Why Hi-Fi Rush SHOULD win Best Sound Mixing/Sound Design and Sound Track!

Hi-Fi Rush was the surprise hit from a studio no one knew could make something like it, but a publisher who seemed happy with just making more Games as a service model. 

With no trailers beforehand and no noise, shadow dropped with no real marketing was this lovely feel-good romp that has a premise you can’t ignore. The music, it’s part of the world, the characters and the gameplay. Protagonist Chai is in the odd situation of getting a music player stuck in their chest and now making the world sync to his beat. With a wacky plot and cast this game already draws you in with fun voice performances, a great style and most of all, treats your ears and eyes with the same respect. 

WHERE THE GAME SHINES BRIGHTEST!

Hi-Fi Rush is one of those gems with a great idea that was executed to its fullest. What if the world and everything you do sync with the beat? The small steps you make, the hits, the world moving with you. Pulling this off would have been a nightmare, but HFR pulls it off with amazing grace. Make sure every element is both part of the world and the world you are moving through. 

Breaking it down into three parts is already mind-boggling. Sounds have to mesh with the song, but they still need to make sense. The player has to be able to have enough control without feeling sluggish. On top of making songs that are strong enough musically white not being so off-tune or wild that any player can understand it. Take the video below as a great example of the elements talked about. 

The Beat and the player, the world and the interactions with sound and music. See how the combat is linked to the BPM. This means the difficulty and speed of the game are linked to the soundtrack too. To have this much care and attention on your sound and music team and have it all work. This is why this game SHOULD be winning the awards for Sound Design, Mixing and Soundtrack. Sure some songs may sound better and some real bops came out this year for games. But nothing has come out like this. Nothing has played like this. Nothing will ever be this again. 

You can vote for Hi-Fi Rush at The Game Awards for Best Soundtrack!

You can also get the game on Xbox Game Pass or Steam today.

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