full hi-fi rush review!! (spoilers x2)

HI FI RUSH FULL REVIEW !! SPOILERS AHEAD !!

--INTRODUCTION--

hey!! it's ry again, and I finally finished hi-fi rush this weekend! there's a lot to talk about in this review so get strapped in. I need to say that I HIGHLY reccomend this game if you like action, rock, devil may cry type games, or rhythm games in general. this game blends so much action, music, art, and everything is JUST UGHHHHH ITS SO INCREDIBLY GOOD.. I haven't been able to stop playing it, I keep coming back for the post game content too. This game actually has a fair bit of end game content after you beat the main story, of which I'll get into.

THE STORY

ok so to start off with the story, it's like this:

Chai wants to be a rockstar, and believes a robotic limb program, Project Armstrong, is a shortcut to achieve his dreams. So, he goes through the surgery, but not before his music player he was handed is pushed into him during the surgery and thus powers his robot arm. The company has a policy of "no defects", and since Chai is TECHNICALLY a defect now, he's assaulted with attempts to dispose of him, of which he fights back y using a guitar made of scrap metal, which magnetically attaches to a wrench he has in the robotic arm. Along the way, he meets a cat named 808, who is another robot but is one who talks and wants to help him. He accidentally synchronizes with the cat and allows it to now help him preform a beat hit. He goes through and falls into a trap from production head, Rekka, who brings out a giant robot to kill him. He defeats the robot and narrowly escapes. Upon searching around, he finds Peppermint, who traps him and makes sure he's the guy shes looking for. They then team up and continue the story from there. They find out the Vandelay Technology has a secret program called SPECTRA, that Peppermint finds hidden in their database. Upon meeting a figure known as Marcaron, they realize that SPECTRA is mind control disguised as helping people. They go through each and every head boss of the different parts of the company, and obtain their keys to shut down SPECTRA, but not before they win over the head of security, Korsica. This allows them to access SPECTRA after defeating the company head, Kale, and they are able to shut it down thankfully. (This is a really rough outline, there's more to it but I don't feel like explaining what happens in EVERY level.)

this story to me, is SOOOO captivating, I loved it so much, nothing ever felt too corny, and even if it did - it looped back around to be fitting. I loved it a LOT.

THE GAMEPLAY

the gameplay is absolutely fucking PHENOMENAL. when you progress through the game, you collect gears, which can be used as currency to buy attacks, defenses, special attacks, chips, upgrades, and everything else under the sun. I've bought nearly every Chai attack you can, and will buy more whenever I get the chance. I love the special attacks, because when you charge up your reverb gauge, you can let out a HUGEEEE burst of power, destroying a lot of enemies or whittling their health down to nothing. hitting enemies on the beat is always fun, because if you get it JUSTT right, you can successfully combo them and hit harder with a "PERFECT!" and destroy their health more. calling in your partners like Macaron and Peppermint is always a use too, because it allows for engaging fights and combat. I love how the game plays a LOT if you couldn't tell already.

THE ART 

the art of hi-fi rush is genuinely some of the best I've seen in a video game. its always looking cool, easy on the eyes, bright, and overall just really masterfully crafted. it always fits with the scenarios and each character has eye candy designs. I love Peppermint's hair and how they designed it, it makes her really feel like a rebel as compared to someone like Kale or Roxxane, even Zanzo. Using half-tone colors was a stellar idea, because it makes characters pop and scenes feel combatitive to stick in your memory.

THE MUSIC

the music in this game fucking BANGSSSSS dude. I love garage rock, but oh my god they turned that shit up to 11 in the game. its so fun to listen to, considering everything in the game is on beat with everything, that includes environments too. I could literally yap about how the game adds to the soundtrack, and vice versa, but this review is getting lengthy as is for a spacehey post tbh.

CONCLUSION

buy hi-fi rush. I'm telling you, its absolutely worth your time and your money. it's one of the best games I've played in years, and I didn't even expect it to be THAT good. I always liked it because it reminded me of Jet Set Radio, Okami, and other games, but it blew it out of the WATER. seriously, if you have game pass on Xbox, pick it UP BRO. ITS SO GOOD YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.