Out of nowhere and without any introductions, Microsoft announced the Hi-Fi Rush game at the Xbox & Bethesda Dev Direct event a few days ago, to issue a new exclusive to the Green Team via Xbox and PC, and on the same day it was announced! Personally, I was very excited about it, not only because of the amazing gameplay that we saw in the demo, but also because I knew the quality of the development studio’s work and the talent of its people.
Hi-Fi Rush is a third-person rhythm game with some RPG elements, with a distinctive Japanese anime-style art direction, developed by Tango Gameworks, the same studio behind The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo, and published by Bethesda.
Hi-Fi Rush basically has the player’s actions syncing up and interacting with the music in every way, but it’s a lot more fun than it looks. Let’s learn more about Hi-Fi Rush, the latest Microsoft exclusive.
The story without spoilers
The story begins with Chai, a young musician who is going to get a mechanical arm to replace his broken one, from Vandelay, a company that specializes in robotics and technology in general.
But an error causes Chai’s music player to interfere with the process, to be implanted in his chest and powering him and his robotic arm, and even making everything around him dance in sync with the melodies playing in the player, only for Chai to discover that he has become super in some way.
The company discovers what happened and decides to describe Chai as “defective” and consider it a failed experiment, and accordingly he is chased to eliminate him, according to the security and privacy policies agreement that Chai signed in advance without reading a single letter in it – of course! -, so Chai tries to escape from the company headquarters during Fighting security forces of all kinds and ranks.
Chai meets someone else, a girl named Chai Peppermint The “808” robot kitten told him of her secret plan to eliminate a demonic project that Vandelay’s management is working on in secret, and asks him for his help. From here, the duo’s adventures begin to eliminate the company’s corruption, but as usual, the wind blows as ships don’t want.
The story runs for about 10 hours, the number of which depends on the difficulty you’re playing on and the speed at which you eliminate enemies.
In general, the story is not the main focus, as such games need only a dramatic engine and a side incentive; To keep you immersed in the atmosphere and to give you a good reason to go out and face these enemies and enjoy the gameplay which is the main factor here. Over all, the story is good, does its job and will keep you interested to keep playing.
Game content
- The game is based on the classic linear stage system, you have a goal and you just find the way to that goal, without a lot of side roads or secondary places.
- After each level you come back to the Hideout where you can upgrade your gear and buy new attacks, or just relax and chat with friends, the most important of which is Robotic Kitten 808!
- The gameplay and combat depends on the musical rhythm that runs in the background. Not only your attacks, but also the attacks of the enemies depend on it. Synchronizing with the melody in strikes, dribbles and tackles will reward you with extra points and fun acrobatic movements. This also applies to the possibility of performing chain attacks, so you feel the melody and flow with it It will give you the ultimate experience.
- A visual tempo indicator can be shown at the bottom of the screen if you are unable to sync to the tune acoustically.
- Hi-Fi Rush can be considered an RPG, where there is a list of upgrades, attacks and special moves, where you can increase the maximum health or the number of chips that can be used at the same time. These can be purchased and selected using gears that are collected during gameplay.
- Enemies vary between ordinary robots with swords, those with machine guns, or even “Drones” and huge robots, and more different shapes, each with special attacks and a specific attack pattern. All of this is according to the melody, of course. It can be said that each enemy has its own melody.
- In addition to attacks and combos, there is a special attack that is charged using batteries found in the world. These special attacks can be used more than once in the same match if charged accordingly.
- In or out of battle, a teammate can be summoned to assist in various forms, whether for long-range situations, to break the shields of massive enemies, or to generally assist in taking out enemies.
Positives
- Addictive fun gameplay! Grabbing the guitar, hitting enemies and dodging them to the beat of the melodies and syncing with them at the right time feels great, especially since everything you do (run, jump, etc.) and everything around you – literally – dances to the beat of the melodies. Even enemy attacks form a piece of music if you pay attention to it.
- Great variety in battles, besides enemies that can be directly eliminated and bosses, there are powerful enemies that defeat them requires weakening them, then standing in direct confrontation to hear the rhythm of their attacks, and then prepare to counter them according to the appropriate timing.
- Distinctive graphics with a beautiful art direction, with great moments that make you feel like watching a high-profile cartoon!
- A light and distinct sense of humor in the dialogues refreshes the atmosphere, and comic situations that are not vulgar or exaggerated, kept me entertained all the time. Like passing by a robot complaining to a colleague about his suffering from a high temperature and his inability to endure while working, then his colleague responds and reminds him that he is a robot who does not feel at all and is only a lazy fool, or another robot that fishes over lava and tells you that he knows that there are no fish below but he must do Something to relieve stress.
- Although the story is not very important in such games, the interest in it is clear, and the element of the environmental narrative is present, as you will find messages from the villains in the game to the robotic employees that give you a better and broader picture of their personality, before you even meet them.
- The wide variety of combo types and upgrades that can be purchased for Chai, and these items are constantly refreshed as you progress through the story to keep things fresh.
- The game is fully Arabized in terms of menus, texts, and dialogues, and the Arabization is at a great level, with the exception of some errors related to pronouns, femininity, or masculine. We hope that Microsoft will continue to support the Arabic language in its upcoming big games.
Negatives
- I wish the auto-save system was more forgiving, since if you die in the last phase of a long 3-stage battle, for example, you’ll go back to the beginning of the first, auto-save doesn’t work between different phases of a single battle, which can make getting through one long battle cumbersome.
Would I recommend Hi-Fi Rush?
Certainly! Even if you are not a fan of this type of game, I advise you to give it a chance, especially since it is available for free on Game Pass via Xbox and PC, as this type of game we need from time to time to move away from the common trend of video games today.
I hope Microsoft takes advantage of the success of Hi-Fi Rush and builds on it, so why not get a free multiplayer for example? Players compete for a tune with constantly rotating music and melodies events and different game modes.
Review summary
Graphics – 10
Play style – 10
Story and characters – 8.5
Content and variety of attacks – 9.5
Game world and variety of stages – 9.5
9.5
great
Hi-Fi Rush reminds me of games from the “good old days”, where there is no huge side content or a wide open world with lots of objectives, you just enjoy the battles and try new attacks every time to try to score higher points, all of that and the background melody makes you You dance while sitting, do not move a finger!
