Hi-Fi Rush Review – Riff City

Hi-Fi Rush is a rare find in big-budget gaming: it’s a series of light-hearted, colorful titles. The program’s 10 to 11-hour duration is closer to a cartoon than it does to a gritty, high-reaching television show. That’s its strongest strength. The cherry on the cake is that its combat and gameplay are an unusual fusion of rhythm and style action games. 

Chai, the main character has high hopes of becoming a rock star. Project Armstrong is the program that helps him achieve his dream. It’s run by Vandelay Technologies, an enormous tech company. Chai could have had this done to his injured arm. But he can’t leave the facility because he was deemed a defect. He runs into Peppermint who is working with Vandelay. Together, they bring in a number of disgruntled people to join them and form a motley crew of rebels bent on ending Vandelay’s monopoly. 

The core cast members are charming and hilarious in their individual ways. Each member was a delight to watch and it is easy to enjoy the banter, arguments, and many other dynamic. Hi-Fi Rush has a surprisingly well-written story. It is intentionally funny, but it manages to do so in an enjoyable way. The story is my favorite aspect of Hi-Fi Rush. Every character was well drawn and I loved how they fit into the bigger group. The story ends with Chai and his band working together harmoniously, and gameplay and storytelling match that in satisfying ways.

At the heart of Hi-Fi Rush is a story about the ills of big tech – and, more specifically, the game industry. This is not the most extreme corporate protest anywhere in the world. It’s a level that makes fun of the disparate budgets among marketing and development departments and dictatorial managers who take control of a product to reduce quality or safety. Bethesda Softworks owns Tango Gameworks. This is something you might want to remember.

This is what Vandelay’s huge corporate campus looks like. Even though you are standing still, this brightly-colored world moves at a constant pace. Everything in Hi-Fi Rush moves to the beat of the game’s soundtrack – Chai’s run animation, the rotation of industrial gears, cutscenes, all of it to the game’s internal metronome. Chai’s love for music is reflected in every aspect of the game. Even the smallest touches like how your weapon belts the guitar and squeals to the same tune as each level’s soundtrack, was always a delight. 

Hi-Fi Rush is at its best when Hi-Fi Rush has its rhythm backbone. The game is very similar to other action games. You hack and slash and create combos. High scores are possible. If you have played Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, then you know what the procedure is. However, the unique thing about this is the fact that you can get better scores by following the music of the game. 

The rhythm is the key to your success. You’ll be able to land big hits by hitting the drum beat. Your flashy animations will sound as amazing as they look. All of the surrounding aspects of gameplay lean into the same gimmick – puzzles, platforming, the whole nine yards. While it has an original score, the licensed soundtrack does a lot of the game’s heavy lifting – especially during tense and dramatic moments. Apart from one song by The Black Keys, the wonderful additions of Fiona Apple and Nine Inch Nails as well as The Joy Formidable, are great. 

Combat is excellent, and the gameplay suffers in comparison to Hi-Fi Rush’s back half. Although it has a slow beginning, the game was difficult to master. I kept trying desperately to find the next enemy encounter the second time around. Hi-Fi Rush is a great game once you get used to it. The credits begin to roll and it crescendos into an overblown display of sounds and colors that is alive and well in the spectacle. 

Hi-Fi Rush isn’t about fighting on beat. The animations still appear in time regardless of your time. It allows you to have the same visual impact and rhythm as a professional player. To help keep your time, you have the option to display a visual metronome. You don’t need to be able to match fast beats to maintain a slow tempo throughout the entire game. This helps less-rhythmic gamers enjoy the game’s concept, and it’s all great. 

Hi-Fi Rush was undoubtedly the best-kept secret of 2023, considering it was both announced and published on the same day. This is part literal. But the other part is about how well it plays. Hi-Fi Rush finds the perfect balance between stylish action and rhythm games. It also features lighthearted and character-driven platformers that we rarely see.