At the Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct showcase in January 2023, there was one surprise the publishers were able to somehow keep under their hats. Hi-Fi Rush is really a new game from Bethesda, developed by Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Ghostwire Tokyo), and it’s completely unlike the spooky and horrific games the Tango is becoming synonymous with.
It’s a bright, colourful, and expressive character action game within the vein of Devil May Cry, with a rhythm element. The world moves to a singular beat, which beat informs from character movement, enemy attacks, as well as your own actions, enough where syncing your button presses using the beat will enhance the effects of your own attacks and movement abilities.
Hi-Fi Rush was simultaneously announced and released on Xbox and PC. It had been also provided on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
So far, it’s been a wonderful surprise.
In a 2023 interview with Japanese games publication Famitsu (as translated by VGC), Tango Gameworks CEO Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil, Resident Evil 4, God Hand) mentioned that the company didn't wish to become synonymous with survival horror games, in spite of his legacy among the creators of Resident Evil – one from the earliest examples of the genre.
In exactly the same interview, he teased the existence of what would become Hi-Fi Rush: ‘John Johanas, who directed the DLC for The Evil Within and The Evil Within 2, is working on a completely new title that's the complete opposite of horror… It's a great game, so look out.’
‘The complete opposite’ is appropriate.
A half-dozen hours with Hi-Fi Rush so far, and that i can’t stop smiling. It makes a very strong impression in the opening hours – the art direction is bright and eye-popping, and also the characters are lively, endearing and self-aware. The Saturday morning cartoon-style animation, where characters move at a lower framerate to imitate a hand-animated cel style, looks fantastic. There is a lot of affection, artistry, and attention to detail here.
But the rhythm-infused melee combat is, obviously, the main star from the show – a dynamic and flashy system that is satisfying to experience with, even in its most basic form. Like the many other character action games which have come before it, strings of continuous light or heavy attacks form combos, but ensuring each button you press is around the beat from the soundtrack (every beat for light attacks, and each second beat for heavy attacks) will give the attack extra oomph, in addition to come with visual and audio feedback that provides you a small endorphin hit every time.
As the game progresses, Hi-Fi Rush gradually introduces mechanics like combo finishers, dodges, different assist characters that bring their own weapons into the fray, special abilities, a grappling hook, and a parry and counter system. All of these things are tied to the same beat.
It could be satisfyingly complex, if you want it to be. Just a few procedures in, fighting a group of enemies in Hi-Fi Rush is a highly entertaining exercise in methodically keeping the beat by using your controller as a percussion instrument while you continuously string movement and attacks together – one, two, three, four, attack, attack, pause, attack, jump, slam, grapple, dodge, parry, parry, counter, finisher.
For someone who’s a large fan of both rhythm action and character action games, Hi-Fi Rush is an utter joy – a perfect synergy of satisfying, skill-based systems. But for those who aren’t as rhythmically inclined, the sport also features a quantity of difficulty and accessibility options, for example clearer beat indicators or perhaps automated combat functions that seemingly make it possible to savor the sport as a colourful, button-mashing brawler.
Many people on social media have remarked that it feels like a video game in the late 1990s and early 2000s that’s somehow made its way to the current age, something that might have felt at home around the Sega Dreamcast or Nintendo GameCube – and they’re absolutely right. The colourful art style and attitude are in-line with games of times like Jet Set Radio. Some of the licensed music choices initially raised some eyebrows – like Zwan, the short-lived supergroup from Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan – but they’re from those years, to ensure that kinda is sensible too, I believe?
Even the style of game it is – character action and rhythm action – experienced a golden age during this period. Actually, Shinji Mikami served because the Executive Producer on the best character action titles of that era, like Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and God Hand – though that’s not to discount the most obvious work of director John Johannes, and the rest of the team that brought the sport alive.
Maybe it’s because it’s the best here we are at 2000s nostalgia. Maybe games have been long overdue for any title from the major publisher that feels so carefree and exuberant. Could it have been just nice to get a great surprise to kick off the entire year.
Whatever the reason, the presence of Hi-Fi Rush is a blessing. It’s a game that’s simple to love, hard to pay, and merely an utter delight to spend time with. What a great way to start 2023.
Hi-Fi Rush is available now on Xbox consoles and PC via Steam or even the Microsoft Store. It’s available too around the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
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