Overview

At the start of the year, Xbox held their developer direct conference to showcase many of the upcoming titles that would release within the first half of the year. We'd see many classics get some limelight, like Redfall...you guys remember Redfall? But more importantly, Xbox and Tango Gameworks would casually drop their latest new game, HiFi Rush, and tell us that it would be playable the same day of this Xbox Mini Showcase.

So what is HiFi Rush? Well, HiFi Rush is the latest instalment from Tango Gameworks that takes a massive departure from the gruesome horrors of The Evil Within for a more vibrant hack-and-slash rhythm game oozing with style through its comic-book-like art style. HiFi Rush is a stylish game with a ton of heart and substance. HiFi Rush, to me, is a game that feels nostalgic for something I've played in the past, but at the same time, feels modern, fresh and full of charm and personality. It's a home run for Xbox, and it is one of the highlights and is easily one of the most pleasant surprises of the year for me because, man, I loved HiFi Rush.

Development

The Verge had an interesting interview with HiFi Rush's director John Johana regarding the development and inspirations for Hifi Rush. Some of the musical influences stemming from the director's love for jamming out to Radiohead covers with his school friends. He described the visceral feeling that comes from playing in sync with a group of people and how this level of syncopation would be a core influence for HiFi Rush.

The state of Rhythm games these days is quite an interesting situation seeing a lot of different games meld the core tenants of a Rhythm game with another genre. Some examples in more recent years are games such as BPM or Metal Hellsinger which take a doom-inspired doom ascetic and revolve the fps combat around timing and coordinating your shots to the bear. What we have here with HiFi Rush is a similar evolution that melds the foundations of a Rhythm game and laces them neatly into a hack-and-slash action game. HiFi Rush isn't shy of hiding what it is, from its early 2000s rock-inspired soundtrack to its cartoony visuals and presentation. Overall HiFi Rush pulls influences from many directions whilst also feeling like something refreshing and new. So let's dive into the gameplay for HiFi Rush.

Gameplay

Introduction

When discussing different video games that fall under the hack-and-slash category, we are generally talking about a significant sector of games. All narrowed down into smaller subsets of specialty. Some games that may come to mind for you may be Bayonetta or Devil May Cry, where our focus is centred around style and pattern memorization to flex and finesse your broad skill set of moves. You might think of games focusing on pattern memorization but leaning more towards difficulty, like Ninja Gaiden. HiFi Rush is a game where its central focus is the beat and being in sync. Its combos are less robust and complex than other games, but executing the combos seamlessly to the beat is where the level of mastery for HiFi Rush's combat comes into play.

Combat

HiFi Rush's rhythmic combat is conveyed through auditory means with the music and visually through your floating companion 808, who will flicker on the beat. But it isn't just your companion in sync with the beat. Everything is playing to the rhythm of the music. The environments pop to the tune of the music making HiFi Rush's combat work well. It allows the player a unique variety of abilities. It doesn't punish the player for not hitting on the beat, but instead rewards people who can continuously do so, incentivizing you to want to improve and perfect HiFi Rushes combat and do it in sync. Whilst its combat is centralized around rhythm, it still provides you with various moves and methods to pull off in tandem with the beat. These can take form in multiple combinations of your light and heavy attacks and through different other methods, which we'll discuss now.

Special Attacks

There are many different types of abilities that you can add to your arsenal and upgrade. The first is your special attacks which work like an ultimate attack and can be performed when the orange meter above your health, called the reverb meter, is fully charged. There are a ton of these different abilities that are available to acquire during your playthrough for purchase.

Calling in Companions

On top of Chai's abilities, there are many other characters that you'll meet in your adventures that can be called in temporarily to help deal with particular enemies. These characters are a fun additional trick that can enable you to think on your feet during encounters. That's given that some enemies will counter Chai's standard attacks and allow you to call in these characters. For example, Peppermint can shoot down barriers, and Macaron is able to break shields. These abilities are on a cooldown, so you can't spam these abilities. However, you can unlock modifiers we will discuss later to reduce these cooldowns.

Enemy Encounters

Another great thing about HiFi Rush is that it continuously introduces new techniques and enemies to mix to keep the combat segments refreshing. Some of these tools and techniques come in the form of a grapple or a special attack that you can use to deal with a special signature attack. There are unique enemies you'll encounter who will initiate a special attack that you will have to parry and dodge in a particular pattern and rhythm, and doing so will allow you to finish them off with an insta-kill.

Boss Fights

In HiFi Rush, like with any hack-and-slash game, there will be boss encounters, which are phenomenal. Each boss fight is always a sight to behold, with a unique visual setting and musical piece to match that establish their importance. But more importantly, on the gameplay front, each encounter provides a unique and varied approach to gameplay, from how the enemy engages with both Chai and the beat. These fights are usually used to test the player on how proficient they're with many of the foundational mechanics of the game.

Game Systems

Pics and Different boosts

Between each level or during different stopping points of a level, you'll be able to check-in at the shop where either Peppermint of Macaron will provide you with the ability to purchase pics and what the pics do are provide capabilities to Chai's rotation that mainly work as buffs. Some of these buffs may be in the form of reduced cooldowns, increased damage or reverb. It's an excellent addition and level of flexibility. Whilst not overly robust, it provides enough to service the game's main campaign and a good variety of boons to help accompany the broader aspects of HiFi Rush's gameplay. Because what is so fascinating about HiFi Rush's gameplay is how it works a lot like a piece of music. Each element, from the basic swings of your guitar calling in your companions, or using a special ability, is part of the music's overarching flow. They are what wraps the combat together and bring the musical piece to life through the gameplay.

As with any of the games that fall under this subgenre, HiFi Rush provides multiple different difficulties for replayability, high scores and rankings for each level to chase. HiFi Rush even has its equivalent of the Boody Palace too, which is a ton of fun, and I'm by no means a pro with these kinds of games, but these types of modes are always a welcomed addition and is something that keeps the game fresh even after completing its main story.

Story

Hifi Rush, to me, tells a really charming story, a quirky story centred around Chai, who, after applying for a new arm to pursue his aspirations of becoming a rockstar, is registered a defect. At this moment, he becomes the most wanted by the Vandelay corporation, who have sought to capture the defects of their most recent schemes. To avoid termination, he begins working with your hacker partner Peppermint to end their evil ploys and set out on a rebellious adventure.

The game is full of the rebellious rock attitude accompanying the music playing alongside it. Its early 2000s soundtrack, mixed with its visual ascetic, only bolsters the level of charm and character put into HiFi Rush's universe and characters.

The game is full of character and strikes this perfect balance where it doesn't take itself too seriously but enough to make you care and entertained until the end. This level of charm comes from how self-aware the story of HiFi Rush is. The humour and feeling I get from it sometimes makes me feel like I'm watching an episode of Futurama with the visuals of Viewtiful Joe.

Visual and Sound Presentation

So now we'll dive into two of the core components that steal the show for HIFi Rush for me: the visual art style and presentation and the sound, more importantly, the musical choices for this game. Honestly, this is on point, and both the art design and environments work harmoniously with this game's sound design and music. As I mentioned, everything in this game is in sync, from the cogs turning in the background to the pistons pumping in a factory. Everything is working in unison, and it is all so visually succinct with how it comes across with this comic book flare and art style. Each level and environment pops and creates a unique setting for the type of sound and style they're trying to lay out in each level.

Conclusion

To bring this review to a close, I played HiFi Rush around its release and have been sitting and working on this review and going back to the game whenever I get the chance. This game shows that video games still have a lot of ideas and don't need to be convoluted in concept to stick to the landing. It is a game that makes me feel nostalgic and like I'm in a time capsule whilst merging two genres of video games that go together, like Coffee and Cream.

Chai and his friends are all so charming. The witty writing, musical choices and pieces all mold and make the overall aesthetic of HiFi Rush and henceforth, what I love about it. If you still need to get around to this one, it is worth your time, and if you don't own an Xbox, this is available on both Steam and Xbox Game Pass. I really loved HiFi Rush, and 2023 has been such an incredible year, and despite many great games released back-to-back, Hifi Rush really is one that I still think about regularly and one that, if you give it a chance, I feel will stick with you too.