An incredibly fun and stylish rhythm game that is at its best when you're constantly moving & fighting, and at its weakest when you're putzin' around breaking boxes and doing awkward platforming.
This is maybe the most stylish game I've played in a long time - everything from the visual art style, to the fantastic use of music and rhythm... it has such a good vibe to it. From the very first moment I was walking around the environment and saw all the trees, lights, and miscellaneous objects moving and bouncing to the rhythm as every one of your character's footfalls hit on the beat, I realized this game was special. Getting into the groove during a combat encounter where you're flying from enemy to enemy, parrying attacks, pulling off combos, and doing it all on-beat is incredibly satisfying. However, that sweet flow often comes to a screeching halt when finishing a fight dumps you into a large area where instead of flowing to the rhythm, you're just wandering around, breaking boxes, and looking for collectibles. It's a weirdly jarring transition, even if it is still in-time with the music.
Personally, I think the jump from wandering around, to cool on-rails rhythmic sliding section, to fast-paced awesome combat section, to slow platforming section feels very disjointed. Whenever I get tossed into a big area to break a bunch of boxes and hunt for collectibles, I feel like I’m playing Ratchet and Clank, not a cool rhythm game. This might be a controversial take, but I think a better version of this game is one that is mostly on-rails with cool rhythmic traversal sections between combat encounters.
The writing and dialogue for the game is incredibly cheesy and a bit cringey. Chai, the main character, is pretty insufferable through most of the game and had me rolling my eyes constantly. And yet… somehow despite it all, I still ended up getting attached to the little idiot and the rest of the fun characters in the game, especially 808.
Overall, Hi-Fi Rush is a damn blast. It has some of the best-feeling combat in recent memory thanks to its rhythmic core, and had me tapping my foot along with the music throughout the entire game. During its dynamic sections it sings, but some of the static-feeling interludes keep it from feeling perfect.
+ Fantastic integration of rhythm game into combat and other gameplay
+ Fun soundtrack with a nice mix of original and licensed music
+ Incredible style both in the overall game and the fun 2D animated cutscenes
+ Great cast of characters even if the dialogue is cheesy as heck
- Slow exploration sections breakup the flow
- Awkward, slow platforming
This is maybe the most stylish game I've played in a long time - everything from the visual art style, to the fantastic use of music and rhythm... it has such a good vibe to it. From the very first moment I was walking around the environment and saw all the trees, lights, and miscellaneous objects moving and bouncing to the rhythm as every one of your character's footfalls hit on the beat, I realized this game was special. Getting into the groove during a combat encounter where you're flying from enemy to enemy, parrying attacks, pulling off combos, and doing it all on-beat is incredibly satisfying. However, that sweet flow often comes to a screeching halt when finishing a fight dumps you into a large area where instead of flowing to the rhythm, you're just wandering around, breaking boxes, and looking for collectibles. It's a weirdly jarring transition, even if it is still in-time with the music.
Personally, I think the jump from wandering around, to cool on-rails rhythmic sliding section, to fast-paced awesome combat section, to slow platforming section feels very disjointed. Whenever I get tossed into a big area to break a bunch of boxes and hunt for collectibles, I feel like I’m playing Ratchet and Clank, not a cool rhythm game. This might be a controversial take, but I think a better version of this game is one that is mostly on-rails with cool rhythmic traversal sections between combat encounters.
The writing and dialogue for the game is incredibly cheesy and a bit cringey. Chai, the main character, is pretty insufferable through most of the game and had me rolling my eyes constantly. And yet… somehow despite it all, I still ended up getting attached to the little idiot and the rest of the fun characters in the game, especially 808.
Overall, Hi-Fi Rush is a damn blast. It has some of the best-feeling combat in recent memory thanks to its rhythmic core, and had me tapping my foot along with the music throughout the entire game. During its dynamic sections it sings, but some of the static-feeling interludes keep it from feeling perfect.
+ Fantastic integration of rhythm game into combat and other gameplay
+ Fun soundtrack with a nice mix of original and licensed music
+ Incredible style both in the overall game and the fun 2D animated cutscenes
+ Great cast of characters even if the dialogue is cheesy as heck
- Slow exploration sections breakup the flow
- Awkward, slow platforming