Hi-Fi Rush review – Rhythm and blows

January is traditionally a pretty dry month when it comes to gaming, but this year it’s really set the tone for the rest of 2023. It may not be perfect but Forspoken is an interesting JRPG with some fascinating ideas, and the Dead Space remake is a new gold standard for how a cult-classic game should be brought back from obscurity. Those were terrific titles to invest a few hours in, but like everything else that came out last month, they felt like an opening act to the main event that is Hi-Fi Rush.

In an age where everyone is always-online and surprises are harder to keep than faith in seeing Skull & Bones ever launch. Hi-Fi Rush hit the scene with a double-whammy bar of style and substance. Unveiled as part of the first Xbox Developer Direct livestream, the latest game from Ghostwire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks is unlike anything that you’ve ever played before. It’s Devil May Cry meets Scott Pilgrim, a blisteringly intense adventure of audio anarchy that’ll have you rhythmically tapping your controller buttons while your foot jackhammers a hole through your floor thanks to its superb beat.

Hi-Fi Rush is that perfect kind of game that’ll consume your attention for a week. It looks like a cel-shaded spiritual successor to Insomniac’s campy Sunset Overdrive, as you take control of wannabe rock star Chai while he matches to the beat of the iPod surgically implanted into his chest. Armed with a robot arm, a devil-may-care attitude, and a robot cat that should replace Halo’s Masterchief as the default mascot of Xbox, Hi-Fi Rush is 12 levels of invigorating fun.

There’s a world around you that pulsates to Chai’s mixtape, plenty of homicidal machines looking to send you to the scrapheap, and a combat system that makes every encounter a showcase of musical melee mayhem. Combined with a stellar art direction and gameplay that never loses a beat, that right there on its own would make Hi-Fi Rush a hi-light.

But the game goes beyond being just a good-looking brawler with a licensed soundtrack. It stakes a claim in the upcoming Game of the Year discussions by combining its goofy charm and mesmerizing combat with a hopeful cast of characters, who are pitted against a rogue’s gallery of corporate managers and CEOs out of touch with reality. Like watching a Knives Out movie, there’s something unbelievably cathartic about decking ruthless bosses in the face with an iron-fisted reply to being overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated.

There’s no getting around the fact that if you’re not musically inclined, Hi-Fi Rush can be a brutal slog, but once you nail the game’s unique rhythm, it’s a masterclass of design. Fortunately, there’s a wide array of tutorials and practice dojos to try out your moves in. Once you’ve spent some time nailing the timing of Chai’s positive beatdown energy, you’ll be ready to unleash some rhythmic retribution on anything that stands in your way.

The sum of all its parts, Chai parties hard and fast with his rebellious entourage, there’s a vivid level design to fall in love with, and the surprisingly sharp satire holds nothing back when it comes to techbro-fueled dystopias. To paraphrase one of Queen’s all-time hits, Hi-Fi Rush will rock you.

Play Hi-Fi Rush now on PC and Xbox consoles, and with Xbox / PC Game Pass.