’s audio. All of this comes together to provide a real sense of quality and style that some may not be expecting from this title.
Speaking of the characters in the game, they all manage to bring an affable likability, while still fitting that Saturday morning cartoon mold. This is helped by the genuinely funny writing in Hi-Fi Rush and the talented voice cast brought in to deliver that witty dialogue. This inbuilt charm leads to cutscenes that are actually fun to watch play out. Some of the world-building achieved via the dialogue is also deeper than one may expect too, without being too expositional or on-the-nose.
Thankfully, the moment-to-moment gameplay matches the high bar set by the game’s presentation. The whole thing is based around combat that takes place within the beat of the game’s soundtrack. This means that the control scheme has to be tight, to allow players to quickly get their heads around complex combos and movement mechanics. Thankfully the controls are intuitive and allow for the player-controlled combat sequences to look just as cool as the non-controllable combat sequences seen during cutscenes.
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The developers have done a great job of making the player feel like a stylish badass, even if they aren’t all that great at the game. This means that the playable sequences don’t only match the cutscenes in terms of their design quality, they also match in terms of how good they feel to watch play out. Even if your timing is slightly off, (which mine admittedly was in certain moments,) what is happening onscreen isn’t hindered by that, meaning that the stylish momentum that the game carries is never broken.
Obviously the fact that the soundtrack is so essential to the essence of what Hi-Fi Rush is, thus said soundtrack is required to be chock-full of absolute bangers and the game also delivers on this front. Aside from featuring heavyweight talent like The Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails, the game also features a streamer-mode, which provides a wholly original soundtrack in place of the licensed music and is also very pleasant on the earholes. Due to the fact that this is a game where combat takes place within the beat of the soundtrack, some have compared Hi-Fi Rush to last year’s brilliant Metal: Hellsinger. However, I actually feel that this game shares more of its DNA with Baby Driver. The tone of Hi-Fi Rush is way more akin to an Edgar Wright movie than it is a Doom-clone.
On top of all of that, just when things are beginning to feel somewhat stale, the game will throw a brand new element at the player. Whether that be a gloriously over-the-top boss fight encounter, or a perspective shift that temporarily turns the game in a side scrolling experience that focuses on platforming, where jumps between precarious platforms are done in time to the beat.
My only gripe with Hi-Fi Rush is that it does take a minute to get going and properly find its rhythm. This is especially irritating given the game’s remarkably short runtime. The fact that a whole precious hour is wasted on distracting tutorials is disappointing. However, after the player reaches that first boss battle, everything is fantastic from that point on.
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Overall, Hi-Fi Rush is a title that is well worth checking out, whether that be via your Gamepass subscription, or for the $30 asking price on Steam. This is a title that feels unique, yet also feels like an interesting progression of what the development team has produced before, albeit within a different genre. Tango Gameworks clearly have a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of what makes a game feel great to play and I am excited to see what they apply those principles to next.
Hi-Fi Rush – 9/10
Hi-Fi Rush was reviewed on PC via Gamepass.
