Hi-Fi Rush

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Hi-Fi Rush for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[BlueWeaselBreath]

Hi-Fi Rush charmed me silly from the opening moments. As a huge fan of animation, I loved the game’s visuals and overall style. It comes as close as any game ever has—except possibly the two South Park RPGs—to making it seem like you’re playing an actual cartoon. I especially loved the lush and bright colors, which put me in mind of a Moebius comic. The levels were a bit long, but I was enjoying the moment-to-moment gameplay experience—especially smashing things—so much that I didn’t mind. I will say that while I really liked the music/rhythm angle, for whatever reason, I had trouble with the particular implementation of the beat here. As a lifelong musician, I’m not sure why, but I just could not get above a B or C rating ever on the timing in the battles. Maybe I overcomplicate the beat or hit too many polyrhythms something, but my perception is that every single button press is bang on rhythm and yet I’m still being told I suck. Really demoralizing stuff, and it prevented me from trying the high-level postgame challenges. But if I ignore that aspect and just play the game, I have a super fun time. It seems like talk about this game was everywhere for a month or two, then people forgot about it, but I think Hi-Fi Rush deserves a ton of respect and would love to see another game in this style.

[DaMonth]

Things like Hi-Fi Rush are a rare present. Rarely do we ever Bayonetta Baby Driver shadowdropped into immediate acclaim. This game makes me sad it was buried in the dogpile of titles that came out in 2023. I love the presentation, especially how it transitions from 2D to 3D in cutscenes flawlessly. The penultimate level has been stuck in my head since I played it. And can I just say how incredible of an achievement it is that they made an entire streaming-safe version of the soundtrack with songs that match the mood of the original licensed pieces? Like good lord. Only complain on the top of my head, I wish parrying was unlocked at the beginning because that's when the game flow really locks in. Oh, and fire sucks.

Very good for a game talking about how cool and awesome billionaires used to be in 2023.

[sheeldz]

Look, cards on the table, I'm a lapsed drummer, and in theory rhythm games should be my bread and butter, but from Elite Beat Agents to the dance off in Pikuniku, I'm dreadful at them. And I put that down to those games being about matching the melody, not the beat. Enter Hifi Rush, a game that hit me like a tonne of bricks.

With searingly high resolution 60 frames per second Jet Set Radio eye popping graphics, the likes of which I'd never seen before. A soundtrack that opened strong and continued to be brilliant, and a gameplay loop designed effectively to tickle every single receptor in my brain, with fun platforming and over the top boss fights.

With loads of cogs to collect, fun graffiti to discover, fun platforming and satisfying kill rooms, and those cut scenes that oozed style, all merge to create an incredible experience that I didn't think Xbox had the confidence to release. The only problem was the parrying - something I disliked and spent the fourteen hours never being able to nail.

One of the freshest games and funny new IPs in decades.

[markfm007]

Hi-Fi Rush is a real delight. It has a fun and easy-going nature, its bright comic art and stylistic effects are quietly impressive, and its campaign surprisingly engaging and well paced. The comedy and evocation of nostalgia never felt anachronistic or cynical to me. While not every joke is a winner, many had me smiling or laughing out loud. There are some memorable moments and bosses (I loved Korsica and Roquefort), and some cracking needle drops - Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Black Keys etc. The soundtrack itself mostly has a simple garage rock style that feels well suited to the game, if a bit repetitive and unadventurous at times. I wouldn’t have minded a little more variation.

The gameplay is a nice mix of rhythm action, platforming and grappling/zip-lining that I found very enjoyable. The action can get a bit hectic for me at times, but for the most part was excellent. It’s fun regardless, but when you really nail the beats and combos, it’s so satisfying and joyful. I’m not very musical and was able to hold my own on hard mode, and the game is very accommodating in its presentation and tutorialization. I liked the platforming parts too, even if they were a bit stiff. Overall Hi-Fi Rush is not perfect, and it definitely feels aimed at the aging millennial (guilty). But I’d happily recommend it to anyone looking for a no-frills fun time, and feel that it deserves to be counted with the best of a very busy year of gaming.

Three Word Review: Chai! Chai! Chai!

[Alex79]

Each individual component of Hi-Fi Rush suggests this was a game built especially for me. Third person combat, rhythm action, lovely cell-shaded style graphics and a banging soundtrack featuring my favourite band ever, Nine Inch Nails! So why didn't I love it? I honestly don't know. (EDIT: He then goes on to explain why he didn't love it )

The game started so well, I felt, but I quickly became tired of the endless dialogue dumps and couldn't skip past them quick enough. I enjoyed the combat at the start of the game but it quickly became overly complicated with difficult parries and too many combos that I couldn't remember, and I just kind of drifted away from the game and never went back. I know in my own head that I gave up too quickly with this game, but when Gamepass has so much else to offer it can be hard to keep pushing against something that isn't giving back what you want.

I may go back one day, but I feel like I'd need to restart the entire game to get back in to the flow of things, and to be perfectly honest that idea does not appeal to me!

THREE WORD REVIEW: A near miss.