As its name implies,Hi-Fi Rushis a fast-paced third-person action title that blends rhythm game elements with hack-and-slash combat. Everything from its upbeat soundtrack to its sharp visuals is meant to invoke a sense of constant momentum in players so that even if they do end up missing a few beats, the game’s atmosphere will be sure to pick them back up. In this regard,Hi-Fi Rushis a title where the fun never stops.
Unfortunately,Hi-Fi Rush’s stronger enemies are what usually interrupt players' grooves. These special enemies require specific partner attacks to break their defenses beforeChai can wail on them with a flurry of hits from his guitar. While these special enemies make the game more challenging, they ultimately limit player expression by shoehorning them into doing specific moves.
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Hi-Fi Rush’s Beginning Segments Are The Definition Of Player Expression
At the beginning of the game,Hi-Fi Rushthrows only a handful of enemy types at players. There are close-range Vandelay robots that attack with melee weapons and long-range variants that time their blasts to the game’s soundtrack. These opponents are easy enough to defeat with a couple of attacks, but it’s the freedom with which players can dispatch them that makes them fun to fight. Players can useground combos like the Humbucker and Grandslamto deal with close-range robots while long-range and flying foes can be dealt with up close by using Chai’s magnetic grapple. Provided players progress through the story far enough, they can also call in allies like Peppermint into battle to dish out some extra damage and keep their combo chain going.
Freedom of Combat Soon Makes Way For Specialized Combat
The exclusivity in which players can choose how to deal with enemies doesn’t last long, however. As early asTrack 2: Power Up,Hi-Fi Rushstarts introducing stronger enemies that need to be dealt with in specific ways before any real damage can be done to them. Those with blue barriers need to have their shields broken by Peppermint’s blasters. Z-shielded green foes have to be softened up by Macaron’s powerful punches. Lastly, red enemies that spew flames have to be put out by Korsica’s wind attacks.
While each of Chai’s companions is useful no matter the enemy type players face, it’s these protected enemies in particular thatbreakHi-Fi Rush’s combat flow. The game’s button mapping can make it difficult to switch to a specific companion in the middle of battle, especially since players can only shift them in one direction. To give an example, having to switch to Macaron while Korsica is equipped forces players to press the partner swap button twice instead of just once, as they have to equip Peppermint first before moving on to the big, burly giant. Not only that, but considering that all the game’s companions work on cooldown meters, players will not have access to a specific partner if they just used their partner attack.
Players can also feel disheartened when their high combos are interrupted by shields or fire attacks that have to be dealt with in a specific manner. Those fluent in third-person hack-and-slash games might not find it hard to adapt toHi-Fi Rush’s disruptive enemy types, but less experienced players may find themselves surprised and start fumbling with their button inputs. Getting a group of enemies into a comboonly for a SEN-C0to drop its umbrella and cast shields on nearby foes can be frustrating, especially when the special enemy spawns in the middle of combat.
Hi-Fi Rush’s special enemies are far from the hardest things to fight, but the way they disrupt combat can become irksome. These foes are quitesimilar to those found in Ninja Theory’sDmC: Devil May Cry, where players have to use specific angelic or demonic weapons to fight late-game enemies. And just like in the aforementioned game,Hi-Fi Rush’s special enemies can make some players wish for the feel of earlier levels, where the freedom of combat allows them to express themselves however they wish.
Hi-Fi Rushis available on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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