Hi Fi Rush feels like the first season of a really solid action anime. The writing isn't always amazing, and you can tell where they had to skimp on budget, but the parts that are good are really, really good and keep you wanting more.

To get this out of the way: I love character action games, and I also love rhythm games. Unfortunately I'm pretty bad at both of them. Thankfully, Hi Fi Rush goes to great lengths to ease the player into the rhythm and combat mechanics so that it never feels overwhelming, and the difficulty on Normal felt pretty reasonable while also rewarding constant use of parries and tag assists. Honestly, character action games are all about getting into a rhythm to begin with, so once you get into a fight, following the beat feels shockingly natural.

I feel too many people underestimate the strength of an amazing soundtrack in a high energy action game, so I'm glad Tango decided to put that element at the forefront. While I will admit I don't fully share game director John Johanas' love of 2000s-era pop rock, it absolutely fits the fantastic cel-shaded pop-art aesthetic and the upbeat vibes of Chai's adventure.

The writing is a bit hit or miss for me. I get that they were trying to do the Scott Pilgrim thing where the main character goes from a cocky asshole to a considerate friend over the course of the story, but the game isn't really long enough to give that arc justice and the amount of trust the team puts in Chai by the end doesn't really feel earned. The humor is also very much in the Airplane! style of "throwing seven million jokes at the wall and seeing what sticks," which means a few gags got a chuckle out of me while a lot of them felt like they leaned a bit too hard into making meta jokes about the absurd nature of video games. Yes, I know hitting a big button to open a door doesn't really make sense, but also pointing that out isn't really funny to me?

Along those lines, the game's writing isn't subtle about the game being limited by budget, including an extended gag referencing another game that very famously had the same problem. While I think the team at Tango did a great job with the resources they had, I can't help but think how much could be expanded in a sequel. I would absolutely love to be able to fully control Peppermint, Macaron and [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS] to get a different spin on the rhythm combat. A bit more stage variety would be appreciated too - the outdoor sections are neat but a lot of the game's indoor factories feel pretty samey.

I realize a lot of people are already declaring HFR GOTY material, and while I wouldn't go that far, I can't deny that I'm impressed with Tango's first attempt at a character action game, and I really hope they build on the solid foundation they already have for a potentially incredible sequel.

The biggest surprise out of everything, beyond even the surprise announcement and release, is that I've now realized I actually really like That One Joy Formidable Song. You win this round, Johanas.

Reviewed on Mar 12, 2023


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