Hi-Fi Rush Review | PCMag

Hi-Fi Rush was unveiled in a surprise reveal at the Xbox & Bethesda Developer Direct Showcase. and Release during presentation. This action game blends 3D side-scrolling action, eye-catching graphics, and engaging rhythm-based timing mechanics. In fact, music and tempo pervade every aspect of gameplay, making Hi-Fi Rush a familiar action game, but with a timing-based element that makes it completely unique. Sure, there are sections of finicky platforming and some of the forced mini-games can be a little frustrating if you can’t get the timing right, but Hi-Fi Rush overall is a blast and the Editors’ It deserves a Choice award. The $29.99 action game is available for Xbox Series X/S (either as a standalone purchase or as part of Xbox Game Pass) and PC (via the Epic Game Store or Steam).

The game has eye-catching comic-style visuals (Credit: Bethesda)

flawed rock star

You play as Chai, a young, brave, crazy rock star wannabe who signs up for Project Armstrong in hopes of receiving a new arm and realizing his rocker dreams. After a series of accidents, Chai finds himself with a robotic arm driven by a music player accidentally implanted in his chest. This strange quirk was deemed a flaw, and her company Vandelay, which provided robotic enhancements, is now focused on dismantling Chai’s anomalous existence while keeping their own dirty secrets. Along the way, Chai teams up with his rebels to overthrow a major tech company and its evil board of directors.

But don’t worry about all the details. Hi-Fi Rush doesn’t take itself seriously. The overarching plot is just a framework that developer Tango Gameworks uses to bring robot destruction action to life. Gameplay is king, and Hi-Fi Rush is a surprisingly good action game. It lacks the depth of combos like Ninja Gaiden and the attack variety of Devil May Cry, but the brilliant, rhythm-focused foundation that enriches the action and makes combat so addicting supplemented with The mechanics at play encourage mastery of the system, but don’t overwhelm you. As if the game itself is asking for an encore, this is a welcome challenge.

Hi-Fi Rush is an action-oriented game, but combines light puzzles and platforming sections to vary the gameplay. The game quickly navigates you between set pieces, keeping the experience fresh and the pace brisk. Jump across techno-colored chasms, engage in optional battles, and collect hidden secrets before returning to Maine’s path for more battles. The only downtime is hub time in his lounge. Here you can purchase new moves, check your progress on side quests, and play with 808, an adorable, pudgy robotic cat.

You can actually pet a cat (Credit: Bethesda)

all about rhythm

Chai has the soul of a musician, which inspires his fighting style in fighting robotic sentries sent by Vandelei to stop him. He summons guitars from scraps to fight, each blow satisfyingly strumming his guitar and complementing his music in the background. Hi-Fi Rush has a rhythmic element, so you need to time your melee attacks to the beat of the music. Thankfully, the game is pretty generous. Chai’s attacks hit on the beat regardless of timing, but good timing does more damage and has a stronger knockback effect. Like Bayonetta and Devil His May His Cry, they are rated based on their performance in combat. For example, the number of perfect his notes hit during a brawl directly affects the ranking. This motivates score hunters to master the action, but is also casual enough for beginners to enjoy.

Light attacks are quick and take 1 beat to perform. Heavy attacks are much more powerful, but take 2 beats to perform. You can alternate between light and heavy attacks to perform special combos, or buy new moves and combos from the hub shop (for example, spin attacks and Iaido-style quick his draw attacks). The branching combos aren’t too complicated, so you can just hit the enemy in a barrage of your choice and you’re guaranteed to kill the enemy. That said, there are many combo possibilities for moves that can be unlocked.

There are other complementary abilities to expand your attack potential. Dodging allows you to escape harm, and parrying allows you to deflect incoming damage without sacrificing your position (both can be timed to the beat). Encountered characters can be summoned as assists with special attack traits such as shield breaking and barrier her overload, or simply extend combos. Acquire a Nero-style grapple to pull on enemies, providing excellent gap-filling abilities to power up your onslaught. There are many tools at your disposal. That means lots of combo possibilities.

Hi-Fi Rush divides combat into puzzle-solving and platforming sections. The platforming part feels a little off because Chai jumps high, but it’s not too far away, making it easy to miss the jump. For example, some elite enemies and bosses force parry-focused minigames where you have to match enemy attack tempos and counters. The game forces you to retry encounters until you master them, so failing is frustrating.

Practice combos with your robot buddy (Credit: Bethesda)

A visual and auditory treat

The world of Hi-Fi Rush literally moves to the beat, you can hear it in music and you can see it in animation. Lights spin or spin at rhythmic intervals, platforms move on set beats, and walls pulsate with equalizer graphics. Even Chai’s idol animation has her finger snapping and toe tapping in time with the music. The sound design is thoroughly impressive. Hi-Fi Rush’s original his soundtrack includes some excellent rock tracks, including licensed music from The Black Keys, Nine Inch Nails and The Prodigy. Not only is the music great, but watching the music feed cue you to dodge or attack is great game design. Games like BPM, Metal Hellsinger, and Soundfall have pushed music to the forefront of gameplay, but Hi-Fi Rush’s dynamic wrinkles are relatively unique in the side-scrolling action genre.

Games are also visual pleasures. The world is full of life and the art perfectly captures the comic style world. Crisp 4K visuals certainly help. A good cel-shading model likewise has just enough detail to make everything look stylish and unique, but not because the game is busy and over-engineered. The shading, the onomatopoeia all work together to complete the look of the game, reminiscent of Jet Set Radio and Beautiful Joe and looking completely unique. The only real criticism here is a practical one. In some cases, colorful background elements (such as scrolling screens and neon barriers) can get stuck in front of the camera, blocking your view until you manually move yourself or the camera.

Why you should game on your PC

great action game

Bethesda and Tango Gameworks have (perhaps brilliantly) avoided the pre-release drama that many games suffer from and launched a quality game in stealth that speaks for itself. Hi-Fi Rush has a lot to offer and is an easy recommendation if you’ve already subscribed to Xbox’s acclaimed Game Pass. This is a great action game and it doesn’t cost extra. At $29.99, if you don’t have a Game Pass subscription, it’s surprisingly cheap for a title of this calibre. Hi-Fi Rush doesn’t reinvent the action game genre, but it injects just enough creative energy to feel exhilarating. It’s played alongside genre staples like Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, and Seafood alongside robust gameplay mechanics, earning Editors’ Choice His awards in the process.

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