On March 19, the acclaimed rhythm fighter Hi-Fi RUSH was released on PS5 — and it’s quite ironic that the second game from Microsoft’s internal studios to be released on PlayStation now has a higher rating on Metacritic than the Xbox Series X|S version (91/100 vs. 87 points).
In the Ukrainian PS Store the standard edition costs 599 UAH and Deluxe with additional content — 799 UAH. Please note, Unfortunately, the Ukrainian localization of the game did not work out.
Thus, the PS5 version of Hi-Fi RUSH currently has a rating of Metacritic is based on only 8 reviews (compared to 63 reviews for Xbox Series), so it’s likely that with more reviews, the PlayStation score will drop (or rise?), but the situation doesn’t get any less comical. Critics liked the port a lot, especially praising the stable 60fps frame rate with close to 4K resolution and additional features of the DualSense gamepad, including adaptive triggers and tactile feedback.
Hi-Fi RUSH — a stylish musical greeting with a game design reminiscent of the best 00s by Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo) and Bethesda Softworks. Released in January 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X|S, the game came as a real surprise, but it quickly won the hearts of critics and gamers alike. Among other things, the project is characterized by bright cartoon graphics and primitive humor (which only makes the game better and looks even better).
The protagonist of Hi-Fi RUSH — «is a future rock star» Chai, who, during a test program for bioprosthetics of his arm, is accidentally implanted with a music player in his heart, which makes him feel the «rhythm of the world». Declared «a malfunctioning» and pursued by the megacorporation Vandelay, which replaced him, the young man enlists the support of other heroes, including — a robotic cat named 808 who can visualize the rhythm, and an invisible ally, Peppermint. They unite against Vandelay to put an end to its plans for population control. Hi-Fi RUSH, which looks like a mix of Devil May Cry and Guitar Hero, is definitely worth a look and is quite capable of making a few great evenings.
It remains to be seen — in late February, Microsoft presented an updated Xbox multiplatform strategy, which provides for the transfer of individual Xbox ecosystem exclusives on PS5 and Nintendo Switch. The first wave includes four Xbox Game Studio games — Pentiment, Hi-Fi RUSH, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded. Obsidian’s detective adventure Pentiment was the first to be released on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch on February 22, followed by Grounded (April 16) and Sea of Thieves (April 30) in April.