Like so many others, I nonetheless discover it surreal that Hello-Fi Rush even exists. Launched just a few hours after its announcement, Hello-Fi Rush boasts a core idea that appears virtually tailored to cater to my pursuits with its mixture of rhythm-based gameplay and 3D motion fight within the vein of Satan Might Cry or Bayonetta. With a slick, cel-shaded fashion serving because the cherry on prime, Hello-Fi Rush appeared virtually too good to be true in some ways. Regardless, I went in with reserved expectations, not fairly positive if the sport would reside as much as its promise. However what feels most surreal of all is that it completely does. To place it merely, Hello-Fi Rush guidelines, and anybody with even a passing curiosity on this sport ought to strive it as quickly as they will.
Really feel the rhythm of fight
So how does Hello-Fi Rush go about mixing collectively brawler- and rhythm-game parts? For starters, each motion you and the enemies take, whether or not it’s an assault, dodge, or parry, is synced as much as no matter music monitor is enjoying within the background. So even for those who go right into a battle mashing the assault button, your strikes will come out in a satisfying rhythmic sequence. Which means even these with out a sense of rhythm can instantly derive some enjoyment from Hello-Fi Rush‘s synesthetic gameplay methods.
This all sounds effectively and good, however doesn’t this principally quantity to a mere aesthetic flourish? Whereas it’s true that gamers can progress by Hello-Fi Rush principally effective by treating it as an ordinary motion sport, you gained’t be capable of take advantage of out of the fight system this fashion. The sport encourages you to hit the assault buttons in time to obtain varied bonuses in battle, equivalent to increased injury output and highly effective Beat Hit finishers.
It’s the small issues
Simply this concept alone is sufficient to make the fight compelling on a visceral degree, however a number of different sensible particulars push it that a lot additional. Combo strings are ruled by a constant, intuitive system by which mild assaults come out one beat after the button press whereas heavy assaults occur two beats after. Not solely does the additional beat of windup earlier than a heavy assault go a great distance towards promoting the ability of the transfer, nevertheless it additionally encourages gamers to pay nearer consideration to the rhythm and break free from the behavior of repetitively hitting the assault buttons on each beat. With this easy contact, executing combos in Hello-Fi Rush feels much less such as you’re merely memorizing a listing of button inputs and extra such as you’re enjoying an precise tune.
One other factor that aids the rhythm-based fight is the visuals’ synergy with the soundtrack. Virtually each environmental background asset bounces and bobs to the beat, which implies gamers have a complete host of visible cues to make sure they keep in rhythm. As if that wasn’t sufficient, your cat companion 808 emits a small ring that pulsates on each beat. And even Chai, the participant character, instances his footsteps to the music and snaps his fingers when left idle. This choice to design all the sport world as a makeshift metronome is an ingenious methodology for getting gamers to extra simply internalize the rhythm whereas combating, even with out the sport’s precise metronome characteristic you possibly can optionally activate.
Not simply your common brawler
The rhythm elements could function Hello-Fi Rush‘s fundamental draw, however don’t assume for a second that the builders prioritized the novelty of its premise over its gameplay complexity. It is a severe motion sport, full with all kinds of choices for each offense and protection, completely different enemy hit reactions for gamers to reap the benefits of, and complex setups for superior combo strings. Veterans of motion video games will little question acknowledge a number of tropes of the style included in Hello-Fi Rush. There’s a grappling characteristic paying homage to Nero’s Buster and Wire Snatcher from the Satan Might Cry sequence, in addition to the combo finishers that echo Bayonetta‘s Depraved Weaves.
Some could find yourself evaluating the sport’s methods to these of different motion titles to see how they stack up when it comes to depth. However actually, whether or not or not Hello-Fi Rush is as deep as this or that sport isn’t vital. The truth that it even comes shut is a exceptional achievement in and of itself, particularly contemplating the constraints that include having to match the pacing of the background music.
An ideal marriage of genres
In some ways, Hello-Fi Rush serves as an efficient entry level into the motion style, and never simply due to its myriad accessibility choices. Curiously sufficient, the rhythm parts of the sport play an enormous half on this. They really add a degree of consistency to the fight that might probably make it simpler for gamers to know frequent motion sport parts they might in any other case discover obtuse or tough to develop accustomed to.
Take the remainder combos, for instance. Many motion video games characteristic particular combo strings that gamers can solely carry out by ready for a quick second between sure inputs. It’s a good way to provide the participant extra assault choices with out utilizing any further buttons, however the period of time you might want to wait between inputs could also be unclear to some. I do know that I had bother persistently performing relaxation combos in Bayonetta partially for that reason. Nonetheless, due to the rhythm-based nature of Hello-Fi Rush, there’s no ambiguity to the remainder combo timing in any respect. You merely watch for one beat between two inputs, and the remainder combo will set off similar to that. The sport even features a “Relaxation” visible indicator to drive this house.
“Not fairly my tempo”
Dodging and parrying is one other massive one. Very similar to different motion video games, Hello-Fi Rush incentivizes you to dodge or parry proper when an enemy assault is about to hit you for some added advantages. In different titles, although, it could be straightforward guilty a mistimed parry or dodge on a wonky hitbox or another difficulty, whether or not that’s really the case or not.
However since enemies in Hello-Fi Rush at all times assault on the beat, it’s virtually at all times clear why a specific parry or dodge could not have labored. Simply following the rhythm is usually all you might want to do to right your self.
It’s not all Weapons n’ Roses
This isn’t to say that combating enemies is at all times excellent. Hello-Fi Rush options a number of enemy sorts with shields or different gimmicks that are supposed to be neutralized by calling out considered one of your companions. On their very own, the sport’s associate skills do a implausible job at increasing the participant’s fight choices. However their utilization on this case feels considerably rote, and there’s a little bit of an overreliance on these enemy sorts all through the journey.
Granted, this ended up nowhere close to as groan-worthy because it might have been. The sport enables you to immediately break enemy shields utilizing one of many particular assaults carried out with the Reverb Gauge, utterly eliminating the necessity in your companions. Moreover, the cooldowns for every use of your associate are mercifully transient more often than not. However for those who go right into a battle with completely shielded enemies and also you don’t have a reserve battery to refill your Reverb Gauge, the necessity to repeatedly use your companions can nonetheless lavatory down the pacing a bit.
The beat is throughout you
Talking of pacing, Hello-Fi Rush follows within the footsteps of different 3D brawlers by together with platforming and exploration segments to interrupt up the motion. These moments in different motion titles can usually really feel like going by the motions, and whereas Hello-Fi Rush doesn’t fully keep away from this, the rhythm elements do assist them stand out much more than they’d in any other case.
Identical to the remainder of the sport, platforms and obstacles match the beat of the music, which ends up in some enjoyable and artistic moments of environmental traversal. Each in and outdoors of fight, Hello-Fi Rush is remarkably efficient at pulling you into its wavelength, a lot in order that I discovered myself frequently timing my jumps to the beat despite the fact that there’s no motive to take action when not in battle.
Bouts to recollect
The sport is particularly good at doing this in the course of the boss encounters. These bouts are expertly staged, boasting infectiously energetic visible designs in addition to sensible use of licensed tracks that dynamically change throughout phases. It actually helps that the fights themselves function implausible ability challenges, testing gamers’ skill to dodge and parry to the music in addition to maximize injury output.
Nearly as good as these fights are, the way in which by which they’re unfold all through the sport is a bit unusual. For essentially the most half, the bosses are stuffed within the early and latter elements of the marketing campaign, with an enormous stretch within the center being devoid of boss fights fully. Throughout my playthrough, this led to a sense of restlessness as I puzzled when the following massive setpiece battle would lastly occur. So the pacing might have seen some enchancment in that regard. Fortunately, as soon as the boss fights do begin cropping up once more, they’re effectively definitely worth the wait. Particularly, the final two fights are, excuse my French, fucking superior, and so they left me in a completely euphoric state the entire method by.
These superb moments are propped up by a narrative that’s far more entertaining than I anticipated it to be. To be clear, it’s not a deep narrative by any means, and you may see the sport’s main twists coming from a mile away. Nevertheless it has an ideal sense of enjoyable and lands the place it counts, and regardless of the customarily self-aware humor, it’s refreshingly honest besides. Topping the whole lot off is the general stable voice performing and insanely expressive animation that oozes fashion in each body.
Some preparation could also be wanted
Earlier than leaping into Hello-Fi Rush, it’s vital to notice that whereas the PC necessities aren’t all that top, they’re not that low both. And even when your PC meets the minimal necessities for the sport, it nonetheless is probably not preferrred since a clean, constant framerate is essential for the gameplay of Hello-Fi Rush. My lower-end PC was unable besides up the sport outright, so I needed to follow a higher-end PC as a substitute, which ran the sport principally flawlessly. There have been a number of bugs I bumped into, together with one which locked me from the second stage till I booted up the sport once more, however these will probably differ relying on the participant.
In the long run, it’s nonetheless virtually laborious to consider simply how good Hello-Fi Rush turned out. Not solely does it execute the thought of a rhythm-based brawler virtually completely, nevertheless it additionally feels remarkably uncompromising in its imaginative and prescient. The fight might have merely given gamers a handful of combos, some particular assaults, and some different miscellaneous skills, and it nonetheless would have been a reasonably good sport simply from the rhythm elements alone. However its choice to fuse these rhythm parts with fight that arguably rivals one of the best within the motion style pushes it to a brand new degree fully. In brief, you positively don’t need to miss this one if potential.