The Shadow of Bethesda’s Hi-Fi Rush came as a surprise. No teasers, no gameplay demos, no marketing, no leaks, nothing! Not only that, but the game is developed by Tango Gameworks, the people who created the Evil Within series and Ghostwire: Tokyo! This, coming from a major publisher like Bethesda, could mean one of three things.
- The game was so bad that Bethesda didn’t want to waste any more money on it
- The game is so good that Bethesda knows it’s a great game and trusts gamers to make the right calls, along with the benefit of launching on Game Pass.
- bethesda doesn’t really care
So to find out, I started playing the game on Xbox Series X!
Story
The game is set in a future where robots and cybernetic enhancements are very common. Although it could be the ideal setting for a futuristic dystopia (Deus Ex, Detroit: Becoming Human, Cyberpunk 2077). Hi-Fi Rush is far from it. It’s a fun, goofy and colorful game that revels in the absurdity. The humor is subtle and reminds me of classic cartoons that had just the right amount of slapstick humor.
You play as Chai, a young wannabe rockstar whose right arm is disabled. He comes to Vandale Industries to pick up a new robotic arm. Unbeknownst to him, he was designated to be the garbage collector. Unfortunately, during the enhancement process, an accident occurs and he accidentally gets his music player implanted in his chest.
Chai is then labeled a defect and is chased away by robotic security. Thankfully, his new Magnetic Grabber Arm can create a guitar-like instrument that can be used as a weapon. He can also see beats in the word, which adds to the primary game mechanic of the game.
Overall, the story is well laid out and the characters are quite likeable. Tea is goofy, dumb and wise-cracking every now and then, but the dialogue isn’t annoying or cringe-inducing (looking at you). This character is very similar to Spider-Man and Deadpool. Chai also continues to have wit and quips like these Marvel characters. But the writing is so good that it makes them seem relatable rather than annoying.
This extends to Chai’s friends and bosses. Even random robot enemies have a certain charm about them. One truly memorable character you’ll encounter is a sentient refrigerator that helps you get to grips with the controls, but that delivers each line in a very creepy innocuous way.
gameplay
On the surface, Hi-Fi Rush is a third-person hack-and-slash action game, like the original God of War titles. But that would be selling the game short. Rhythm mechanics are important here because music is at the heart of the whole game. The whole sports world is dancing to the beat. This includes everything from the way the protagonist snaps his fingers, to trees, buildings, light fixtures and even platforms and hazards.
This is very important because hitting your enemies to the beat of the music gives you extra damage. You can combine light attacks and heavy attacks. Light attack is to be done on every beat, while heavy attack is to be done on every two beats. Along the way, you unlock more combos and attacks. A little music icon lets you know when you’ve timed an attack right. At the end of each battle, you get a grade, which reminds me of Devil May Cry.
It should be noted that Chai will attack on the beat regardless of the player’s timing. So it looks pretty impressive, even if you’re just randomly hitting buttons and not getting that extra damage bonus; If you’re tone-deaf like me. The developers have included a handy on-screen metronome to help you stay on beat. It can be turned on or off at any time during the game. Or you can take a look at the game world to get an idea of the beat of the song as the game world moves to the beat of the music in the game. It is also easier from an accessibility point of view.
We are talking about singing. A music-centric game such as this requires good music and thankfully it delivers. You have licensed tracks from bands like Nine Inch Nails, The Black Keys, The Prodigy and more! It should be noted that the game comes with a special ‘Streamer Mode’. When activated, it removes the licensed music and replaces it with music composed specifically for the game. This should help ensure that streamers are not affected by copyright strikes.
It should also be noted that the checkpoint system in Hi-Fi Rush is pretty cool. Multi-stage boss battles have checkpoints in between each. This helps ensure that while the bosses remain intriguing, they are not overly frustrating to complete as players do not have to restart every battle (or level) from the beginning.
Of course, there’s also some platforming and puzzle selection between battles. While the puzzles are fine, it’s the platforming that can be a bit difficult. It’s easy to miss a jump and fall to your death and restart the section. This is a relatively minor bug, but it is quite annoying.
GRAPHICS
To say the Hi-Fi Rush is gorgeous would be an understatement. The game features colorful cel-shaded animation with thick borderlines that make the characters stand out. It reminds me a lot of XIII (not the remake) and the TV show Archer. The animation and reactions are very comic book-like, similar to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The only gripe I have with the graphics is that it can be a pain to see what you’re doing at times because there’s so much going on. Since almost everything is happening on the same beat. Everything is going on at the same time. This is most prominent when you are in the middle of an intense battle. This could be an issue if, like me, you rely more on visual cues rather than audio cues to match the beat.
Decision
Hi-Fi Rush is a genuine Game-of-the-Year contender. It’s a textbook example of how a game doesn’t need years of teasing or hardware-breaking graphics to be great. The gameplay is tight, simple and addictive. The humor is subtle and not ‘in your face’. Sure, the platforming can be messy at times, but the overall gameplay is more than worth it.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
pros
- Engaging rhythm-based gameplay
- great soundtrack
- beautiful graphics
- world design that blends with music
Shortcoming
- platforming can be difficult
- Action can be difficult to follow
more info
Developer: Tango Gameworks
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platform: Xbox Series X/S and PC
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
