Last year, Tango Gameworks released a game called “Ghostwire: Tokyo." It was a reasonably straightforward open-world title set in a haunted city. It felt like something of a half-step in a new direction — Tango Gameworks is known chiefly for its horror series, “The Evil Within,” directed by studio founder Shinji Mikami (who also directed the original “Resident Evil”).
But “Ghostwire: Tokyo” wasn’t really a horror game. It was a horror-tinged action game. It was also really good, and it indicated that the folks at Tango Gameworks might actually be able to claw their way out of the survival horror genre. With “Hi-Fi Rush,” Tango has tried something very different. Against all odds, it worked.
“Hi-Fi Rush” is a rhythm-action game that looks basically unlike anything Tango Gameworks has ever done. Where “Ghostwire: Tokyo” hid its action core behind layers of classically spooky world design, “Hi-Fi Rush” comes in loud and colorful, proudly announcing its candy-coated intentions.
From minute one, I was skeptical of “Hi-Fi Rush.” The game was surprise-dropped without a pre-release marketing campaign of any kind, which seemed like it could either represent too much confidence or not nearly enough. Action and rhythm are hard genres to mix, and while Tango Gameworks demonstrated prowess in action gaming with “Ghostwire: Tokyo,” “Hi-Fi Rush” is a very different breed of action game, and they’ve never done anything in the rhythm game space before. Combine that with a soundtrack that isn’t really my vibe and I was ready to write the game off entirely.
I’m glad I didn’t, because “Hi-Fi Rush” is excellent. It blends both action and rhythm elements together immaculately. For a studio with limited experience in both action games and rhythm games, Tango Gameworks has inexplicably released something that represents the best of both genres.
Every movement in “Hi-Fi Rush” is synced to the beat - even if you don’t attack, jump or dodge to the rhythm, the animations will play on the beat. That means that even if you’re bad at rhythm games, you’ll end up executing some very slick moves. If you’re good at rhythm games, you can string together context-dependent combos, and making the right call on the fly feels amazing. I’m reminded of the rhythm-tactics cult classic “Patapon,” played at 10x speed.
The writing is also pretty excellent. I’m not usually a fan of self-aware comedy in video games, but the Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic of “Hi-Fi Rush” is matched nicely by its light-hearted sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoy of all the characters, and I’m often as excited for the next cutscene as I am for the next wildly kinetic combat encounter.
I’m still not in love with the music in “Hi-Fi Rush.” Ordinarily, that would be a death knell for a rhythm game. But everything surrounding the music here is so damn good that I still can’t put it down. “Hi-Fi Rush” probably shouldn't work. It doesn't have the right ingredients for success. And yet, it does work. Really well.
Sorrel Kerr-Jung is a sophomore studying virtual reality game development at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Sorrel by tweeting her at @sorrelkj.
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