As if to counter the (not undeserved) criticism that Xbox has gotten actually good at asserting video games however fairly dangerous at really releasing them, at present’s Xbox Developer Direct showcase slipped in a very good old school shadow drop. Hello-Fi Rush, a wholly sudden rhythm motion sport from the makers of Ghostwire: Tokyo of all issues, hit Xbox, PC, and Recreation Cross at present, January 25, simply hours after its reveal. Someone reset the clock: it has been zero days since Xbox launched a sport.
Hello-Fi Rush is handily my favourite decide from the Developer Direct lineup. Not solely is it already playable, it feels just like the type of venture I would hoped to see from Microsoft’s many partnerships and acquisitions. Positive it is good to see Minecraft and Forza ticking alongside, and the Redfall launch date is lastly official, however I additionally need extra off-beat stuff like Obsidian’s freshly launched Pentiment, which was a superb forerunner forward of the studio’s extra conventional mega-RPG Avowed. If Xbox is gonna gobble up these studios, I need them to take a big-ol’ bag of Microsoft cash and the consolation that Xbox Recreation Cross offers and simply make some bizarre stuff. And that is precisely the vibe I get from Hello-Fi Rush.
Who anticipated a cartoonish rhythm sport from Tango Gameworks, the modern-day home of horrors behind The Evil Inside? Completely no one had that on their Xbox showcase bingo card, particularly not Tango studio head Shinji Mikami, that is for positive. Mikami described Hello-Fi Rush because the type of sport he “by no means would have considered” throughout at present’s reveal earlier than passing the mic to director John Johanas, who agreed that it is “like nothing we have made at Tango earlier than.” It is vibrant and colourful and comedic. You have bought an iPod for a coronary heart like some type of alternate universe Crank sequel. You are an aspiring rockstar who fights with a guitar. You possibly can pet the robotic cat! It is foolish in a means few Xbox video games are, and above all, it genuinely seems to be enjoyable. It virtually jogs my memory of Sundown Overdrive – you realize, the intense and colourful and comedic sport that Insomniac made with a big-ol’ bag of Microsoft cash earlier than accepting a good larger bag from PlayStation.
Video games like Steel: Hellsinger, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and arguably even Thumper have proven how satisfying it may be to sync actions to music in a extra full-bodied means than in typical input-matching rhythm video games like Muse Sprint. As somebody who’s bounced off conventional rhythm video games ever because the Guitar Hero period, I am completely happy to see yet one more spin on a components I take pleasure in much more. I am particularly intrigued by Hello-Fi Rush’s extra freeform method to rhythm fight, the place you may assault and dodge everytime you need however are nonetheless rewarded for protecting a tempo. Plus that combo counter has caught the eye of my internal Satan Could Cry fan.
Hello-Fi Rush is not going to single handedly dig Xbox out of the hunch that it has delayed and no-showed itself into, and I am positive loads of Starfield followers will not even blink, however it should give Xbox house owners and Recreation Cross subs one thing cool-looking to play to kick off the yr. It is a nice shock that I hope units the platform up for a a lot stronger yr.
Learn up on all the things introduced on the Xbox Developer Direct right here.
