Hi-Fi Rush
The Music Rhythm game we needed and deserve
What a surprise this was. Hi-fi Rush was shadow dropped on Xbox and PC on January 25th. For a game without any marketing budget it has taken the web by storm. Its not the first of its kind but it does something different that makes the game perfect for every gamer out there.
There have been multiple rhythm games released before in the past and even recently like Hellsinger but there has been a difficulty curve that has made it hard for people get into. Not to mention the visible beat marker always on the screen. Hi-Fi rush has taken that concept and given gamers the option to have the visual marker at the bottom of the screen for more help but the beat is also been built into the world itself. Its almost natural and not intrusive. This and the crisp animation and writing and awesome music has made this game a huge hit in just a week. Lets break down what makes this game so fun to play.
Gameplay:
As I mentioned the rhythm tracking isn’t as intrusive in Hi-Fi Rush as it in other games. You have the option to but a beat marker on the screen if you need the help but other wise its just the cat companion that shows the beat and the motion of the world. So it makes it feel much more natural. Also what is nice is that no matter if you are good or bad at keeping the rthym the main character will always move to the beat. If you hit the beat correctly they just do more damage and pull off cool looking combos. I found the hardest part of the game being the quick time events and the parring but after a bit you can get it.
The game will also change perspective from time to time to keep things fresh. Most of the time you will be dealing with a 3D platformer, but there are few sections where the perspective changes to a side scrolling platformer. These sections are not particularly hard or long but its a nice change of pace to break it up. This is a game that is easy to play but hard to master so the replay value in doing the after game challenges or just kicking up the difficulty will be great for those looking for a challenge.
Music:
Every rhythm game has great music but its rare that one has so many great songs that really fit the feel of the world. Even the unlicensed music for the streaming mode is great. Having groups like Nine Inch Nails, REO, The Joy Formidable and so on really bring it. Now days there has been an absence of music in games save for maybe the major AAA titles. It’s nice to see that some studios still remember how important musical beats are for conveying emotions. One of the best songs is Whirring by the Joy Formidable because it when the whole team of main character start to work to together for one of the best scenes in the game. They didn’t just build combat to move with the beat but the level design and pacing was made with the music in mind. So when songs build to their crescendo they hit it when you hit the action, which is a hard thing to make sure happens as players may move a different paces. Now if you don’t like rock or punk or alternative music this might not be for you but if you do love that music or are curious about this game will make you love it. By the time I got to the end of levels I wasn’t just on beat with the combat I found myself moving my whole body to the beat in my seat. This game really makes you feel the music.
Polish:
Its a sad thing to say that a game releasing as polished as this is rare. This game runs super smooth. I didn’t really run into any game breaking bugs or issues while playing. This is amazing since most games on launch day has some major issues since they can usually be fixed with a patch. Its a pipe dream of mine that will probably never come true but I really wish major AAA games and studios would learn from these successes. Instead of spending a huge budget on marketing, which now days rarely knows what it doing, they should put that money into development and shadow drop the titles. All the greatest games we played as kids didn’t have huge marketing campaigns when they first came out. I’m a huge Mass Effect fan but I only saw on commercial for it the day it came out and bought it on the whim, only knowing that it was Bioware title. The less we know going into good content the more we like it. My friend had to show me Halo before I had even heard of it, the main marketing that flashed everywhere came out after it was determined to be a hit.
Word of mouth is a powerful thing and can sink a game or raise it up to the heavens. Studios and publishers should put more faith in that than in the marketing. Once the game seem to be a hit and sales seem to die down then spend some money on marketing to reinvigurate the consumers. My plan would be to shadow drop a well polished title and once a DLC pack is about to come out put the money into marketing that to bring back old players and pull in new ones that might have missed the word of mouth.
Verdict:
Because the game is so polished, everything works as expected, the music is great. Its easy to play and hard to master and I believe that anyone can pick this up and have a good time this game is a solid buy. You can find it on Xbox Gamepass or on PC. Tune into our next podcast where we will go deeper into some of the influences we saw in the title.
