Hi-Fi Rush: How the Films of Edgar Wright Inspired Tango Gameworks’ New Game

Hi-Fi Rush might have been Developer_Direct’s big surprise, getting an announcement a launch in a single day, but that doesn’t mean its development was just as much of a whirlwind. John Johanes (game director) has pitched the idea of this rhythm-action experiment for many years. He even started it back when he was working on the Evil Within games. He had an unusual, but non-gaming, inspiration right from the beginning: The films of Edgar Wright.

Johanas, speaking to the Xbox Podcast explained that while Tango Gameworks is known for horror films, they had been searching for something new for some time.

“Probably you know our studio for making horror games with The Evil Within Ghostwire: Tokyo, but this is something that we’ve wanted to make that [would] really completely change the image of our studio, and also pushed us as developers to what we can do, or what’s possible, even, in the game universe, because we wanted to kind of do something new, and that’s kind of where the original idea- that’s essentially how I pitched it.

“This game itself is just something that personally I always wanted to make for a really long time, and luckily timing was right internally that we just saw it as a nice palette cleanser after we finished The Evil Within 2, to kind of branch off and try something new.”

HoweverHi-Fi Rush draws on some very recognizable gaming influences – the rhythm genre and classic technical action games loom large – one of the starting points for all this was drawn from the world of movies:

“One of the earliest things we had– and this kind of influenced the direction on our style for how we did things – was the movies that Edgar Wright as a director would make. This is what I think people might compare to Baby Driver. [Editor’s note: I did exactly this in our hands-on with the game, whoops], which is about music — music to tied to the images very coherently — but actually this pre-dated that significantly. One scene from the Shaun of the Dead had the group fighting with Queen’s music in a bar. [Warning: adult language]It was all choreographed. Perhaps you were there, perhaps you still remember.

“I was like, ‘That was so cool, what if we made a game that was exactly like that?’ And so that’s how I kind of pitched it. That’s how the idea came to be, many, many years [ago]We were making the original when it was still being made. The Evil WithinHowever, [Hi-Fi Rush] finally gave us a chance to pursue that angle.”

It goes beyond rhythmic combat concepts. Chai is a wannabe rockstar. Hi-Fi RushAlso, the lead character is particularly Wrightian:

“I knew I wanted this main character that was, like, not a superhero. The big reference point we used was Scott Pilgrim, especially the Edgar Wright Scott Pilgrim because I’m talking about Edgar Wright as an influence. But it’s this kind of like anti-hero, in a sense – not that they’re evil, but they’re just almost dumb.”

Hi-Fi RushIt wears its influences proudly and it is all the better for it. The game celebrates all of the music, movies and games that inspired it. That makes it even more surprising that the Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass members can play the game as part their memberships. And, as far as this writer is concerned, if Tango Gameworks does want to head back to horror in the future, it always has Last Night In Soho to look to and keep that Edgar Wright fascination in full flow…

Hi-FiRUSH

Bethesda Softworks

☆☆☆☆☆
264

★★★★★

$29.99

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

Chai (a wannabe rockstar) and his motley crew of friends fight an evil robotics megacorp through raucous rhythm combat. From Tango Gameworks, the studio that brought you The Evil Within® and Ghostwire®: Tokyo (no, really) comes Hi-Fi RUSH, an all-new action game where the characters, world and combat stylishly sync to the music!

CHAI VERSUS WORLD

Labeled ‘defective’ after a shady corporate experiment mistakenly fuses a music player to his heart, Chai must now fight for his freedom in a slick animated world where everything – platforming puzzles, enemy attacks and even the colorful gags & banter – are synced to the beat.

OPEN THE MOSH PIT

You can take on armies corporate drones in rhythm-amplified combat. Timing your movements will allow you to perform flashy Beat Hits or other special abilities, and also combine attacks with allies. You want to impress? You can go further by tapping into the beat and boosting your skill level to earn those coveted S-rank points.

ROTARY REBELS Vs. BASS BOOSSES

You will lead a group of vibrant teammates, and fight against a corrupt corporation. Square off with each department’s boss, from Production to Marketing to Finance, each more ready to protect the company’s bottom line than the last in over-the-top battle sequences accompanied by their own music tracks!

GRAB YOUR HEADPHONES

You can tap your feet to this mixtape that features original music as well as tracks by Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy. Are you looking to stream live to your audience? You don’t have to worry: Hi-FiRUSH has a streamer-friendly alternative audio mode that replaces licensed tracks with original songs created specifically for streaming HiFiRUSH.