It's a blessing and a curse that Bethesda had absolutely 0 confidence in this title given that it was instantly released despite having 5 supposed years of development with no marketing or advertising. More eyes should had seen Hi-Fi Rush long before we even knew of its conception, and yet it unknowingly dropping on the market lead to an incredibly unique and entertaining surprise.
Just from the trailer you can tell the game oozes with charm, signifying the heavy importance of its visual audio presentation. Being a character action game with a heavy emphasis on rhythm, the environment will move and display itself to match the constant tempo that's tied into the gameplay loop. The game wants you to move to the beat, as everything is tied to it. From platforming sections to enemy attacks, simply keeping conscious to the rhythm is the absolute best means of performing well in combat sections.
As for the story and writing, it's very "Saturday Morning Cartoon" all while staying consistently entertaining. It never meanders far enough into Borderlands territory where the jokes and punchlines become grating, and never shatters the fourth wall to a degree that most other cartoons in the current modern are are so obsessed with doing these days. Really if you've played similar character action titles like Godhand and Vanquish, a lot of this will be entertainingly familiar, which is nothing but more praise for the work.
With all that praise out of the way, I do have some issues that aren't really present in other titles. For starters, this is a character action game with added emphasis on platforming, and despite that, Chai both lacks varied jump heights and general horizontal movement. You press the jump button, and you will always go the same height. There's no context sensitive amount or means to hold the button for more distance, and while you do have access to a double jump and an air dash, the act of jumping feels like it's more in line with combo and combat structure and far less when it comes to platforming, which again is something you do a lot of.
Though that's very minor compared to the sheer lack of horizontal mobility. Many attacks don't propel you forward enough, which doesn't aid itself when fighting several enemies that will actively make attempts to avoid you. You have the grappling hook to close the distance, but that doesn't leave enemies in a stunned state, and will often just run away the moment you grapple to their position. And this problem only elevates itself further when platforming comes to mind. There will be several jumps you simply miss because of a visual misconception of how far the jump sent you. And again you do have an air dash, but not only is that also a set distance, but at times it can undershoot and overshoot certain obstacles. I wouldn't want anything comical like Kratos and friends ice sliding to their targets halfway across the map with each hit, but at times it really feels like Chai is stuck in mud and not nearly as mobile as he appears.
But these few issues don't overtly detract from the experience, and given that it's either a very fairly priced $30 title or extremely generous offer on the Game Pass, I can't recommend this game enough. It's almost surreal we got something like this in the current year from such a major publisher, and I'm more used to seeing these sorts of titles in the very sparse indie scene. Not only is this a tremendously grand experience, but I hope it only sends further messages to major gaming studios that people don't want these 200 million budget empty sandboxes or walking simulators. There is a market for games that have such a vibrant pulse that don't cost a ridiculous amount to fund and create.
This was someone's passion project, and I seriously hope we see more from them.
Just from the trailer you can tell the game oozes with charm, signifying the heavy importance of its visual audio presentation. Being a character action game with a heavy emphasis on rhythm, the environment will move and display itself to match the constant tempo that's tied into the gameplay loop. The game wants you to move to the beat, as everything is tied to it. From platforming sections to enemy attacks, simply keeping conscious to the rhythm is the absolute best means of performing well in combat sections.
As for the story and writing, it's very "Saturday Morning Cartoon" all while staying consistently entertaining. It never meanders far enough into Borderlands territory where the jokes and punchlines become grating, and never shatters the fourth wall to a degree that most other cartoons in the current modern are are so obsessed with doing these days. Really if you've played similar character action titles like Godhand and Vanquish, a lot of this will be entertainingly familiar, which is nothing but more praise for the work.
With all that praise out of the way, I do have some issues that aren't really present in other titles. For starters, this is a character action game with added emphasis on platforming, and despite that, Chai both lacks varied jump heights and general horizontal movement. You press the jump button, and you will always go the same height. There's no context sensitive amount or means to hold the button for more distance, and while you do have access to a double jump and an air dash, the act of jumping feels like it's more in line with combo and combat structure and far less when it comes to platforming, which again is something you do a lot of.
Though that's very minor compared to the sheer lack of horizontal mobility. Many attacks don't propel you forward enough, which doesn't aid itself when fighting several enemies that will actively make attempts to avoid you. You have the grappling hook to close the distance, but that doesn't leave enemies in a stunned state, and will often just run away the moment you grapple to their position. And this problem only elevates itself further when platforming comes to mind. There will be several jumps you simply miss because of a visual misconception of how far the jump sent you. And again you do have an air dash, but not only is that also a set distance, but at times it can undershoot and overshoot certain obstacles. I wouldn't want anything comical like Kratos and friends ice sliding to their targets halfway across the map with each hit, but at times it really feels like Chai is stuck in mud and not nearly as mobile as he appears.
But these few issues don't overtly detract from the experience, and given that it's either a very fairly priced $30 title or extremely generous offer on the Game Pass, I can't recommend this game enough. It's almost surreal we got something like this in the current year from such a major publisher, and I'm more used to seeing these sorts of titles in the very sparse indie scene. Not only is this a tremendously grand experience, but I hope it only sends further messages to major gaming studios that people don't want these 200 million budget empty sandboxes or walking simulators. There is a market for games that have such a vibrant pulse that don't cost a ridiculous amount to fund and create.
This was someone's passion project, and I seriously hope we see more from them.