Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush is an rhythm-action game where the protagonist Chai, his enemies, and parts of the environment move to the beat. Attacking, dodging, and parrying on rhythm is not required, as actions automatically sync up with the music, but by timing the button presses right the players are rewarded with higher damage output and more combo options.^[5]

The game takes place across multiple linear stages, representing various divisions of the antagonist corporation. Each division is based on a particular musical style, and Chai engages in a boss battle at the end of the stage.^[6]

In addition to combat, the game also features some platform game elements, as well as a system of upgrades to unlock new moves, abilities, and perks, which can be purchased with in-game currency found by exploring levels.

25 year old Chai, who has a disabled right arm, enters Vandelay Campus (which is situated on an island) as a volunteer for Project Armstrong in hopes of having his right arm replaced with a cybernetic one so he can pursue his dream of being a rockstar. However, Chai is unaware that the project is merely a front to send its subjects to slave labour once the procedure is complete. As Chai proceeds to the operation chamber, Kale Vandelay, head of Vandelay Technologies that runs Project Armstrong, berates his subordinates over the volunteers being of lowly stature. He then picks up Chai's music player and tosses it aside, falling into Chai's chest just as his operation began, resulting it fusing to his new robotic arm and reacting to the beat of the music from the player.

Chai's operation has deemed him as a defect and is pursued by Vandelay's robots, forcing Chai to combat them using his robotic arm to form a makeshift melee weapon shaped like a guitar. As he makes his escape, he helps a robotic cat named 808, being remotely operated by a mysterious woman, who informs him that Chai is in the Production area of Vanderlay Industries and the only exit is through the Quality Assurance building. After venturing to the QA Building and defeating the first boss, Chai meets 808's operator, Peppermint, and offers him a way out of the island in exchange for investigating and exposing Vandelay's true intentions, which Chai reluctantly agrees.

Chai embarks on a series of missions and defeats members of Vanderlay's management while also gaining allies along the way. It's revealed that those who are infused with Project Armstrong tech are subject to mind control by Vandelay using an AI program called "SPECTRA". Shutting it down requires the pass-keys of all of Vanderlay's Management team, including Kale himself. Peppermint is also revealed to be Kale's sister, who left her family when he forcefully took over Vandelay Industries from their mother, Roxanne, and has been opposing her brother ever since.

After obtaining all but the final pass-key, Chai and his allies proceeded to face Kale, only to find Roxanne, alive and well, and traps the group. Kale appears revealing that Roxanne is under control of SPECTRA and that his modus operandi was to enslave the human race to buy more Vanderlay products of his choosing. Chai frees his allies from the trap and leads them in the final battle with Kale. Kale is defeated and SPECTRA is shut down.

In the aftermath, Roxanne regains control of the Vanderlay Industries with Peppermint and Chai's allies willing to help rebuild the company, while Chai is offered the role of ambassador for Project Armstrong. In the post-credits scene, Chai and the gang gather to look at the sunset while he starts learning how to play guitar - in case his job as ambassador doesn't do so well.

In the March 2022 Famitsu interview, Shinji Mikami, the founder of Tango Gameworks, has stated that he wants the company to venture outside of the survival horror genre and nurture younger game creators. He also mentioned that the next game by The Evil Within 2 director John Johanas is "the complete opposite of horror".^[7]

Johanas described the game as a "dream game" idea he had in his mind since "way, way back." He pitched the title to Bethesda higher ups after completing work on The Evil Within 2 in 2017, and development commenced in parallel with Ghostwire: Tokyo, which was already in production at that point.^[8]

Hi-Fi Rush was announced at Xbox and Bethesda Developer_Direct on January 25, 2023.^[9] The game's appearance was intended as a surprise, although the title and logo were leaked online a day prior to the event.^[10] After showcasing the trailer and some gameplay footage, Tango Gameworks announced that the game will be releasing on the same day for Windows and Xbox Series X/S.^[11]

Discover more about Development related topics

Famitsu

Famitsu

Famitsu, formerly Famicom Tsūshin, is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage, a subsidiary of Kadokawa. Famitsu is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the form of special topical issues devoted to only one console, video game company, or other theme. Shūkan Famitsū, the original Famitsu publication, is considered the most widely read and respected video game news magazine in Japan. From October 28, 2011, the company began releasing the digital version of the magazine exclusively on BookWalker weekly.

Shinji Mikami

Shinji Mikami

Shinji Mikami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer. Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the first installment of the Resident Evil series in 1996 and the first installment of the Dino Crisis series in 1999, both survival horror games. He returned to Resident Evil to direct the remake of the first game in 2002 and the third-person shooter Resident Evil 4 in 2005. In 2006, he directed his final Capcom game God Hand, a beat 'em up action game. Mikami worked at PlatinumGames to direct the third-person shooter Vanquish in 2010. The same year, he founded his own studio Tango Gameworks which has since been acquired by the American company ZeniMax Media. Under his studio, he directed the third-person horror game The Evil Within in 2014. He has also served the roles of producer and executive producer for many games.

Survival horror

Survival horror

Survival horror is a subgenre of horror and survival games of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed and vision, or through various obstructions of the player's interaction with the game mechanics. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas and solve puzzles to proceed in the game. Games make use of strong horror themes, like dark mazelike environments and unexpected attacks from enemies.

The Evil Within 2

The Evil Within 2

The Evil Within 2 is a survival horror video game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. It was released worldwide in October 2017 and is the sequel to 2014's The Evil Within. The game received generally positive reviews; like its predecessor, it received praise for its visuals, atmosphere and gameplay but received some criticism for its story and characters.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Ghostwire: Tokyo

Ghostwire: Tokyo is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game released worldwide on March 25, 2022 as a one-year timed exclusive for PlayStation 5 and Windows.

Xbox

Xbox

Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the name of Xbox Game Studios. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console.

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for servers, and Windows IoT for embedded systems. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone.

Xbox Series X and Series S

Xbox Series X and Series S

The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. The higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S models were released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth-generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, released the same month, the Xbox Series X/S consoles are part of the ninth generation of video game consoles.

Hi-Fi Rush received "generally favorable reviews" on Metacritic.^[12]

Jordan Middler, from VGC, said that Hi-Fi Rush is "oozing with style and confidence", although there are "repetitive level design and some clunky platforming", scoring with a 4 out of a 5 star rating.^[14] Jesse Norris, from XboxEra, praised the combat, calling it sublime, but "can become difficult to read as the screen fills up with utter chaos", scoring it with 9.5 out of 10.^[15] Diego Argüello, from Polygon, called its animation gorgeous and Jet Set Radio-esque art style vivid and arresting.^[16]

Discover more about Reception related topics

Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged. Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999, and is owned by Fandom, Inc. as of 2023.

HobbyConsolas

HobbyConsolas

HobbyConsolas is a Spanish video game magazine founded in 1991 by Hobby Press and published by Axel Springer SE. The first issue appeared in October 1990. The monthly magazine offers information about games for all consoles, and since 2012 has also covered video games for PC and mobile devices. In March 2014 it had a circulation of 32,129 copies, and had approximately 330,000 readers. Their official website is the fifth most visited Spanish video game website.

Polygon (website)

Polygon (website)

Polygon is an American entertainment website that publishes blogs, reviews, guides, videos, and news primarily covering video games, as well as movies, comics, television and books. At its October 2012 launch as Vox Media's third property, Polygon sought to distinguish itself from competitors by focusing on the stories of the people behind the games instead of the games themselves. It also produced long-form magazine-style feature articles, invested in video content, and chose to let their review scores be updated as the game changed.

Jet Set Radio

Jet Set Radio

Jet Set Radio is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GGs, as they use inline skates to traverse Tokyo, spraying graffiti, challenging rival gangs, and evading authorities.