If it wasn’t already clear, I love Hi-Fi Rush. When it all comes together, it’s truly a sight to behold. They’ll take turns attacking in time to the beat, which gives combat the feeling of a highly choreographed dance number. Thankfully, they’re beholden to the same rules as the player. None of this would matter if enemies could do whatever they wanted though. This is important for maintaining the pace of combat, but is also the lynchpin that keeps Hi-Fi Rush from becoming a frustrating mess for players that struggle with rhythm games. Crucially, you’re never punished for missing a beat. To that end, Hi-Fi Rush rewards players with a damage boost for any attack they perform in time with the music. Now, obviously button mashing isn’t the preferred way to play. This means that, if all else fails, you can realistically button mash your way through an encounter. The game is much more concerned with keeping you in a flow state, than scrutinizing whether you’re on beat. Chai will always act on beat, regardless of when players press buttons. One of Hi-Fi Rush’s greatest advantages is how lenient it is about execution. Look – I know this isn’t how the game is meant to be played, but hear me out. This is probably the single most useful piece of audio feedback the player receives, and can help to keep them on track while they’re bouncing through hoards of robot baddies. As Chai lands his combos on beat, an imaginary crowd will begin cheering him on. However, the real standout is the cheering from the crowd. The most noticeable of these are the guitar rift, and tambourine that play as you jump, and dash with the music. When that happens, the various audio snippets that play whenever the player hits perfect timing will provide immediate feedback about how they’re doing. This was a nice addition as the combat can often get a bit unwieldy. Were these visuals not enough, they’re complimented beautifully by a host of audio aids. That didn’t stop me from completely dropping the ball in the heat of combat, but I faired far better than I would have without all of this assistance. I’d then start tapping my foot along, while performing a few basic combos on the air to make sure I’d gotten a proper handle on the timing. Whenever I started a level, my eyes would immediately look to Chai, and 808 so I could find the beat. Players can also optionally enable a classic rhythm bar at the bottom of the screen with the press of a button.Īll of these visual accoutrements may sound excessive, but I found them hugely beneficial. This is the least intrusive of the visual aids in Hi-Fi Rush, as the UI needs to remain readable at all times. If that wasn’t enough, the UI also oscillates in time with each track in the game. This all looks a little strange, but does an excellent job providing the player with numerous ways visualize the cadence they’re meant to perform with. Chai also snaps his fingers to the music while standing idle, and his run cycle is tied to the rhythm of the current song. 808 even gives out a handy visual indicator that perfectly syncs to the beat, which can be customized in the options menu. He, and his sidekick 808, will sway in time with the music at all times. It’s not just the background that boops along to the music: Chai, the game’s protagonist, does too. Conveyer belts, machine presses, and robotic arms all sway, and clack in time with the music. The first few levels are chock full of examples as players roam the production centre of their robot adversaries. Throughout each stage, numerous background elements will bump along to the music. It isn’t uncommon for rhythm games to prominently feature visual aids to help players stay on beat, but Hi-Fi Rush goes well beyond what is normally provided. The first, and most obvious, of Hi-Fi Rush’s basket of tricks are its visuals. A lot of care has been put into ensuring that Hi-Fi Rush is fun for players of a wide variety of skill levels, and that includes those of us who have trouble with rhythm games. At first glance, Hi-Fi Rush seemed like it was going to be way too hard to get into.Īs it would turn out, that wasn’t the case, which proved my initial misgivings unfounded. Now you want me to attack, dodge, and parry in time with the music? Are you nuts? I could barely keep track of what I was doing during the later levels of Bayonetta. Spectacle fighters are notoriously difficult already. I’ll be honest, I was extremely skeptical at first.
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