Review: Hi-Fi Rush – Rhythmic Game That Is The Surprise Of The Year!

Hi-Fi RUSH stands out from the crowd as a title, which came out right after everybody heard about it. Let us get down to some rhythmic robot clash!

The Tango Gameworks team is also responsible for Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo. So, I guess, everybody would expect a scary game, right? Not this time! Hi-Fi RUSH is a colorful, rhythmic fighting game consisting of a decent story, and a whole bunch of rock hits.

Chai is our hero. He’s a teenager, with a strange device mounted into his chest, it reminds me of the stuff Iron Man had. There’s only one difference – Chai has an iPod, which can steer the reality with its rhythm. Everything you come across in the game moves with the same rhythm, including the machines, trapdoors etc.

Since Chai had been recognized as a defective unit, he should have been annihilated. Of course, our hero doesn’t want this to happen, so, he has to start running, and fighting robots along the way.

Technically, Hi-Fi RUSH is a third person perspective platform/fighting action game consisting of story elements, and the rhythm thing bears resemblance to such titles as Necrodancer or Metal: Hellsinger. In the background, you’re gonna hear rock and some popular songs. One of the most recognizable tracks is Nine Inch Nails, which can be heard at the first boss battle.

Chai moves around the city using platforms – the camera usually stays behind your back, but there are also side-view parts. However, the fights always have unfixed camera angle.

Apart from jumping, the second most vital gameplay elements are the attacks from above performed with the guitar – it’s best to match them with the beat. Taking the first steps, you’re gonna get to know how to listen and carry out various combinations.

Don’t get yourself fooled with the exploration aspect – there’s not too much of it. The game is linear, however, there are some secrets to be discovered in the side corridors – some lost tablets with stories about the world, some scrap pieces, parts, which would enhance your hero later on. If you want to check your inventory, just press the pause button.

You won’t have to explore the world all by yourself – there’s company right from the start in the form of a robo-cat, and later on, a group of three like-minded people will join. The NPCs will help you out with both fighting and moving around the city. Every character has unique skills.

If you come across an area, which would be easy to lock-off, there’s a high probability of a robots’ attack. Battles usually happen within those small arenas, and last for a couple of minutes, unless you fight a bigger enemy, who would take longer to defeat. Your move list constantly expands.

At the end of every mini-arena, you’re gonna see the score board, summarizing each and every battle – it’s a good thing to know what things you need to focus more on. It takes some time to get used to the gameplay style, however, once done, it gives you satisfaction you get when taking a piss after a very long ride.

The soundtrack – as I’ve mentioned a – mostly consists of rock music. To my mind, it’s awesome. Moreover, there’re voices recorded for each character – the only parts you need to read on your own are the stories from the tablets. I must admit the voice actors did a great job!

During fights, the combinations you enter will trigger various sounds, making it easier to do them right – it’s nice that the developers took care of such detail.

As for the interface, there’s not much here to see. Lifebar would be visible all the time. During the fight, you’ll also see the current result, and the special attack bar. Moreover, the options allow you to display the beat, which makes it easier to perfectly synchronize your actions. The dialogues are displayed at the bottom of the screen in the style taken from comic books.

As with most new Microsoft games, there are lots of accessibility options, including a voice assistant, easier controls, and subtitles. As for the gameplay itself, the coolest option is the rhythm visualization and auto-actions – the game would type in combinations for you like a magically self-played piano (both attacks and dodges).

At the very beginning, you choose the difficulty level – one out of four available (from v. easy to v. hard). However, the difficulty can be changed during the game.

Hi-Fi RUSH is an interesting and quite unique piece. It’s not my genre; nevertheless, I did have some great with. My girlfriend, who is studying to be a professional musician, just loved it. If, back in the dayz, you used to enjoy games like PaRappa the Rapper, or any other title where you mash buttons to a certain beat, you should definitely go for Hi-Fi Rush.

Once more, I have to praise the soundtrack, since I’m a hardcore rock fan. It’s nice to hear a song of your favorite band, when smashing those robots with a guitar!

The game itself isn’t particularly long; it shouldn’t take longer than a couple of evenings for you to beat it. What is more, after the story finishes, you can revisit the previous arenas, and explore some more. Access to some places can only be gained with characters you meet later on.

Available for: Xbox Series X/S, xCloud, Windows 7 & Steam