Hi-Fi Rush – Review, beautiful and sudden!

Hi-Fi Rush it was a real bolt from the blue, which in its small way shook significantly the beginning of 2023 of the gaming sector. A very particular action title based on the concept of musical rhythm, seemingly able to charm anyone who gets their hands on it. Let’s not delay any longer and let’s start with the review!

An over the top and enjoyable story

Hi-Fi Rush immediately makes it clear, thanks to its narrative sector, that taking himself seriously is the least of his goals! Not being the real strong point of the production (title already reserved by the gameplay) the narration chosen for Hi-Fi Rush is a very caricature themwith light-hearted tones and above all easy to follow. The comedy reigns supreme hey personages I am one more absurd than the otherwhich helps a lot in making them immediately recognizable, outlining their personality without necessarily having to deepen it too much.

Chai, hero of Hi-Fi Rush, is an aspiring rock star who lives in a world with marked cyberpunk hues. Our hero pays a visit to the Vandelay conglomerate for prosthetic implants, for replace his left armand that’s where it occurs the accident. During the operation his iPods he comes incorporated by mistake in his chest and that’s how Chai becomes one with the beat, in fact with soundtracks that will start right from his playlists present in the iPod. Because of this incident he is identified as defective from safety and, during the escapegets acquainted with Pepperminta girl intent on fight the corporate power of the Vandelayto which we allied ourselves to join his battle: a battle that will go precisely fought to the rhythm of music!

Practically perfect gameplay

Hi-Fi Rush it is successful from many points of view, but it is even more so when it comes to the pure gameplayabsolutely his diamond tip. In fact, the gimmick of the title is to combine the classic mechanics of the hack’n slashthe same kind of Devil May Cry or Bayonetta to be clear, with the concept of rhythm game. In order for one’s actions to be more effective, it is indeed necessary perform them to the rhythm of the music to amplify its effects, both when attacking and when avoiding enemy blows. The whole game world will move in turn in time, which is very useful for not making mistakes and for getting the rhythm with the various actions. However it is also possible bring up a hud that displays the pace to followby pressing the Select key on the Xbox controller or its equivalent on other pads. We strongly advise you to do this if you are new to rhythm games, because without it you may have difficulty.

The mechanical Of combat and movement of Hi-Fi Rush are enclosed in move, jump (also performing a double jump), dodge and perform three different types of attacks: light, heavy and special. Each type of attack will be placed in a different way in the “imaginary score” of the fight, so for example, going in rhythm with the light or heavy one will inevitably require some different execution times. The special attack, which is practically a sort of Ultimate, can only be performed after filling the appropriate loading bar (located above the Life Points one) by fighting against enemies. During the game it is also possible to unlock real ones combosbased not simply on chaining the attack keys in a certain order but, and this is the beauty, on chaining the attacks sometimes even with breaksjust like in one actual score (all of course trying to keep time with the music). It is a very creative way to avoid what, in the jargon, is called button mashingi.e. compulsively and randomly pressing the action keys while praying that something useful will happen. After the initial stages it will also be possible call up Peppermint with the RT key or equivalent, to make her attack an enemy while we continue to fight. This action is also can be incorporated into combos base to maximize damage! Peppermint can also be used in exploratory stages, which we will talk about shortly.

Your own performance in each confrontation they come next evaluate at its end, with a ranks from D to S where D is the minimum and S is obviously the maximum, too recurring feature in most of games of this kind. Hi-Fi Rush from a wonderful feeling with the controls, which combined with the concept of going to the tempo gave us a lot of fun while playing it, making us enjoy each session. Note of merit also for the boss fightwhich they offer well-thought-out and well-executed game situations, also because they are not limited to being larger versions of the base enemies. Each has its own gameplay different ways to attack And different timings to allow the player to react. We will talk more about them in the technical sector but we are already mentioning it now, they are also a flagship as for the animationsespecially for their special moves and actions.

The double progression of Hi-Fi Rush

Usually in video games For progression means game progress or character upgrades that we control, but the one relating to game situations is often forgotten. A basic game it doesn’t start as it endsstarts with situations that are easy to approach (almost like a tutorial) and obviously ends with much higher hostilities to the initial ones in terms of difficulty. We feel like saying this specific type of progression in Hi-Fi Rush is really well doneone always has the clear sensation of doing things more difficult than before but that, thanks to the way in which the game has previously prepared us, we manage to face as we have improved even before who we control (Chai in this case) .

We’re not just talking about combat but also and above all of explorationwhich is often based on platforming phases increasingly complex and which in turn require, from time to time, having to go to music time. These platforming and exploration phases, in addition to serving to advance through the levels and being useful for making the game less monotonous, are a part essential for the collection of gears. They can be used for improve Chai, such as by unlocking new combos or obtaining passive power-ups. Finally, chips can also be equipped to further enhance our Chai, going to build in some ways some builds for the protagonist, depending on your preferences! You can also unlock new Ultimates, which can be used in various different conditions (such as filling the appropriate bar more than once).

Not always then every area of ​​the level will be which can be visited by simply continuing, it will also be necessary to know how to look around and find every point of it to obtain all the materials and care we need. Exploring is possible too collect files of text that they delve into the lore of the gameof the places we visit and of some characters, a detail that we liked a lot as they open up a somewhat unexpected depthconsidering the very light-hearted and caricatured tones of the narration.

The technical sector of Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush it’s a game that flaunts great quality also from the point of view technicianoffering a cartoonish graphic compartment beautifully animated and very nice to see, with even a care in the not indifferent character design! Although it is nothing that makes you cry out for a miracle, we are still talking about very well done graphics, even and especially in the cutscenes and in some very fitting stylistic choices for the mood of the game.

The music are themselves very solid, all very catchy and with even actual songs in particular situations (such as boss fights). There are perhaps not really memorable ones, that’s true, but they are both very catchy and be it of course functionalsince in this case they also had to be understood as a basis for gameplay! Therefore, taking into account the whole technical sector, it is promoted without ifs and buts, even if without particular praise.

Definitely

Hi-Fi Rush it’s a really great game to playwell done in practically every respect, but we are not talking about a perfect or great game as one might think. As successful as it may be never leaves you speechless, never has brilliant flashes of game design and all in all that’s fine. It is limited to being a very good hack’n slash with the intuition of merging it with rhythm games, but woe to underestimate it! Not all video games have to aim for the GOTY race after all, video games like Hi-Fi Rush are welcome, which they are indeed increasingly rare commodity nowadays. There is nothing wrong with being an excellent game and nothing more, capable of entertaining the player without particular efforts in terms of depth, and basically we are talking about a title that it’s not even sold at full price (besides being included with Xbox Game Pass), Therefore in its membership range it is in no uncertain terms a must buy!