Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush is a rhythm-action game where the protagonist Chai, his enemies, and parts of the environment move to the beat. Attacking on rhythm is not required, as actions automatically sync up with the music, but by timing the button presses right the players are rewarded with higher damage output and timing-based combo finishers deal additional damage. A parry move allows players to cancel enemy attacks by pressing the button at the exact moment of attacks. In addition to the beat-em-up action mechanics, there are also rhythm-based minigame elements where players repeat cues in a call-and-response fashion, or press buttons in rhythmic sequence based on on-screen cues.

The game takes place across multiple linear stages, representing various divisions of the antagonist corporation. Each division is based on a particular musical style, and Chai engages in boss battles at various points.

Chai, a 25-year old man with a disabled right arm and a dream to become a rockstar, arrives at the Vandelay Technologies campus to volunteer for Project Armstrong, a test program for cybernetic limb replacement. Unbeknownst to Chai, the CEO, Kale Vandelay (Roger Craig Smith / Takehito Koyasu) secretly designates Chai to be a garbage collector for the company's waste management. As Chai's limb replacement process is about to begin, Kale throws away Chai's music player, which accidentally falls into Chai's chest and embeds with it during the process, causing Chai to feel a musical connection with his surroundings. As a result of the accident caused by Kale's carelessness, Chai is labeled a defect and the facility's robotic security forces pursue him.

Chai discovers his new arm can deploy an electromagnetic grabber stick, originally meant for garbage collecting, which he uses to fashion a guitar-like weapon. As he searches for a way to escape, he encounters 808, a robotic cat named after the Roland TR-808 drum machine. He is aided by an unseen ally, Peppermint (Erica Lindbeck / Toa Yukinari), who communicates through the robotic cat, and is guided to her hideout. There, she offers to help Chai escape if he agrees to help her investigate a conspiracy—provided to her by a personal source—behind Project Armstrong, leading the two to form a reluctant alliance.

In a March 2022 interview with Famitsu, founder of Tango Gameworks and executive producer Shinji Mikami mentioned that he wants the company to venture outside of the survival horror genre and nurture younger game creators. He also offered the first hints about their next release, stating that the next game by The Evil Within 2 director John Johanas is "the complete opposite of horror."

Johanas later described Hi-Fi Rush as a "dream game" idea he had in his mind since "way, way back." He initially pitched the title to Mikami after completing work on The Evil Within 2 in 2017. After that a small team created an internal demo to help pitch the game to higher ups at Bethesda. The game was inspired by Shaun of the Dead (2004) and other films by Edgar Wright.

Hi-Fi Rush received "generally favorable" reviews on Xbox and PS5 and "critical acclaim" on PC, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Jordan Middler, from Video Games Chronicle, said that Hi-Fi Rush is "oozing with style and confidence", although there is "repetitive level design and some clunky platforming", scoring with a 4 out of a 5 star rating. Jesse Norris, from XboxEra, praised the combat, calling it sublime, but "can become difficult to read as the screen fills up with utter chaos", scoring it with 9.5 out of 10. Diego Argüello, from Polygon, called its animation gorgeous and Jet Set Radio-esque art style vivid and arresting.