Never before has a game so quickly become one of my favorites of all time. The storytelling and musical style perfectly compliment the immensely satisfying action. Wordplay absolutely intended, but Hi-Fi Rush hits all the right notes, for me! It's great to see a review that focuses this much on the technical aspects! You're lovingly, yet brutally honest about how the game's ideas could be improved even further. I desperately hope for a sequel or follow-up of some kind, if for no other reason than to just have fun with these characters again.
Microsoft's shutdown of Tango Gameworks makes this video extra tragic, as this game was really fun and had a lot of potential for a sequel that could have refined and perfected this already really good game. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Tango was already in the process of pitching a sequel.
Hi-Fi Rush is a game that, for a lack of a better phrase, manages to hit all the right notes. There are definitely flaws in this game, I'm quite baffled at the lack of a lock-on toggle, but at the end of the day, I see this as a game that is not only trying out a (somewhat) new concept, but also embracing it full stop. It genuinely gave me the same feeling I had when I was a teen walking into a video game store and discovering Jet Set Radio on the store shelves, with nothing but a quick ad to give me an idea on what I was in for. It's quite shocking how a game that just dropped out of nowhere ended up being a full complete and charming package. No waiting, just a game that knows what it is and knows it will entertain us. I hope to see more of this with all the good quality-of-life improvements in the future.
Once again, you making critiques on things you actually enjoy reflect on the overall great quality of the video, I also love how this went straight to your points not making it either too long or short, just the perfect length, good work.
Great video! I wholeheartedly agree with your criticism, but I feel like Hi - Rush is an incredible base for the game to transform into the more hard-core and full of depth action game that we all want it to be. The concept of a rhythm-based action game is really unlike many games out there, so I feel like Tango Gameworks created a perfect in-between that brought people into the action-game genre while providing a fresh take for Veterans. I love Bayo 1 to death, but even I know why newcomers are put off by its complex combat. Most people I know either gave up after the first few chapters or played the entire game without knowing dodge offset was even a thing! (Me included) Bayo 2, on the otherhand, was much easier to get into for newcomers, although much weaker from a mechanical standpoint. I feel like you need a game like Hi Fi to rope in players with its concept and execution so the developers can really dig into what makes the game so damn satisfying in the sequel. U need DMC1 so DMC3 (and 4 and 5 of course) can be made. That being said, I share every sentiment that you have with the game lol. Your videos are really something special! 15:07 THANK YOUU!! Glad you showed that clip, because I'm pretty sure that combo is bugged. Every other combo in the game can be canceled after the beat hit with with parry except that one. Hopefully there's more visibility on it because it genuinely seems like a bug or a weird developer oversight.
It's odd that even though they very much intended for people to play through this game more than once, they'd leave in all the unskippable dialogue and tutorial sections on repeat playthroughs even on Rhythm Master. Just the other week I was practicing that final fight in track 8 with the fire enemies on the electric floors and on top of it being a tough fight (arguably the toughest in the game imo) you have to essentially wait through another load screen when you enter the room and I replayed this A LOT before I got a good run so I can pretty much recite that whole cutscene from memory now xD Love this game, I just think small things like that really hurt it in the long run since it puts me off touching the game at times.
I just finished Hi-Fi Rush a little over an hour ago so I could finally watch this! This is the first time I've played a game with an emphasis on combat... I guess besides Frontiers but that barely counts. Overall had a total blast with it, but I found myself really struggling to enjoy the combat at times, and your criticisms of the system is pretty much how I feel. Those fire enemies can be a pain and the spike in difficulty with Kale caused a lot of frustration. Fortunately it didn't happen often and didn't hinder my experience very much and I had a great time regardless. When the combat clicks, it feels great. After playing this, I'm definitely considering DMC or Bayo. Great video! Nice to see you cover something not Sonic related as well!
This is one of those games that i would love a sequel. But just working in a future DLC while you patch some of the fixable problems (lock-on), could add so much to the game itself. One of the rare cases that i wish for a DLC
Awesome review, man! Loved the way you articulated your thoughts on each aspect of the game, and there were a lot _really_ solid critiques here too! Edit: 19:40 OK, that one got a good laugh outta me 🤣 Also, that outfit combination in most of the video REALLY does accentuate how much Chai can feel like Nero at times, lol (especially with the robotic arm). Out of curiosity, since this is such a unique blend of gameplay styles, would you be open to a Hi-Fi Rush sequel if it meant further polish to the formula? Or do you think it should be a one and done (with perhaps DLC/patches to implement elements their budget may have kept them from including)?
Thank you! I'd be down for a sequel, I'd love to see these ideas pushed further. A DLC would be great as well, but I feel the scope of a full sequel would do them a lot more favours.
This is similarly tied to a feeling of Luigi’s Mansion. It’s a new idea and has some problems, but the experience at its core is short yet fulfilling that can be improved. Hi-Fi Rush is like a breath of fresh air in the contemporary nature of safe Triple A ‘Game Award Gotcha’ industry. Nintendo throws an oddball of the likes of Hi-Fi, other big companies should do the same. Risks are essential in breathing new creativity into anything and you never know what may stick unless you try. Ironic coming from a certain franchise who I will not name, inconsistent risks and lack of experience. Still, I hope this new IP really takes off and if kept on a good course may become Microsoft’s newest mascot. As for one who hasn’t been invested in Microsoft in a very long time, this was very welcoming. Sony, you’re up.
Microsoft had nothing to do with this game being made outside of not interfering with development, games like psychonauts 2 and pentiment are examples of them giving devs a major hand in development.
I always like your non Sonic videos and now that I finally got a gaming laptop this video alone has now want me to try this game out for myself. Your content is amazing you always have this calm, layed back tone when critiquing games that you are passionate about keep it up 👍
Your comment about Perfect Dr*g adding unnecessary difficulty for the final battle was totally correct. I'd been struggling with Kale's attack timings because they felt very un-cued and off the beat and failed several times, then turned on Streamer Mode and beat him on the first try. Perfect Dr*g is full of syncopation, polyrhythms, and is just overall a very rhythmically complex song, and it was a terrible choice for a game so focused on quarter note beats. It's a great fit thematically and vibe-wise, but made the Kale fight feel extremely unfair, which sucks for the last level...
You know what really sucks? It's only available on Xbox Series X and PC, which means a greater audience who are genuinely interested in this game like I am won't be able to access it unless they pay ridiculous amounts of money to buy a whole new console or PC setup for just one game (speaking from a primarly Playstation guy nowadays)
Buying a whole new console definitely sucks, and I won't pretend that PC's aren't incredibly expensive at the moment. However, I would still heavily encourage buying a good computer and sticking with it long-term, turning into your primary game system and workstation. That's why I stick with PC for everything, I get everything I want in one place, and can just connect it to the TV if I want to play on the couch instead of my desk. But yes, I totally get what you mean, exclusives can be annoying, but they are unfortunately a somewhat necessary evil.
oh! you mentioned pause combos and stuff other games have cool indicators too! dmc devil may cry (yes, the reboot one) has Donte's sword glow when you are able to do the pause combo and in Bayonetta, when you hit an enemy her guns spin and that can help you time the pause combos
Not really, NSR and HFR have different combat designs. NSR is very much so focused on bosses over normal enemies, and their attacks align with different instruments and parts of their boss theme and not just the beat. It's impressive that throughout the years, all the bosses have had two extra variants to their boss theme added to them on top of Normal, Rock and EDM versions. HFR has the rhythm, but NSR really is about music as a whole. Why people play it, the effect it has on people, how music as an industry can work and how *that* affects people, and more. In terms of technicalities and being a pretty big and complex experience, HFR is probably the better game as such. NSR is still very much its own thing throughout all the ups and downs and other parts and it doesn't want to be HFR. Both of them have the style, music, characters and world. NSR has hit more strongly for me, and it's really nice to see HFR be celebrated as much as it is. Both worlds can go hand in hand.
I mean, jazz fusion would be cool... But IMAGINE if they put in SF6's hip-hop, or SF5's djent (Ring of Pride comes to mind especially). I'd lose it tbh.
My only real experience is with the PC version, so I'd recommend that, but it should be just fine on console as well. It's supposed to be getting a Switch port soon, but they haven't said anything about it for a year or two.
