While I'm tempted to lean into the joke and give a nudge and wink and say something clever and unassuming, the reality is that this map is insane and I am in love with it.

My man somehow managed to dig up a forum account with 17 years of posting history specifically for this map? The google drive is full of goodies and a major plot point is hidden as a QR code on a gravestone! And I haven't even mentioned what actually happens within the wad pk3.

Game of the Year.

Every FPS is a rhythm game if the soundtrack is good enough.

Here is Doom Eternal sans all of its intricacies, weapon wheel and abilities; stripped away in lieu of a metronomic blast-beat to make. sure. you. always. shoot. on. time. The enemies are immune to this however and will attack as they please.

The tracks that serve as the focal point for this glorified (demonified?) desktop visualiser blur into one streak - each iconic (or maybe symbolic) vocal performance flattened by un-inspired instrumentation and musical choices - the final track showcasing this discord the strongest. Serj Tankian is fighting for his life while the band is chugging the same power chords as the last 14 tracks.

Not a single 7/4 time signature or triplet in sight. Truly hellish.

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.