Hi-Fi Rush Review | A Certified Banger

On January 25th, 2023, Xbox and Bethesda held their first (hopefully of many) “Developer_Direct”, a broadcast of pre-recorded developer presentations on a handful of games coming over the next few months. What came as a surprise to many was the announcement of a new game from Tango Gameworks, (The Evil Within 1 & 2, Ghostwire Tokyo) called Hi-Fi Rush. The trailer and gameplay showcased a brightly colored action game where everything from the combat to the animations synched up to the beat of the game’s rocking soundtrack. But what came as an even greater surprise was that the full game was to be released that day. After having spent the last week playing through Hi-Fi Rush, I can confidently say the game is a rare treat and a fantastic amount of fun. 

In Hi-Fi Rush, you play as Chai, a loveably dimwitted aspiring rockstar with a disabled arm. Chai wishes to volunteer himself for a cybernetic enhancement test program called Project Armstrong, a program run by Vandelay Technologies which promises better lives through new robotic limbs. After a mishap with Chai’s surgery involving his MP3 player, Chai gets more than just a shiny new arm. Chai becomes fused with his music player and, as a result, everything in the world around him moves to the beat of the music. The robots of Vandelay Technologies label Chai as a defect and try to eradicate him, setting Chai and a group of soon-to-be friends on a journey to escape the massive campus and uncover a more sinister truth about Vandelay Technologies. 

The story in Hi-Fi Rush is a joy to experience. The general tone of the game is lighthearted and carefree. The writing leans more on the humorous side with genuinely funny jokes and bits of physical comedy that had me actually laughing out loud on a few occasions. But alongside the funny jokes, the game reveals itself to have a lot of heart and emotion behind all the gags. There are some scenes later in the game where things slow down, and the characters have a few touching moments which was a pleasant surprise. The characters really grow on you by the end of the story. Hi-Fi Rush took me about 12 hours to finish, which is the perfect amount of runtime for the story they were telling, no extra fluff or unnecessary padding here.

What really hooked me about Hi-Fi Rush however, was the gameplay. The game is an amalgamation of many different genres, the most significant of which is character action or stylish action (think games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta). The game is split up with light exploration, platforming segments, and arena-based combat encounters. With the help of his magnetically assembled junk guitar weapon, Chai uses various combos of light and heavy attacks to dispatch his foes which eventually evolve into special attacks, partner attacks, dodges, and parries. Outside of combat, Chai jumps, dodges, grapples, and grinds his way around the various departments of Vandelay Technologies. This might sound a bit standard to most if it weren’t for one critical part; everything in the game moves to the beat.

Everything in this game is on beat. Platforms move to the beat, enemies attack on the beat, Chai attacks on the beat, even things in the environment like trees and lights bounce and slide to the beat. Other action games like Devil May Cry have elements of inputting moves to a set rhythm, but no action game has dedicated itself to “going with the flow” quite like Hi-Fi Rush. Everything on screen will animate to the beat regardless of whether you hit the buttons to the beat. However, if you do hit the buttons to the beat (signified by a music note flash and cheering noises), you will do increased damage as well as increase your score meter which assigns a letter rank (D through S) depending on how well you are doing. If you are able to successfully complete each hit of a given combo to the beat, you gain the opportunity to land a “beat hit”, which is a powerful combo ender that you must hit at the perfect time to execute. If you find it hard to find the beat by listening to the music, Hi-Fi Rush has a number of options to assist you including a meter that visualizes the beat that you can pull on screen at the push of a button, even your robot cat companion 808 sends out pulses of light on the beat.

While all of your actions happen to the beat, so do your enemies. from the robotic assailants of Vandelay Technologies and the various larger-than-life boss fights. Each has attack moves and patterns that will always land on the beat, requiring you to think about how to best meet the challenges barreling toward you. In a way, the fact that attacks happen on the beat makes the combat feel a bit predictable, but this doesn’t end up becoming an issue because you are constantly juggling any number of actions you could be taking along with increasing numbers of enemies as the game goes on. Do you maximize your damage with an elaborate aerial combo or do you dodge out of the way of a distant laser blast lining up on you? As the game progresses, enemies require different conditions to be met to take them out that will necessitate the use of your trusty companions. When called in, Peppermint uses rapid-fire gun blasts that can disable energy shields and juggle enemies in the air, some enemies require their Z-shield armor to be broken by Macaron, the former head of R&D who can pack a serious punch. Larger enemies will be able to tank a number of hits from you and still attack seemingly unphased. These enemies have a stun meter that builds up with consecutive hits. Once enough damage has been dealt the enemy will become stunned and you can essentially have your way with them, they can be launched into the air with an aerial launcher combo and utterly eviscerated. Some of these larger enemies may also lock you into a parry minigame where you need to parry a specific volley of attacks which if you pull off successfully will open them up for an ultra-satisfying one-hit kill move. 

I mentioned above about “going with the flow” and this is the combat’s biggest strength. The music and combos begin to blend together pulling you into this subconscious flow state that is endlessly satisfying to perform in. Eventually you unlock a training room that allows you to hone your combat prowess and test out new moves you unlock, including special moves that really punch up the spectacle during battle. These special moves range in effect, some are powerful and damaging moves that are performed by completing a string of button inputs, some are healing moves, and some call on your allies to do some wonderfully acrobatic moves. At no point during my playthrough did the combat ever become dull, and as I type out this review, I feel the pull to hop back in to throttle some enemy robots. It’s the flashy visuals, foot-tapping soundtracks, and meaty hit sounds that all come together in a feast for the senses. The combat in Hi-Fi Rush is truly that great. 

This flow state bleeds into the platforming and movement gameplay as well. As far as basic movement goes, Chai has a double jump and a dodge move at his disposal. The dodge is incredibly satisfying to perform due to the fact that if you time your dodges on the beat, you are allowed to perform up to three consecutive dodges in a row which can not only get you in or out of danger in a pinch, but it also has the benefit of vacuuming nearby pickups like money or health. The “perfect” dodge even plays a little cymbal crash that ends up being very addictive and you will find yourself dodging around the level to the music because it feels so great to pull off. I mentioned previously that platforms move to the music as well which means you need to listen and time your jumps in order to get by. There are traps like electrified floor tiles, lasers that revolve around a room, or platforms that rise and fall to the music that you need to be aware of. Eventually, Chai unlocks a grapple ability and is able to latch and zip around to different points throughout a level, and this leads to segments that take place on rails where Chai needs to dodge fast-approaching shipping containers and other obstacles. Naturally, there are many secrets to find in these levels that test your platforming abilities and these serve as fun little puzzles to solve in their own right and usually reward you with some collectible or upgrade material. I can’t state enough how much the dedication to moving to the music elevates even the simple platforming. Not many games of this style attempt to adhere to a strict guideline of synching up to beats, but in the case of Hi-Fi Rush, it allows you to engage with the levels and the movement in ways that in many other games you wouldn’t pay any real attention to. Even something as simple as seeing Chai’s footsteps of his running animation landing on the beat makes the simple act of moving around the levels fun. 

I’ll be honest, it’s a bit weird how much emphasis I’ve put on the gameplay revolving around the music, having not brought up the actual music until now. I’m happy to report the music is great, which is good because if it weren’t the entire game would risk falling apart. Chai wants to be a rockstar, so most of the music is rock, but there are plenty of examples of more funky and jazzy tunes that incorporate an orchestra and electronic music as well. In general, many of the tracks are high energy to compliment the action gameplay, but the music is quite pleasing when the game slows down for more quiet cutscenes or back in the secret base where all the characters hang out in between missions. The game features licensed music from bands like Nine Inch Nails and The Black Keys, which is used primarily during boss fights. These tracks work to separate the boss encounters from the other parts of the gameplay which works well. It should also be mentioned that there is a streamer mode that uses original music tracks as a substitute if you plan on streaming the game or just prefer to hear original music. There isn’t one track that stands out as odd or bad. My personal favorite is the battle theme that plays during a level that takes place in a Vandelay Museum, a high energy jazz rock fusion track. This level in particular feels like the game’s vision coming together in its purest form. I also have to suggest that if you do end up playing the game to completion, please sit through the credits. There is a track at the end of the credits that is a very touching piece about all the work the developers put into making the game and how they want people to just have fun that is also one of my favorites. 

Let’s talk about those boss fights. The boss fights in Hi-Fi Rush are climatic set-piece moments that have Chai squaring off against the heads of each department of Vandelay Technologies from R&D to accounting to the very top. These fights usually consist of multiple phases, many of which switch up attack patterns or introduce new gameplay elements mid-battle. One fight requires Chai to build up the stun meter on the boss before being able to do any damage which later turns into a rhythmic call and response mini-game. Another sees Chai having to defend himself by completing a number of parry sequences, which feels like a much less frustrating version of the Deathstroke fight from Batman Arkham Origins. Another fight involves revealing a weak point by smashing parts of the enemy’s armor off. The boss characters are usually built up during their level, always chiming in with bits of dialogue and character development before the final confrontation. Many of the fights will test the various skills you have been building up over the game, and feel like true tests of skill and big spectacles, usually ending in a flashy, overly stylized comic book freeze frame of them meeting their demise. The boss battles end up being some of the best fights in the game, which is saying a lot when the basic combat encounters are as fun as they are. 

Progression in Hi-Fi Rush may seem overwhelming at first but in actuality, it’s quite simple. While playing through a level and defeating enemies you collect gears, which is essentially your money. You use gears to buy multiple different items, like new combos, new special moves, and permanent upgrade items like increases to your health bar or special ability bar called the “reverb gauge” which can also be found hidden in the levels themselves. Eventually, you unlock the ability to purchase chip modifications, which can augment certain abilities like health items healing more or decreasing the time it takes to call in one of your allies. You are limited in the amount of chips you can have equipped at one time, but they allow you to further customize Chai to how you enjoy playing. These chips can also be upgraded with gears further increasing their efficiency. And that’s about it. There are a good amount of upgrades to the point that you don’t feel overwhelmed with choices but it will certainly take you a while to unlock your full potential. And once you complete the game, there are several new forms of unlockables that become available to purchase like 3D models for a model viewer and music tracks you can listen to in the hideout. There is another cool set of unlockables that become available that you may see floating around online, but I’ll preserve the surprise here. Just know, they are very cool.

I have to take a paragraph to talk about the visual presentation, particularly the art style and animation. Hi-Fi Rush is a blend of a bunch of different styles, there are influences from comic books, animated cartoons, pop art, and more all coated in this colorfully saturated cel-shaded look that is impressive to witness. The animation will change from a fluid 60 frames in gameplay to a more choppy style in the cutscenes that give off a more hand-animated feel. Sometimes the art style will even change to anime-inspired frames for certain gags and cutaways. Different splash screens and graphics will pop on screen for special moves or moments of impact that look incredibly flashy. And of course all of the attack animations from Chai and his opponents are beautifully animated with real squeeze and pull that gives off the perfect amount of weight and reaction. The character animations for the bosses and the ally characters lend a tremendous amount of personality to each and really sets them apart visually. There were times when the character designs and animation made me think about the over-the-top characters of Suda 51’s No More Heroes which also has a quite stylish-looking appearance. I also have to give praise to the voice acting, all of the main cast and even the supporting cast of robot characters sound like they are having a blast with their respective roles and it really heightens the overall enjoyment factor and the believability of these cartoonish characters. The game is truly a delight to watch in motion. 

Much like the tone of the game, this review has been very positive, but I do have a small list of gripes with the game, particularly in regard to the visual variety of certain enemies and environments. Most of the enemies you battle in Hi-Fi Rush are based on a white robot model. Different enemy types will have colored accents or will be different sizes, but they all stem from this base robot design. The designs on their own don’t look bad per say, they just seem a bit more basic when compared to their surrounding environments which range quite drastically in theming and design. Similarly, many smaller areas of the levels have an industrial, construction, or back hallway kind of look, which while thematically makes sense with this corporate campus setting, does get a little old and repeated a little too frequently and as a result some areas of levels begin to blend together. While I found the game’s lighthearted humorous tone funny more often than dull, that type of humor may not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s hard to keep up a consistently funny tone over 10-12 hours and have every joke land. Just know that there might be some jokes that just pass you by. Seeing as the game has a lot of mechanics it wants to teach you in order to play the game as fun as possible, the early part of the game can feel very heavy on tutorials. The content of these tutorials is important and helpful and it actually conveys the information pretty clearly, but it can definitely feel a bit heavy-handed and overwhelming for a little bit until the game opens up more and gives you more freedom to experiment with its systems for yourself. But if I’m being honest, these are very minor gripes I have, not even really full-fledged issues with the game. 

From a performance standpoint, Hi-Fi Rush is fantastic and basically all you could want from a modern video game release. I played the game on PC and had an amazingly solid 60 frames per second during gameplay even in intense combat scenes with multiple enemies and visual effects going off. Load times were incredibly snappy. And in my 12 hours of playtime, I encountered essentially a single bug. During one of the boss fights I was momentarily trapped under the boss and wasn’t able to move or attack. It lasted about 3 seconds and I was free again. There was another issue I ran into where when playing with a controller the button prompts on screen would switch between controller and keyboard and mouse constantly, but I couldn’t tell if this was an issue with the game or an issue with windows interfering while I played. It only happened on two occasions when playing the game. Outside of that, Hi-Fi Rush was essentially a bug-free experience for me, something that truly deserves praise in our modern era of games all too frequently releasing too early. 

In my review for Psychonauts 2, I remarked at how that game felt like a game that simply wasn’t made anymore, one that focused primarily on delivering a fun game with an engrossing yet fun story in a genre that wasn’t explored as much in modern times. I feel the same way about Hi-Fi Rush. It feels like a modern interpretation of a game from the industry’s past. A game that is fun, full of soul, and truly unique. One that despite its corporate characters and story beats, doesn’t feel like it’s trying to nickel and dime its players at every turn like we see in many modern live service games, I mean the game is even priced at a discount at $29.99 USD or is available on Xbox Gamepass which was how I played. 

At the end of the day, Hi-Fi Rush is just a fun well made video game. I hope more studios take notes from Tango and realize that they can branch out with new and innovative game ideas that are very different from what they are accustomed to making and still find success. If you like action games, good music, bright and colorful visual flair, or are just looking for a feel-good video game to play, I couldn’t recommend a better game out right now. Hi-Fi Rush is available on Xbox Series X|S and PC.