New Release Review:
Hi-Fi Rush was a wonderful surprise and probably the most unique game I’ve played in a long time. I played and finished the game in 8 hours because I was so focused on Hi-Fi Rush’s rhythm-based combat. To explain the combat, I’ll do a quick explanation of its story which is something that feels like a cartoon show that would be played on a Saturday morning. Not only does it act like a cartoon, but the art of Hi-Fi Rush also takes inspiration from other art styles such as comic books and anime during specific segments. In Hi-Fi Rush you play an inspiring rockstar, Chai, who goes through a cybernetic surgery that accidentally merges his music player to his heart. With his heart now being the music player, everything in the world around him goes to the beat of his music and because of this, he is now labeled as a defect by the corporation responsible for his surgery. With the power of friendship, Chai and the friends that he gains along the way must defeat this evil corporation to the beat of the music.
Now with the world going along to the beat of the music, that means Chai and the player must defeat enemies and time combos to the beat of whatever song is playing. While this might sound difficult, the combat and timing are quite easy and fun. Even if you manage to not hit enemies on the beat, it is still balanced so that you can still do damage and is still fun. Of course, you can level up your abilities so that certain abilities do even more damage on and off the beat. If you’re like me and are tone deaf you might have a hard time hearing the beat, but thankfully not only is there a bar in the UI to help you find the beat, but the world around you literally goes to the beat. Enemies walk and swing on the beat, lights, and doors go to the beat, and so on. At one point you might learn the rhythm and will find yourself tapping your foot or nodding your head causing you to get better level by level.
While I did have fun, there were 2 issues I had during my 8 hours. The game can get very repetitive, and this is because of the level's very formulaic design. When going through each level, you mainly do 2 things, which are platforming and fighting. While there are some minor puzzles and some collectibles it doesn't help change the formula. This might start to affect a player but only near the 3rd quarter of the game, which is either good or bad because it might stop someone from actually finishing it. If we ever see a second game I hope they change up the level formulas so that it stays interesting all the way through, but thankfully for such a unique game, it might not affect a player.
Hi-Fi Rush may have a formulaic level design which causes it to get a little repetitive, the game's cheesy Saturday morning cartoon art style help give life to a game that could've easily failed if not done correctly. Being able to fight enemies to the literal beat of the game's amazing soundtrack, the player can feel like a rockstar, which brings something new to the rhythm-based genre. If a second game does ever gets announced, I will be excited about what Tango Gameworks will bring to the table and hope they give us the show of a lifetime. In the end, I’d give Hi-Fi Rush an 8/10.
Hi-Fi Rush was a wonderful surprise and probably the most unique game I’ve played in a long time. I played and finished the game in 8 hours because I was so focused on Hi-Fi Rush’s rhythm-based combat. To explain the combat, I’ll do a quick explanation of its story which is something that feels like a cartoon show that would be played on a Saturday morning. Not only does it act like a cartoon, but the art of Hi-Fi Rush also takes inspiration from other art styles such as comic books and anime during specific segments. In Hi-Fi Rush you play an inspiring rockstar, Chai, who goes through a cybernetic surgery that accidentally merges his music player to his heart. With his heart now being the music player, everything in the world around him goes to the beat of his music and because of this, he is now labeled as a defect by the corporation responsible for his surgery. With the power of friendship, Chai and the friends that he gains along the way must defeat this evil corporation to the beat of the music.
Now with the world going along to the beat of the music, that means Chai and the player must defeat enemies and time combos to the beat of whatever song is playing. While this might sound difficult, the combat and timing are quite easy and fun. Even if you manage to not hit enemies on the beat, it is still balanced so that you can still do damage and is still fun. Of course, you can level up your abilities so that certain abilities do even more damage on and off the beat. If you’re like me and are tone deaf you might have a hard time hearing the beat, but thankfully not only is there a bar in the UI to help you find the beat, but the world around you literally goes to the beat. Enemies walk and swing on the beat, lights, and doors go to the beat, and so on. At one point you might learn the rhythm and will find yourself tapping your foot or nodding your head causing you to get better level by level.
While I did have fun, there were 2 issues I had during my 8 hours. The game can get very repetitive, and this is because of the level's very formulaic design. When going through each level, you mainly do 2 things, which are platforming and fighting. While there are some minor puzzles and some collectibles it doesn't help change the formula. This might start to affect a player but only near the 3rd quarter of the game, which is either good or bad because it might stop someone from actually finishing it. If we ever see a second game I hope they change up the level formulas so that it stays interesting all the way through, but thankfully for such a unique game, it might not affect a player.
Hi-Fi Rush may have a formulaic level design which causes it to get a little repetitive, the game's cheesy Saturday morning cartoon art style help give life to a game that could've easily failed if not done correctly. Being able to fight enemies to the literal beat of the game's amazing soundtrack, the player can feel like a rockstar, which brings something new to the rhythm-based genre. If a second game does ever gets announced, I will be excited about what Tango Gameworks will bring to the table and hope they give us the show of a lifetime. In the end, I’d give Hi-Fi Rush an 8/10.