I‘ve admittedly taken a break from gaming this past month. My mental health has been quite all over the place & I really lacked the energy to start something new as a result. And while I haven’t abandoned any of the games I’m currently playing through, I definitely have been demotivated as a result to continue them. Normally I’m not one to open up about this sort of thing but I do feel like it’s very important to give some context on where my mindset is at the moment when it comes to gaming.

Hi-Fi RUSH is exactly what I needed at this time. This game is absolutely fantastic & as someone who loves Devil May Cry & Bayonetta, it was pretty obvious this game would be up my alley. But I didn’t expect it to make this big of an impact on me. This is the most fun I’ve had in a very long time & it’s one of the most unique experiences I’ve had with a game in years.

I’m not usually someone who cares much for graphics in games but I have to start off with talking about just how gorgeous this artstyle is. It’s vibrant, it’s colourful, it’s just so varied in its design making every single level stand out & feel so alive. I also loved how this game transitions from its beautiful animated cutscenes into the gameplay itself, it really is so seamless. This feels like a title from 15-20 years ago & I mean that in the best way. If you told me this was a game from the early days of the PS3 I would believe you it just has that kind of vibe to it & I absolutely love that. It’s so different to everything else we see nowadays where so many developers are focused on making realistic cinematic experiences & I honestly miss seeing this amount of creativity from game developers.

Let’s talk about the combat. At first glance, sure this looks like a fun action game but a big part of the gameplay is the music. Now I will admit I’ve never really played a lot of rhythm games. I can see they certainly have their audience but for me, it’s never been something I’ve delved very deep into. That being said however, THE COMBAT IN THIS GAME IS SO DAMN SATISFYING. Managing to time your attacks to the beat of the song is one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve had playing a game in my life. You have a bunch of attacks in your arsenal such as light & heavy attacks, a dodge & a parry & the amount of combos you can unlock to pull off too as well as special attacks, partner beat attacks & parry counters, there is so much depth to the combat it’s unreal. But here’s the most interesting part. It’s not just your attacks that time to the music but the enemies & the world too. And that is truly one of the coolest aspects of this game to me. It’s definitely difficult to master but when you actually do, the feeling really can’t be described.

And how could I talk about this game without mentioning the soundtrack itself, OH THE SOUNDTRACK. This is no exaggeration one of the greatest OSTs I’ve ever heard, every single song fits so perfectly not just with the gameplay but the vibe of the entire game itself. There’s a number of licensed songs but a lot of original ones made too. So many moments throughout my time playing through Hi-Fi RUSH I just had a massive grin on my face. I can’t exactly put into words just how much serotonin I felt with one battle sequence late in the story but if you’ve played this game, you may already have an idea of what I’m referring to.

The humour in this game is honestly on point. There’s so many tongue in cheek moments & I can tell that the writers had a lot of fun with crafting the narrative. The amount of references too don’t feel forced either & they really serve the narrative quite well. As for the story itself? Yeah it’s really good. It’s not going to win any awards for being complex or deep but it’s executed in a way that’s really hard for me to complain about & the actual story beats really worked for me & kept me intrigued & wanting to keep going forward. The characters were incredibly likeable especially main protagonist Chai who is given so much life from the performance of the always excellent Robbie Daymond. It was very hard not to root for him against the bad guys & the other characters are pretty great too like Peppermint, Macaron, CNMN & one other that I’ll let you discover for yourself if you haven’t played the game yet, though if you’re this far through my review & haven’t picked it up, what are you doing?

Honestly the fact this game exists just amazes me. In an industry with so many narrative driven experiences that AAA devs insist on churning out every year for frankly ludicrous amounts of money, Hi-Fi RUSH stands as something completely unique & fresh. It’s a reminder that above all else that at the end of the day, video games are meant to be fun & if there’s anything that I could wish for? It’s that by the time the credits started rolling, I just wanted more. Yes 10 hours is a more than fine length for a game such as this but I think it would’ve been cool if we got some kind of story expansion or even a sequel which unfortunately will never see the light of day because Tango Gameworks were shut down (thanks for that Microsoft.)

Despite all that though, Hi-Fi RUSH is an excellent game & more than worth your time & money. And I really really hope that with the more people that support it, we can somehow show that when a dev team is allowed to just do something completely different & pour so much love & passion into a project, it can create something not only truly magical for them but for gamers itself. If you love video games, you absolutely owe it to yourself to play Hi Fi-Rush. I’m not asking, I’m demanding. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played & I adore it with every fibre of my being.

Final rating: 10/10

I‘ve admittedly taken a break from gaming this past month. My mental health has been quite all over the place & I really lacked the energy to start something new as a result. And while I haven’t abandoned any of the games I’m currently playing through, I definitely have been demotivated as a result to continue them. Normally I’m not one to open up about this sort of thing but I do feel like it’s very important to give some context on where my mindset is at the moment when it comes to gaming.

Hi-Fi RUSH is exactly what I needed at this time. This game is absolutely fantastic & as someone who loves Devil May Cry & Bayonetta, it was pretty obvious this game would be up my alley. But I didn’t expect it to make this big of an impact on me. This is the most fun I’ve had in a very long time & it’s one of the most unique experiences I’ve had with a game in years.

I’m not usually someone who cares much for graphics in games but I have to start off with talking about just how gorgeous this artstyle is. It’s vibrant, it’s colourful, it’s just so varied in its design making every single level stand out & feel so alive. I also loved how this game transitions from its beautiful animated cutscenes into the gameplay itself, it really is so seamless. This feels like a title from 15-20 years ago & I mean that in the best way. If you told me this was a game from the early days of the PS3 I would believe you it just has that kind of vibe to it & I absolutely love that. It’s so different to everything else we see nowadays where so many developers are focused on making realistic cinematic experiences & I honestly miss seeing this amount of creativity from game developers.

Let’s talk about the combat. At first glance, sure this looks like a fun action game but a big part of the gameplay is the music. Now I will admit I’ve never really played a lot of rhythm games. I can see they certainly have their audience but for me, it’s never been something I’ve delved very deep into. That being said however, THE COMBAT IN THIS GAME IS SO DAMN SATISFYING. Managing to time your attacks to the beat of the song is one of the most satisfying feelings I’ve had playing a game in my life. You have a bunch of attacks in your arsenal such as light & heavy attacks, a dodge & a parry & the amount of combos you can unlock to pull off too as well as special attacks, partner beat attacks & parry counters, there is so much depth to the combat it’s unreal. But here’s the most interesting part. It’s not just your attacks that time to the music but the enemies & the world too. And that is truly one of the coolest aspects of this game to me. It’s definitely difficult to master but when you actually do, the feeling really can’t be described.

And how could I talk about this game without mentioning the soundtrack itself, OH THE SOUNDTRACK. This is no exaggeration one of the greatest OSTs I’ve ever heard, every single song fits so perfectly not just with the gameplay but the vibe of the entire game itself. There’s a number of licensed songs but a lot of original ones made too. So many moments throughout my time playing through Hi-Fi RUSH I just had a massive grin on my face. I can’t exactly put into words just how much serotonin I felt with one battle sequence late in the story but if you’ve played this game, you may already have an idea of what I’m referring to.

The humour in this game is honestly on point. There’s so many tongue in cheek moments & I can tell that the writers had a lot of fun with crafting the narrative. The amount of references too don’t feel forced either & they really serve the narrative quite well. As for the story itself? Yeah it’s really good. It’s not going to win any awards for being complex or deep but it’s executed in a way that’s really hard for me to complain about & the actual story beats really worked for me & kept me intrigued & wanting to keep going forward. The characters were incredibly likeable especially main protagonist Chai who is given so much life from the performance of the always excellent Robbie Daymond. It was very hard not to root for him against the bad guys & the other characters are pretty great too like Peppermint, Macaron, CNMN & one other that I’ll let you discover for yourself if you haven’t played the game yet, though if you’re this far through my review & haven’t picked it up, what are you doing?

Honestly the fact this game exists just amazes me. In an industry with so many narrative driven experiences that AAA devs insist on churning out every year for frankly ludicrous amounts of money, Hi-Fi RUSH stands as something completely unique & fresh. It’s a reminder that above all else that at the end of the day, video games are meant to be fun & if there’s anything that I could wish for? It’s that by the time the credits started rolling, I just wanted more. Yes 10 hours is a more than fine length for a game such as this but I think it would’ve been cool if we got some kind of story expansion or even a sequel which unfortunately will never see the light of day because Tango Gameworks were shut down (thanks for that Microsoft.)

Despite all that though, Hi-Fi RUSH is an excellent game & more than worth your time & money. And I really really hope that with the more people that support it, we can somehow show that when a dev team is allowed to just do something completely different & pour so much love & passion into a project, it can create something not only truly magical for them but for gamers itself. If you love video games, you absolutely owe it to yourself to play Hi Fi-Rush. I’m not asking, I’m demanding. It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played & I adore it with every fibre of my being.

Final rating: 10/10