Before I write this review, I want to point that even though it’s not a 10/10 or GOTY experience for me, I’m glad it is for so many others. If it means we get more action-platformers in the future, I’m all for it.
On to the review - I’d be a dummy if I didn’t think Hi-Fi Rush is a fantastic looking video game. The art style is so much fun and bursting to life with color. I never got bored looking at the game. Unfortunately, though, I did get a little bored playing it. It’s not that what Hi-Fi Rush offers in terms of gameplay is bad, it’s just that outside of the rhythm component, which is not particularly done well (more on that later), what is offered is very by-the-books. You’re progressing through mostly linear levels collecting things to help power up your character, occasionally finding a side path with more stuff to collect, fighting rounds of enemies in small arenas, and then tackling a boss. Again, none of it is bad, per se, but it’s also not unique.
Where the game is really supposed to shine is its rhythm-based action. Attacks, jumps, dashes, and parries can all be performed in rhythm to power them up. On paper, this sounds amazing, but the execution is sloppy. For one, the music is a complete afterthought and doesn’t help you find the rhythm of the beat. The originals, in particular, are not very good, either. Most of the time, it was really difficult to make out how the music was synced up to the beat, which defeats the purpose of the game. Instead, I had to look for visual cues in the environment to know when I should be on beat. It’s worth mentioning that you can play through the game just fine without being on beat, but the game will remind you after every battle as to how poor you’re doing. Had the music been better and the controller’s rumble feature been utilized to feel the beat (rumble only works when you time an attack with the beat), I think I would have enjoyed myself more. I also think the game would’ve been better served by having each level have its own unique beat. After all, the game’s levels are called tracks. When’s the last time you listened to an album where each track had the same beat?
Overall, I’m pretty disappointed this game didn’t land with me like it did so many others. Based on the hype, I was expecting a platformer mashed up with a game like Amplitude and it falls short of that. Because I enjoy platformers so much, I’m still glad I played it, but I really wanted to love it. Hopefully a sequel will address many of the shortcomings I found in the game.
On to the review - I’d be a dummy if I didn’t think Hi-Fi Rush is a fantastic looking video game. The art style is so much fun and bursting to life with color. I never got bored looking at the game. Unfortunately, though, I did get a little bored playing it. It’s not that what Hi-Fi Rush offers in terms of gameplay is bad, it’s just that outside of the rhythm component, which is not particularly done well (more on that later), what is offered is very by-the-books. You’re progressing through mostly linear levels collecting things to help power up your character, occasionally finding a side path with more stuff to collect, fighting rounds of enemies in small arenas, and then tackling a boss. Again, none of it is bad, per se, but it’s also not unique.
Where the game is really supposed to shine is its rhythm-based action. Attacks, jumps, dashes, and parries can all be performed in rhythm to power them up. On paper, this sounds amazing, but the execution is sloppy. For one, the music is a complete afterthought and doesn’t help you find the rhythm of the beat. The originals, in particular, are not very good, either. Most of the time, it was really difficult to make out how the music was synced up to the beat, which defeats the purpose of the game. Instead, I had to look for visual cues in the environment to know when I should be on beat. It’s worth mentioning that you can play through the game just fine without being on beat, but the game will remind you after every battle as to how poor you’re doing. Had the music been better and the controller’s rumble feature been utilized to feel the beat (rumble only works when you time an attack with the beat), I think I would have enjoyed myself more. I also think the game would’ve been better served by having each level have its own unique beat. After all, the game’s levels are called tracks. When’s the last time you listened to an album where each track had the same beat?
Overall, I’m pretty disappointed this game didn’t land with me like it did so many others. Based on the hype, I was expecting a platformer mashed up with a game like Amplitude and it falls short of that. Because I enjoy platformers so much, I’m still glad I played it, but I really wanted to love it. Hopefully a sequel will address many of the shortcomings I found in the game.