On the surface,Hi-Fi Rushis everything young people want the future to be. It’s bright, filled with colour, and appears to be offering opportunities for down-on-their-luck individuals in dire need of a break. That’s where our protagonist Chai comes in, a spunky rocker with dreams of becoming a famous musician despite evident nerve damage to his arm.
As he rocks up to Vandelay Industries with the aim of being inducted into an ambitious new research project, Chai takes everything at face value. He is the ignorant protagonist acting as our spectre for the coming revolution, even if his desire for change and friendship will be exactly what this movement needs. But before he even has a chance to stretch his new arm and embrace an exciting future, Chai is cast aside by the very powers that hoped to enable him. All because he dared to be different; to have a defect he has no real control over.
Werecently reviewed Hi-Fi Rush for the first timeas it comes toPS5. You will not be very surprised to learn it’s still excellent.
Hi-Fi Rush paints a deliberately simplistic picture of revolution where villains are set up as obvious chess pieces to be knocked down over and over by our heroes as they gather new allies and amass the power required to take on a big evil empire. But it’s supposed to be this way, a happy-go-lucky pursuit of saving the day.
The Revolution Will Be Cel-Shaded
This futuristic city the game takes place within has been built in the image of false progress, proclaiming that technological advances will lift everyone up despite all the profits rising to the top. Those who remain in its grasp are expected to make an average living beneath their oppressors or be silenced in the fear of spreading the wrong ideals.
Most of the workforce you stumble across are robotic anyway, taking the place of humanity as they are expected to just bask in the brilliance of this future they had no hand in bringing about. All until they are seen as obsolete and left behind. Chai and friends aren’t having it, all having reasons to fight back against a company that has taken control of their bodies, changed them, and left them with scars they have no choice but to live with.
Hi-Fi Rush never gets especially dystopian in any of its characters or concepts, but the fact you are rising up against a pseudo-fascist regime is never in doubt. The main cast all being made up of a motley crew of disabled people, queer folks, and individuals of colour isn’t lost on me, either. You have been labelled as defects, individuals who have no place in a perfect society and must be eradicated. Anything else is unacceptable, so what course of action do you have other than to rebel? You don’t, mirroring many struggles minorities go through in the real world (I just wish we could also fight back using music and the power of friendship).
Aside from the main story, I’d take time to talk to your comrades back at home base for an extra slice of story and character development.
A protagonist like Chai would be obnoxious in most other situations. He is blissfully ignorant of his place in the world until everything is suddenly taken away from him, and, as a random white dude, he is forced to stand alongside a group of people who are so accustomed to the prejudice that befalls them. Now, Chai, and the player, must navigate this world and learn all there is to know about fighting back and standing up for what you believe in.
Chai grows from a loving yet ultimately selfish person into someone who can not only stand up for his friends, but can believe in himself and, despite the ailments he was born with, can rise above them and ignore the unfair expectations cast upon him. He can stick it to the man and grow closer to his friends in the process, learning where he belongs in a world that is still changing so much beneath his feet.
You might say a character action game like this with bombastic visuals and catchy music has no business exploring themes of revolution and dystopia, but that’s exactly why it does such an excellent job at telling this story. It draws us into a false sense of security before it has us falling in love with an excellent ensemble cast and empathising with their individual plights, most of which are inextricably tied to the eventual revolution. People deserve to be happy, not told what they are or how to behave by those who hold all the power.
Hi-Fi Rush is all about standing up for yourself and finding purpose, while giving the middle finger to authority with a beaming grin smacked across your face. And it totally nails it.
Hi-Fi Rush
WHERE TO PLAY
Hi-Fi Rush, from Ghostwire: Tokyo developers Tango Gameworks, is a 2023 action game that focuses on rhythm as a core gameplay mechanic. As Chai, you must take on the nefarious megacorp that created your cybernetic arm.
