Hi-Fi Rush and Two Absolute Bangers

I was a little unsure about Hi-Fi Rush. I have no nostalgia for Saturday-morning cartoons, am allergic to most things remotely anime-like, and suspected that its pop-culture references would be sailing over my head from start to finish. I can enjoy DMC-like action games, but they're not my favourite, and I'm always a difficulty-spike away from giving up. On the other hand, I couldn't help but be impressed by all those bright colors in the reveal trailer, as well as the comic tone, and was intrigued by the promise of a rhythm-based action game. Also, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get swept up in all the shadowdrop excitement. 

I was unsure. But given that it's on Game Pass, I was bound to try it.

Well, not only did I try it, but I also finished it. Predictably, it was routinely too anime-y for me, the references flew over my head, and I almost packed it in on several occasions. But I loved the colourful and vibrant art direction, warmed to the characters, and mostly enjoyed the rhythm-based combat. For the first three quarters of its 11-hour runtime it was exactly what I thought it would be: good enough to keep me coming back, but still not quite for me.

Then, around that three-quarter mark, it suddenly clicked. I settled into a nice rhythm, and focused on the combos and techniques that I found most useful, while ignoring the rest. I made better use of parry, and started to chain together (read: spam) support-attacks from my three team members. This saw my scores shoot up into the A and S ranks, which is where my Time ratings had been all game long. My Just Timing scores - basically a measure of your rhythm - still languished in the C-range, however. 

Just to be clear, I am exceptionally gifted when it comes to rhythm. On several occasions I have been complimented on my dance moves, and not just by my mum (mostly her, though). I once came joint-first in a dance competition at a friend's birthday party in 1989. Despite this gift, I consistently failed to maintain the rhythm that Hi-Fi Rush wanted me to hit. I just couldn't get my head around it, nor did I have the patience to properly try. I felt like I was pressing the buttons in time, but maybe it wanted me to hit the attack buttons slightly off-beat, so that the landing of the strike was in beat? 

Was there some kind of lag, I wondered? Was my controller broken? I switched controllers during one awful performance, convinced this was a hardware issue. I swapped batteries on another, worried that a lack of juice might be impeding my ability to vibe-out.

But then it clicked. I stopped thinking, and acted more instinctively. And the reason, or at least the main reason, was the music. Up to that point, I just wasn't into the tunes, which is a pretty big hurdle in a game built around getting into a groove.

As Chai smashed into the cafeteria in the accounting building, my ears pricked up as I recognized the start of a familiar bassline, distorted but brash as fuck. Could it be the Prodigy? Then the guitar came in, robots started chanting and then, of course "We are the Prodigy!" My adrenaline spiked, as "Invaders Must Die" came bursting out of my speakers. Very left of centre compared to the musical drive of the game up to that point, but perfectly in step with the massive robot-throwdown that was about to begin. I ploughed through those enemies, and got my best Just Timing score yet. I enjoyed it so much that I reloaded my checkpoint and did it again. And that track remained throughout the level, perfectly sliced and diced, faded in and out to suit the action. 

An absolute fucking tune. A monster of a banger, so massive that it elevated my overall impression of the game, and in a strange way taught me how to fully enjoy it. 

Still buzzing off that high, I was soon to be delighted yet again, just a short time later. This time, it was a track that I had all but forgotten existed. Joy Formidable's "Whirring" had been a staple on UK evening radio a decade or more ago - a little different to my usual tastes, but a song I'd regularly bopped along to while doing the washing up. Here it served as both a wonderful reminder of a song-forgotten and a perfect fit for a coming-together and uplifting moment, with it's melodic but deliberate riff, where each of your comrades chip in to get you from point A to B.

When done right, licensed music can bring a game to life. It's a rare but highly effective trick to pair a familiar track with a different medium, to match their drives and spirit, and to compliment without drowning eachother out; to bring existing player memories into a new space, elevating without detriment. The licensed track wasn't made for that moment, but it feels like it was. I often think back to Grand Theft Auto's use of licensed tracks, and more recently how Forza Horizon so deftly works existing tunes into its world. Not just how they are featured on radio stations that seem to react to your actions, but also how they fade in and out or become muffled in certain moments, just when you expect them to do so. They feel like they belong, they gain new meaning, and the player forms new memories of them within their new setting.

Hi-Fi Rush did just enough to keep me invested for most of its runtime, before fully winning me over with its taste in music. The Prodigy and The Joy Formidable arrived at just the right moment, exactly when everything else seemed to be coming together. The right songs at the right time. 

I'm glad I stuck with Hi-Fi Rush, and am thankful for an out-of-the-blue experience that gave us something new and positive to bang on about for a few days. Lovely.