Hi-Fi Rush isn't the type of game I'd pick up and play, but I heard so many things about it that I just had to try it (thank you, Game Pass). It sorta ended up being what I already expected, with a few surprises along the way.
This game is downright gorgeous! The animations, vibrant colors, cutscenes, character design and even the visual cues were amazing. It makes you feel comfortable to play, while doing it all in style. The level design is also quite amazing. At times I loved the platforming moments, little puzzles and just traversing through areas way more interesting than the battle system.
Unfortunately, the story and writing are very dumb and obvious. I know that its silliness can actually be intentional, but I just couldn't do it with the dialogue and the lack of development on the plot and its characters. I loved the presentation and the cast/villains were quite charming, but I couldn't care for them. Honestly, the worst aspect of the game.
But the real deal here is the combat. A cool weird mix between Devil May Cry and, I don't know, Guitar Hero, I guess. For me, it worked. Not always, but it did work. It took a long time to click, but it was fun when it did. The thing that bothered me the most was that, sometimes, it didn't really feel like I was doing combos on the beat when I KNEW that I was. And yes, I checked and tweaked things in the options menu. Also, sometimes I was more focused on the beat than in actually moving forward. It's very strange, but there is beauty in it.
The bosses were hilights for me, the enemy variety is interesting but sort of lacking (some of them, like the bird and the samurai, are annoying as hell), the environments look very good but are somewhat repetitive and combos were cool to pull off but buying them on the store didn't seem to shake up the combat that much.
The parry mechanic left me a bit conflicted as well. Hitting perfect parries made feel like an untouchable badass, but I HATED the obligatory parry moments as they were more of a nuisance than an impactful quirk.
One other thing that was a bit of a hit or miss for me was the music. I think that's what kept me from enjoying this game more. The licensed music is great. I never thought I'd actually fight a video game boss to the sound of NIN, Number Girl and even a Flaming Lips cover. That was amazing.
As for the original music? It was bland and forgettable. And for a game that puts music as the forefront of its design, it needed to be awesome.
Hi-Fi Rush is not my type of game, but it's a fun experience, for sure! I liked how entertaining, charming, imaginative and technical it is, but I did not fall in love with its cast, story, world and, most importantly, music.
If you have Game Pass, though, you should definitely give it a try!
This game is downright gorgeous! The animations, vibrant colors, cutscenes, character design and even the visual cues were amazing. It makes you feel comfortable to play, while doing it all in style. The level design is also quite amazing. At times I loved the platforming moments, little puzzles and just traversing through areas way more interesting than the battle system.
Unfortunately, the story and writing are very dumb and obvious. I know that its silliness can actually be intentional, but I just couldn't do it with the dialogue and the lack of development on the plot and its characters. I loved the presentation and the cast/villains were quite charming, but I couldn't care for them. Honestly, the worst aspect of the game.
But the real deal here is the combat. A cool weird mix between Devil May Cry and, I don't know, Guitar Hero, I guess. For me, it worked. Not always, but it did work. It took a long time to click, but it was fun when it did. The thing that bothered me the most was that, sometimes, it didn't really feel like I was doing combos on the beat when I KNEW that I was. And yes, I checked and tweaked things in the options menu. Also, sometimes I was more focused on the beat than in actually moving forward. It's very strange, but there is beauty in it.
The bosses were hilights for me, the enemy variety is interesting but sort of lacking (some of them, like the bird and the samurai, are annoying as hell), the environments look very good but are somewhat repetitive and combos were cool to pull off but buying them on the store didn't seem to shake up the combat that much.
The parry mechanic left me a bit conflicted as well. Hitting perfect parries made feel like an untouchable badass, but I HATED the obligatory parry moments as they were more of a nuisance than an impactful quirk.
One other thing that was a bit of a hit or miss for me was the music. I think that's what kept me from enjoying this game more. The licensed music is great. I never thought I'd actually fight a video game boss to the sound of NIN, Number Girl and even a Flaming Lips cover. That was amazing.
As for the original music? It was bland and forgettable. And for a game that puts music as the forefront of its design, it needed to be awesome.
Hi-Fi Rush is not my type of game, but it's a fun experience, for sure! I liked how entertaining, charming, imaginative and technical it is, but I did not fall in love with its cast, story, world and, most importantly, music.
If you have Game Pass, though, you should definitely give it a try!