Exactly 1 Moon cycle ago I beat Metal: Hellsinger. I criticised that game for forcing rhythm into a genre that is only held back by doing actions to the beat (and in my opinion, every First Person Shooter is a Rhythm Game, with the beats per minute equal to twice the amount of frames it takes to reload a shotgun). For starters, Hi-Fi Rush has a more engaging presentation, I mean I literally downloaded it because it vaguely looked liked Jet Set Radio Future if I squinted, but I think the thought process behind both games execution is the same if I dare give Metal: Hellsinger any credit.

The only deciding factor is genre. Spectacle Fighter games are already Rhythm games! "McDoot!" I hear you cry, "You just said first person shooters are rhythm games too!" And to that I say "yes!" Everything is a rhythm game! But whereas rhythm felt like a constraint in Metal: Hellsinger, Hi-Fi Rush frames it as a Rosetta Stone for deciphering an entire genre. Every character in a Spectacle Fighter game has frame times and parries, it just so happens that here they are perfectly translated to the beat. If you want more complex action and higher reaching ambitions then please go get S rankings in every DMC game - and I am hoping that having beat this game and understood what makes the genre will make that task easier/more enjoyable.

This game. What a banger.
Even if this was like a $50 game my days it would be worth it and I've played it for an hour only.

It's devil may cry meets sunset overdrive meets jet set radio meets anime meets comic.

Based on that alone you should play it.

Gave it a 10, everything is sick the soundtrack, gameplay, animations, characters, story.

If It changes I'll update this but looks like it won't.

This game is simply a masterpiece, what gaming should be about.

EDIT: Beat the game and it's a masterpiece, I wasn't wrong. So fun.

Once you get past the novelty of rhythm combos, it's not the mechanically deepest game out there, but the presentation is exuberant and the focus on the on-beat fun in every aspect from the gameplay to the visuals and soundtrack never wears off. The inconsistent character designs put me off at first (the game sometimes feels like it can't settle on an art style) and that first trailer didn't do the writing any justice, but this party grew on me a lot over time, with a lot of fun interactions, neat arcs, and really rad culmination of their efforts before the final boss. It just kinda feels like a cool 6th-gen action game I'd have played back in the day so the fact that it brings me the same feeling as an ice-cold Fanta in July is a good bonus.

The only thing keeping this from being a 5 is that the soundtrack is mostly unmemorable which isn't really a good thing if you're supposed to be a rhythm game. Otherwise, this is peak. Combat system is fluid and satisfying. As someone who's been binging DMC games recently, this rivals them with how intricate, layered, and flashy it gets. The visuals are amazing and the characters are super charming. You can call the writing or humor Reddit-tier all you want but love it or hate it, it's soul asf. Also, I fucking yelled at the final boss bruh that shit was just peak.

I was straight stressed out about Tango Gameworks after the poor sales of Evil Within 2. I am supremely, pleasantly surprised this game came out of nowhere and it is REALLY good. The concept of a character action rhythm game with a cel shaded, comic book-y art style feels like this game was made for me by Shinji Mikami himself.

Not done with it by a long shot, but look man, my jaw is on the fucking on the floor because one my favorite game directors dropped a bomb on us out of nowhere and I REALLY enjoy it.

Fuck yeah! Videogames can still be exciting and fun!