Hi-Fi Rush is one of those games where you can just look at a small clip of it and immeaditly get it's whole appeal and charm instantly. Hi-Fi Rush is one of the most breathtaking games visually and it instantly drew me in. It is like a cartoon come to life and it's colors and style pop much more than the average comic book inspired game or cell shaded adventure. At times it was hard to tell what was animated and what was in game, the transistions are just so smooth. The varied animations and crazy emotions displayed really sell what the game is serving up and I found it impossible not to be charmed by it. So rarely does a good look this good that it was one of the main reasons why I had to play it. Sure many games look good but Rush's appeal was it's look almost more than it's gameplay.

Hi-Fi Rush has a fantastic set of characters that all provided a great deal of charm and well character to the game. The games story can be vague at the start and rather simple but it's not looking to tell a deep tale, just a rush of a basic one done enthusiastically. The game is eaqually parts enderaing and funny. The small little animations and quips really sell a scene and it's tone. I was blown away by how charming like every NPC was with their dialog and commentary. One of my favorite things to do in the game was whack a NPC with the guitar just to see what line they would spew afterwards and I don't think a single NPC repeated a single reaction. Game just oozes quality. Characters have more appeal in a 2 second background expression than most do in a ten minute cutscene.

Hi-Fi Rush's gameplay is pretty damn unique and a refreshing take on the character action genre. I never concieved a action game could meld so well with an action game but it does a great job here. Everything in Rush is timed to a simple 1-2 beat. Every jump, attack, dodge and action can be timed into the levels music to hit a little harder or go a little faster. The more your on beat the better you do. Even a nice visual indicator is always present next to you as you move your character around or you can turn on a visual bar on the bottom of the screen. When I say everything is in tune with the beat, I mean everything. From stuff in the background like trees blowing in the wind, gears going left to right or lights blinking and lights jumping up and down. Hell even your characters movement animation is always to the beat of the song and even when not moving he snaps his fingers to the beat. So you have many indicators on screen to show you what the tempo is, so trying to match that in your playstyle is the whole name of the game. Even finishing basic combo's follows a small circle timing mini game that you have to press at the right time of the beat to do increased damage just give you an extra punch and visual reward. Blocking and parrying enemy attacks in rapid musical succession is both fast, hard and satisfying but it all lines up with the game. Hi-Fi Rush is one of the few action games that really rewards you on taking your time, making precise beat hits and doing everything in rythm. This is one of those things where the skill ceiling is incredibly high. Sure you could play and just go in and play it like a basic beat um up and do just fine and easily come in on top but like others in the genre like Devil May Cry or other rank based games it's about how perfect and flashy you can be. Like most rythm based games score and rank is a big part of the presentation and appeal and Hi-Rush is no different. I like to consider myself an above average action game player who regularly plays on high difficulties but I didn't net a single S rank in my normal playthrough on any stage or battle. Still had a blast though. Hi-Fi Rush though is pretty old school with it's scoring and achievents and beating the game no less than 5 times and score perfect ranks on all difficulties on all stages PLUS added challanges is where all the replay value is at. Just like any rythm game.

I knew a couple of hours into playing that Hi-Fi Rush was going to score great with me. On paper it does everything right and is incredibly well thought out and a great experiance. It kept up it's visual splendor the whole time and I wholly enjoyed it. If I had to say anything negitive about it, I do think some of the combat became a bit of a chore in the later half. I don't like how character assist spammy the game becomes and it feels like a requirement at getting good ranks which is really annoying. Also latter game enemies always have this armor on you can't deal damage against until you remove their sheild unless you break it with a character assist move. Which is annoying when I just wanna go in and attack myself. The game would also really benefit better with a lock on feature as I always found it hard to narrow down a single enemy. Loved the idea behind the combat but I think it does need a bit more polish. It didn't not hinder my enjoyment of the game at all though. I just don't think I wanna grind out that massive acheivement list though.

All in all I would recommened Hi-Fi Rush to just about anybody. The casual gamer down to the die hard score attack fiend, it has something for everybody and it's hard to resist it's charm.

I think the best sales pitch I can give this game is even as someone who blows absolute ass at any rhythm game HiFi was still a incredibly fun and exciting experience that has been missing from gaming for a while now. The game is just oozing with style and on top of that it has actual substance which I notice a lot of games like this lack. The soundtrack is top tier not a single miss as far as I am concerned.

The game is incredibly funny as well like i was audibly laughing at multiple points. The characters are amazing I really ended up liking macaron and chai but like I said before every character was amazing even the random npc bots.

The boss fights kick all kinds of ass love every single one. It will never not be a fucking travesty that not only the amazing studio got shut down alongside two others but that a sequel was in early production and got cancelled.

Essentially this review is one long winded way of saying fuck you microsoft and Phil Spencer never pretend you’re for gamers ever again.
Finally to those who worked at tango thank you, you guys far exceeded expectations despite literally everything being against you and for that be proud of your efforts you deserve it.

Devil May Cry meets Dance Dance Revolution, Tango Gameworks deserved better. My second favourite of 2023.

Imagine having no marketing and or hype and just dropping this absolute banger filled with great music, actually funny humour/characters, stylish combat and a cartoon aesthetic that just puts a smile on your face. No multiplayer, no game content filled off by DLC. Just a solid game with unlockables and high scores from a major studio in 2023.

Everything moves to the music, not least my foot tapping away, a flawless gem.

maaan when i heard nine inch nails i started breakdancing in my living room

gameplay is responsive and punchy, everything u could ask out of a character action game.

there are some issues, difficulty spikes and on later stages the screen gets filled up with so much stuff it might be hard to follow.

goated bosses and goated soundtrack (even on streamer mode)

fuck you microsoft

This game reminds me so much of old school capcom and early clover studios that it brings a tear to my eye. It's got big Viewtiful Joe energy and that's a very good thing.

This is a character action game where the gimmick is that everything, all your attacks are to the rhythm of the soundtrack. Fighting naturally has a rhythm to it so I'm surprised this idea wasn't done sooner. It's pulled off very well. The characters and story are really the stars of the show here as the character animation is incredible and the writing is actually funny.

Now, the combat while very competent, I feel is limited by the rhythm gimmick. It's extremely bog standard "light heavy dodge parry super" stuff we've been seeing since the PS2 days. However, since this game in feel largely seems to be a throwback to those days, it gets a pass, especially since it pulls everything off so well. It's just all stuff we've seen before.

Only a couple hours in but it's fun! LOVE the art style and animation. It's gorgeous to look at. The music is (of course) great. I'm not really sure if I'm great at the rhythm-based combat. It's very difficult for me to focus on timing my button presses to the beat as opposed to the actions playing out on screen. I seem to be getting by without too much difficulty but I never really feel like I'm nailing it as much as I could be. Not super high investment narratively but I'm definitely gonna make an effort to see this one through to the end.

Man this game really did not stick for me at all. I never felt like I had initiative in combat, I just had to stick to the same beat of the same soulless rock song over and over again. Putting everything to a beat sounds like a great idea, but without high energy music, it just falls flat. The soundtrack is so boring and sanitary that it might sound pleasing, but the lack of bite or interesting composition leads to the rest of the package suffering from the same issues. Maybe, the aesthetic just is not for me as I tend to prefer faster, more aggressive metal music or maybe the music really is lacking the same kind of energy the visuals have. Either way, I did not feel like playing more of the game.

That being said, my opinion is not representative of the majority and Tango Gameworks getting shut down is an awful sign for the industry. My biggest concern is about the next generation of game designers. Will current high-schoolers or undergrads take up game design majors if they have next to no job security? Current developers have plenty to fear, but I wonder if this is going to cause a drop in interest for jobs in game development and stifle the progress of the medium.

İt is sad how microsoft treated this game.

-Fun combo strat.

-always on beat is such a nice touch

-Character interactions are decent.

-British mommy