Game 5 of 2023: Hi-Fi Rush (2022)

  Hi-Fi Rush

Developer: Tango Gameworks
Publisher: Bethesda
Platform: PC
Genre: Action, Rhythm

Difficulty: Moderate
Date Started: Mar 5th 2023
Date Ended: Mar 17th 2023
Hours: 10.5

Finished: Yes
Final Rating: 9/10

Well damn, this just came out of nowhere and absolutely floored me.

I tried this on the recommendation from a friend, and I was hooked in the first five minutes. You play as Chai, a complete doofus that accidentally has an iPod thingy implanted in his chest during what is supposed to be a routine cybernetic arm installation. Chai is charming, overconfident, and... kinda on the dim side. He has an alarming capacity for physical punishment that's going to come in handy during his adventure.

Pictured - hapless dipshit Chai, the hero of the tale.

Hi-Fi Rush takes place on the campus of Vandelay Industries, and what starts out as an attempt to escape turns into a quest to overthrow the villainous Kale Vandelay, son of company founder Roxanne Vandelay. The world is vibrant and colorful and is so much fun to explore between combat encounters (called choruses). The environment syncs to the beat along with Chai: trees bounce, gears turn, and pistons pump to a lively 160 BPM.

Hi-Fi Rush assembles one of the liveliest and charismatic supporting casts of any game, ever. Friends and villains alike are creatively realized, from your hacker buddy Peppermint to R&D head honcho Zanzo (whom you defund in order to defeat). The voice actors do a superb job, bringing the razor-sharp dialog to life with with and laser-precise timing. 

Pack your shit, Zanzo, I think you just got fired.

Roquefort - head of finance, robot werewolf

Obviously, the main draw here is going to be the combat. Action and rhythm are melded effortlessly (mostly) and stringing together combos and parries is gratifying.  My few minor gripes include the camera occasionally losing sight of Chai when swarmed by enemies, and the sometimes wonky aiming of your companions. (Peppermint, your ability specifically destroys enemy shields, why the shit would you shoot the enemies without them?!)

After the main campaign is done(which took me around 10.5 hours), there are more challenges to take on, and you can go back and play previous levels, so if you still have the itch to tap your foot while whaling on some robots, you've got plenty to do.

You sure can!

Anyway, I guess the TL;DR of it all is that Hi-Fi Rush is great and you should try it. It's impossible to feel sad while playing.

Playthrough Start: Hi-Fi Rush (2023)

 Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush

In Hi-Fi Rush, you take on the role of hapless dipshit Chai in a rhythm-based action game.

This guy just oozes unearned confidence.

After a routing procedure to get a metal arm goes wrong, Chai's iPod thingy gets grafted into his chest. This gets him labeled a defect, and he needs to escape from the evil Vandelay Corporation before they scrap his ass.

Vandelay boxes

I'm only a couple hours in, but so far this is a complete blast. The platforming sections can be a bit frustrating (Chai has a lot of lift when he jumps, not so much thrust) and targeting enemies can be a pain where there's a bunch of them, but for the most part the mechanics are solid. Timing your attacks to the beat is just so satisfying.

Aftermath of the first boss fight.

The characters are a complete hoot and well voice-acted. The world is well realized and fun, with everything from platforms to exhaust pipes moving to the beat. 

I've still got a ways to go, but this is shaping up to be a crapload of fun.