MARS24_UNIKUM_WEB

REVIEW
Unikum’s Corner of Hidden Treasures:
Tobias Klausen
Writer
Photo: Steam, Xbox Wire, Tobias Klausen
HI-FI RUSH
Unikum’s Corner of Hidden Treasures is a column in which Unikum’s writer
recommends pieces of media they believe more people should know and love.
2023 was an incredible year
for video games, so much so
that we were drowning in epic
experiences. From The Legend of
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Alan
Wake 2 and Resident Evil 4 Remake
to Baldur’s Gate 3, Super Mario
Wonder and Marvel’s Spider-Man
2. Every gamer’s wallet was broke
and tarnished (Elden Ring pun
intended) before the new year
could be rung in. So, in this vast sea of greatness, it’s no wonder that
the amazing Hi-Fi Rush got slightly drowned, despite winning Best
Sound Design. Even more baffling is its release, it was just shadowdropped
on January 25th, the full game available without any
prior trailers or marketing. Regardless of its lack of advertisement,
the game was favorably received amongst critics and even sold
a decent amount, landing around the three million mark. And
despite all of this, it never seemed that the game quite reached the
public gamer discussion at all, only cooking in a niche discourse.
Hi-Fi Rush follows the story of Chai, a wannabe rockstar who is
in the pursuit of his rocking dreams but somehow gets tangled
up in the nefarious plot perpetrated by the capitalistic Vandelay
company. It’s really just as simple as that, the game never aims for
the writing grandeur of something like Baldur’s Gate 3, what you
get instead is the vibe of a Sunday morning cartoon, with goofy
and silly humor sprinkled into every corner of both the storytelling
and characters. Every character is so likeable and brimming
with personality, from the protagonist Chai himself to the robot
Cinnamon, who constantly draws on new faces as to not appear
so stoic and frightening. The cast has an amazing dynamic, and
the game lacks no hijinks antics, constantly throwing the player
into bizarre and fun situations. The humor is stellar and constantly
lands a homerun, multiple times did I find myself chuckling loud at
the hilarity which ensued.
The game is absolutely breathtaking, having a cel-shaded artstyle,
but adding thick lines to capture the cartoony feel of everything,
making everything pop. The bright
colors used in every visual aspect
further heightens this feeling of
playing a living comic book.
But the absolute knockout aspect
of the game is the music and sound
design which is tightly woven into
the gameplay. Hi-Fi Rush is a hackand-slash
game in the veins of
Bayonetta and Devil May Cry, but
what makes it unique is that every attack is enhanced if the button
input matches the beat of the background music. Every single
detail in the game follows the beat, from the background elements
surrounding the areas you traverse, to the attacks of enemies,
even jumping and dodging to the beat will boost the respective
commands. And with such an emphasis on music, it will come as
no surprise that the soundtrack is absolutely solid and delivers
constant musical delight. It mainly focuses on the rock and punk
genres of music, but occasional veers its head into other genres
to reflect a particular area, character or boss. Every boss even
has alternate versions of their songs, one licensed and another
unlicensed which is tied to a “Streamer Mode”, in case you want to
make a video or stream the game and don’t want to be copyright
claimed. Not only is this very considerate by the developers
towards its audience and content creators, but it adds even more
glorious tracks to an already stacked discography!
The game is short, clocking in at around 10 hours for a normal
playthrough, but there’s tons of achievements to unlock, ranks to
conquer in each stage, and plenty of unlockables. But that keeps its
pacing perfectly intact, and the game never overstays its welcome.
It’s an experience unlike any other, and even if you’re not the most
musically apt person, the game will ease you into its rhythm, and
make sure that by the end of it, even you can find a beat in every
song. Hi-Fi Rush doesn’t just deserve a courteous applause but a
roaring ovation, one which might inspire more people to play this
great game, because when you’re done, you’ll be amongst the fans
that are wishing for an encore.
MARS 2024 UNIKUM NR 3 33