If Hi-Fi Rush was going to be a fun and welcoming experience for a wider range of players, it would require a more flexible approach to design. Johanas knew that rhythm isn’t something that comes naturally to every player, putting a natural barrier to entry over any game that requires precise beat-matching and button timing. For Game Director John Johanas and a small development team within Tango Gameworks, “accessibility” was a keyword when embarking on the unique passion project.

But in Hi-Fi Rush, I always feel like I’m completely locked in as I attack, dodge, and zip to the sound of early 2000s alt-rock. Sometimes I lose the music altogether and need to stop clicking entirely just to rediscover the beat.

I’ll inevitably start to drag behind notes and then speed up too much to overcompensate. While I’m a musically inclined person who fronts his own band, even I have trouble keeping time in music games. I’ve never played a rhythm game that keeps me on beat as well as Hi-Fi Rush.

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