Hi-Fi Rush is a flashy game with a lot to do and that is absolutely why it has captured the heart of the internet. Unfortunately, it does have some elements holding it back from being a truly perfect game. I'm here to poke a few holes in everybody's new Game of the Year contendor.
First off, the main gameplay loop consists mainly of platforming sections and fighting gauntlets. Levels use this loop to varying degrees of success. At its best, the platforming is used to create some really fun puzzles that combine your movement abilities with your partner abilities. At their worst, the game will just have you jump across blocks for 20 minutes. Overall, the platforming is pretty consistent, it only falters a few times closer to the middle and end of the game. The fighting, however, can really grow old in some areas. Sometimes, instead of designing levels, the game will put 10 enemies in front of you and just say "kill". Enemies do get many variations at the beginning, but towards the end you will start seeing the same enemies over and over. This would not be so bad if the combat were consistent. While in the beginning, the combat does require genuine strategy and skill to beat enemies effectively. However, after you obtain your second partner, that partner system begins to break the game's combat entirely as it becomes much easier to summon partners as often as possible and have them damage and distract enemies for you. This main gameplay loop can lead to some of the best levels in the game, and at other points will have you playing mindless gauntlets for an hour. The production areas and museum are two stand-out examples of the solid side of this gameplay.
Outside of the main gameplay loop, there is an upgrade system that allows you to customize attacks, specials, gear and "chips", which act as bonus abilities to boost your powers. The attacks and specials are fun to customize to see which abilities work for you, and the ability to sell them makes it so you can choose to allocate those credits elsewhere in the lategame. The chips are unfortunately not very important, and I found myself mostly just using the ones that decreased partner recharge time. The gear is what will give you the most edge in battle but really does not offer much in the way of customization. Additionally, you can speak with your partners at your hideout, (when the game lets you access the hideout) and check smaller challenges the game has set for you. Although the hideout was fun at first, I found myself mostly avoiding the content once the game really started to pick up.
As for presentation, this is where Hi-Fi Rush really shines. Enviornments are very rich and feel lived despite the game mostly being a set of linear platforming levels. Characters are super well-designed, with each one feeling distinct in their own way. (Unfortunately, somebody on the team must have been a gigantic Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fan, as Zanzo is quite literally the stereotype of a Jojo's fan. I, too, am a jojo fan, but oh my god the constant referncing got really tired, really quickly.) The music is really good, but if I had any complaints, it would be that apart from a few of the boss tracks, none of the tracks felt all that distinct from each other. Some tracks are even a little too ambient for what the game was going for, and therefore, it can be really hard to do anything on rhythm in those sections of the game. However, the artstyle is absolutely the best part of the game. This world and these characters look and feel straight out of a comic book and cutscenes are the highest high points of the game. Unfortunately, that whole "comic book" style the team was going for really bleeds into the writing. While I don't hate the writing this game has, it definitely wears on you with how trope-y it is, and the ways it uses meta humor to try and shield itself from any criticism. If you are not a fan of MCU writing, DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME. Yes, it fits with the tone. Yes, it fits with certain characters. (Kale should've been the only one constantly making jokes because his lines and line delivery are genuinely so funny.) But after you hear the fifteenth "Chai is dumb" and "CNMN says exactly what is happening" joke, it really starts to get old and you just want to move on with the game. The game also has some genuine performance issues that I have not seen called out too much but I hit a couple of big performance drops in certain areas and cutscenes would sometimes desync from the audio.
All in all, while I really appreciate Hi-Fi Rush for such a creative idea with a really rich world and characters, games are defined by their gameplay. Unfortunately for this game, I think there are one too many elements that players will find genuinely frustrating, to the point where I would not be surprised if most of the people praising this game so highly, have not actually finished it, yet. Whether it be the pacing issues, the occasionally repetitive and trope-filled writing, the lackluster side of the platforming level design, or the easy-to-break combat, I think there are just too many elements to give this game the rating I want to give it. Which is really unfortunate because the game is incredibly charming and was clearly made with a lot of love, and even had a lot of elements that I did like. I think that with a sequel, the combat can be better refined, and some tweaks made to the writing can really bring this game the praise I know it deserves.
First off, the main gameplay loop consists mainly of platforming sections and fighting gauntlets. Levels use this loop to varying degrees of success. At its best, the platforming is used to create some really fun puzzles that combine your movement abilities with your partner abilities. At their worst, the game will just have you jump across blocks for 20 minutes. Overall, the platforming is pretty consistent, it only falters a few times closer to the middle and end of the game. The fighting, however, can really grow old in some areas. Sometimes, instead of designing levels, the game will put 10 enemies in front of you and just say "kill". Enemies do get many variations at the beginning, but towards the end you will start seeing the same enemies over and over. This would not be so bad if the combat were consistent. While in the beginning, the combat does require genuine strategy and skill to beat enemies effectively. However, after you obtain your second partner, that partner system begins to break the game's combat entirely as it becomes much easier to summon partners as often as possible and have them damage and distract enemies for you. This main gameplay loop can lead to some of the best levels in the game, and at other points will have you playing mindless gauntlets for an hour. The production areas and museum are two stand-out examples of the solid side of this gameplay.
Outside of the main gameplay loop, there is an upgrade system that allows you to customize attacks, specials, gear and "chips", which act as bonus abilities to boost your powers. The attacks and specials are fun to customize to see which abilities work for you, and the ability to sell them makes it so you can choose to allocate those credits elsewhere in the lategame. The chips are unfortunately not very important, and I found myself mostly just using the ones that decreased partner recharge time. The gear is what will give you the most edge in battle but really does not offer much in the way of customization. Additionally, you can speak with your partners at your hideout, (when the game lets you access the hideout) and check smaller challenges the game has set for you. Although the hideout was fun at first, I found myself mostly avoiding the content once the game really started to pick up.
As for presentation, this is where Hi-Fi Rush really shines. Enviornments are very rich and feel lived despite the game mostly being a set of linear platforming levels. Characters are super well-designed, with each one feeling distinct in their own way. (Unfortunately, somebody on the team must have been a gigantic Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fan, as Zanzo is quite literally the stereotype of a Jojo's fan. I, too, am a jojo fan, but oh my god the constant referncing got really tired, really quickly.) The music is really good, but if I had any complaints, it would be that apart from a few of the boss tracks, none of the tracks felt all that distinct from each other. Some tracks are even a little too ambient for what the game was going for, and therefore, it can be really hard to do anything on rhythm in those sections of the game. However, the artstyle is absolutely the best part of the game. This world and these characters look and feel straight out of a comic book and cutscenes are the highest high points of the game. Unfortunately, that whole "comic book" style the team was going for really bleeds into the writing. While I don't hate the writing this game has, it definitely wears on you with how trope-y it is, and the ways it uses meta humor to try and shield itself from any criticism. If you are not a fan of MCU writing, DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME. Yes, it fits with the tone. Yes, it fits with certain characters. (Kale should've been the only one constantly making jokes because his lines and line delivery are genuinely so funny.) But after you hear the fifteenth "Chai is dumb" and "CNMN says exactly what is happening" joke, it really starts to get old and you just want to move on with the game. The game also has some genuine performance issues that I have not seen called out too much but I hit a couple of big performance drops in certain areas and cutscenes would sometimes desync from the audio.
All in all, while I really appreciate Hi-Fi Rush for such a creative idea with a really rich world and characters, games are defined by their gameplay. Unfortunately for this game, I think there are one too many elements that players will find genuinely frustrating, to the point where I would not be surprised if most of the people praising this game so highly, have not actually finished it, yet. Whether it be the pacing issues, the occasionally repetitive and trope-filled writing, the lackluster side of the platforming level design, or the easy-to-break combat, I think there are just too many elements to give this game the rating I want to give it. Which is really unfortunate because the game is incredibly charming and was clearly made with a lot of love, and even had a lot of elements that I did like. I think that with a sequel, the combat can be better refined, and some tweaks made to the writing can really bring this game the praise I know it deserves.