Unexpectedly awesome and inspired. I found the game started a bit slow but picked up quickly enough for that not to matter, reaching a high plateau for most of its run and having a pretty satisfying climax.
The combat is as satisfying as one would expect, with each mechanic getting plenty of extra little layers thrown onto it for a high ceiling when it comes to ranks and scoring. The party members helping Chai out are a great addition to an otherwise solo character-action formula and can really feel like a stack of assists to use when things are heating up too quickly.
I wasn't a huge fan of the way the platforming and non-combat movement felt in the game. I feel making the dash-dodge be infinitely chainable when not in combat would have fixed a lot, as well as maybe making horizontal aerial movement a bit more significant outside of combat so that the forced platforming sections would feel a bit more controlled. Still, they weren't a huge blemish and they were fine, just not really bits I thought were nearly as fully baked as the main meat of the gameplay. They were a sigh rather than a groan.
General level design was great! Gimmicks for partner characters were well utilized and well balanced, and the environments were varied and with lots of interesting geometry. The game could have done with more arenas than just squares and rectangles with invisible walls, but it's generally fairly excusable within the genre. On another note, the collectibles and secrets were a treat, and even with the sort of meh out-of-combat movement it was fun trying to find everything you can. I especially liked the golden statue heads that served as combo practice, too, giving them an added benefit that feels particularly smart.
The amount of effort put into the postgame is also commendable. There's so much unlocked that the end hardly feels like the end, something which I find rare in the medium. It helps, too, that you get to customize your characters by that point to get a nice fresh start of sorts. It's such high effort customization, as well, with lots of new models. Almost unbelievable!
Speaking of characters, the character writing and world writing in this game was a lot of fun and had a distinctly real edge: it was just cynical enough to feel like a mildly futuristic version of the here and now, but not so much so that it was frustrating or grating to listen to. The small bits of characterization the side robots would get through dialogue, descriptions in the museum, and the random journals were great, too.
When it came to the main cast I don't think anyone stuck out more than anyone else, though I did find almost every party member was less than likeable at first yet grew on me as they grew as characters over the course of the game. I would quickly believe that to be intentional, so I applaud the writers for that. The cutscenes were a wee bit long, especially early on before the characters come into their own, but they're generally enjoyable and are well animated.
It helps that the character designs and art style of the game absolutely pop, too! 808 was probably my favorite from the beginning but the bosses and main cast have very fun designs that vary plenty -- Roquefort's boss design in particular was a treat to be sure. All the random enemies all look fine, too, and with the style of the game showing through even in 3d, I think they're all more than serviceable. The animation quality was high as well, which I have to give props to for pretty much every character and environment I could see.
I don't have enough time to unpack all the writing right now but I do appreciate the thematic shitting on the systems we have now throughout the story. I suppose it could have been wider-spanning than what it was but that'd be an entirely different game in terms of scope, so I'm satisfied with how things are handled for the most part. I'm a little iffy on how the ending works with the main corporation changing hands, but with the context given to its power in the system I think it works well enough.
That all the social commentary is expressed through the robot workforce is also clever, I'd say, as it adds its own sort of symbolism to it all. To wrap things with a big bow the game was a shadow drop rather than having mass marketing, which was something of a breath of fresh air for such a quality piece. I find that goes quite a lot in line with what the game is going for.
I don't need to say too much about the music as I'm sure everything's already been said about its quality both with the score and the licensed stuff. It would have been cool to get some more licensed tracks but what is used works plenty well and is thrown in at appropriate times. The game's general aesthetics and its presentation all come together incredibly effectively, intentionally too. There are some bits here and there that reveal the likely relatively low budget the game would have had, but they don't really detract from the experience so much as simply being observations.
I think that covers pretty much all I've got to say on my experience with Hi-Fi Rush. Every time I booted it up after the first couple sessions I had a stellar time, and I found myself wanting to go back to it even after the credits rolled. I'm not sure if I'd give it a replay rather than simply focusing on postgame stuff, but regardless it cemented itself as a strong contender for my Game of the Year this year. It's worth any gamer's time and support and it's a great ride all in all.
The combat is as satisfying as one would expect, with each mechanic getting plenty of extra little layers thrown onto it for a high ceiling when it comes to ranks and scoring. The party members helping Chai out are a great addition to an otherwise solo character-action formula and can really feel like a stack of assists to use when things are heating up too quickly.
I wasn't a huge fan of the way the platforming and non-combat movement felt in the game. I feel making the dash-dodge be infinitely chainable when not in combat would have fixed a lot, as well as maybe making horizontal aerial movement a bit more significant outside of combat so that the forced platforming sections would feel a bit more controlled. Still, they weren't a huge blemish and they were fine, just not really bits I thought were nearly as fully baked as the main meat of the gameplay. They were a sigh rather than a groan.
General level design was great! Gimmicks for partner characters were well utilized and well balanced, and the environments were varied and with lots of interesting geometry. The game could have done with more arenas than just squares and rectangles with invisible walls, but it's generally fairly excusable within the genre. On another note, the collectibles and secrets were a treat, and even with the sort of meh out-of-combat movement it was fun trying to find everything you can. I especially liked the golden statue heads that served as combo practice, too, giving them an added benefit that feels particularly smart.
The amount of effort put into the postgame is also commendable. There's so much unlocked that the end hardly feels like the end, something which I find rare in the medium. It helps, too, that you get to customize your characters by that point to get a nice fresh start of sorts. It's such high effort customization, as well, with lots of new models. Almost unbelievable!
Speaking of characters, the character writing and world writing in this game was a lot of fun and had a distinctly real edge: it was just cynical enough to feel like a mildly futuristic version of the here and now, but not so much so that it was frustrating or grating to listen to. The small bits of characterization the side robots would get through dialogue, descriptions in the museum, and the random journals were great, too.
When it came to the main cast I don't think anyone stuck out more than anyone else, though I did find almost every party member was less than likeable at first yet grew on me as they grew as characters over the course of the game. I would quickly believe that to be intentional, so I applaud the writers for that. The cutscenes were a wee bit long, especially early on before the characters come into their own, but they're generally enjoyable and are well animated.
It helps that the character designs and art style of the game absolutely pop, too! 808 was probably my favorite from the beginning but the bosses and main cast have very fun designs that vary plenty -- Roquefort's boss design in particular was a treat to be sure. All the random enemies all look fine, too, and with the style of the game showing through even in 3d, I think they're all more than serviceable. The animation quality was high as well, which I have to give props to for pretty much every character and environment I could see.
I don't have enough time to unpack all the writing right now but I do appreciate the thematic shitting on the systems we have now throughout the story. I suppose it could have been wider-spanning than what it was but that'd be an entirely different game in terms of scope, so I'm satisfied with how things are handled for the most part. I'm a little iffy on how the ending works with the main corporation changing hands, but with the context given to its power in the system I think it works well enough.
That all the social commentary is expressed through the robot workforce is also clever, I'd say, as it adds its own sort of symbolism to it all. To wrap things with a big bow the game was a shadow drop rather than having mass marketing, which was something of a breath of fresh air for such a quality piece. I find that goes quite a lot in line with what the game is going for.
I don't need to say too much about the music as I'm sure everything's already been said about its quality both with the score and the licensed stuff. It would have been cool to get some more licensed tracks but what is used works plenty well and is thrown in at appropriate times. The game's general aesthetics and its presentation all come together incredibly effectively, intentionally too. There are some bits here and there that reveal the likely relatively low budget the game would have had, but they don't really detract from the experience so much as simply being observations.
I think that covers pretty much all I've got to say on my experience with Hi-Fi Rush. Every time I booted it up after the first couple sessions I had a stellar time, and I found myself wanting to go back to it even after the credits rolled. I'm not sure if I'd give it a replay rather than simply focusing on postgame stuff, but regardless it cemented itself as a strong contender for my Game of the Year this year. It's worth any gamer's time and support and it's a great ride all in all.