Following the lukewarm reception to its newest horror sport Ghostwire: Tokyo, few may need anticipated the subsequent sport from the Shinji Mikami led-Tango Gameworks to be a brightly coloured, rhythm-based character-action sport. Hello-Fi Rush noticed a shock launch early in 2023, arguably kicking off the stellar 12 months of surprising brilliance with its tightly designed fight, extremely likable forged of rebels, and standout boss fights. Every one among Hello-Fi Rush’s quite a few boss fights is memorable for one cause or one other (the dimensions and complexity of the ultimate combat towards Kale is as awe-inspiring as the primary fast-paced duel with antagonist-turned-ally Korsica), however none come near evaluating with what may be essentially the most adrenaline-fuelled three-phase combat of the 12 months: Roquefort.
Like a lot of Hello-Fi Rush, Roquefort is not memorable due to his outright problem. The character-action offered in Tango Gameworks’ newest pairs rhythm-based sensibilities with the circulation of conventional character-action, geared up with an interesting scoring system that judges your aptitude at balancing each. Good touches round every stage persistently remind you of the beat that you must preserve when inputting presses for combos, whereas enemy assaults (principally) adhere to the identical beat, solely breaking out in half-steps when making an attempt to journey you up. Roquefort is the end result of every part you have learnt about this mix of genres to that time, performing because the penultimate boss that’s meant to gatekeep your progress from the sport’s eventual most-challenging foe, each figuratively and actually.
Given the imposing stature of the bosses earlier than him, Roquefort is an outlier in that he would not come throughout as menacing or bodily imposing, a reality protagonist Chai tries to leverage earlier than the combat with some misplaced trash discuss. It is not lengthy earlier than Roquefort’s nickname, a wolf in sheep’s clothes, bears out in essentially the most literal sense. The quick, plump accountant transforms into an enormous mechanical wolf, adorned in chrome and brimming with sharp, pointy ends to do harm with. This alone is an thrilling revelation that tees up a grueling three-phase combat, and the temper is straight away set with an improvised model of Wolfgang Mozart’s fifth Symphony produced by Wolfgang Gartner, and additional edited to tightly adhere to the tempo of the combat.
The combat performs out in Roquefort’s opulent and gold-laden workplace, ultimately shifting to a vault overflowing with a comical quantity of gold cash, with the music blaring within the background as his hulking wolf kind strikes with a surprisingly class based on the soothing and typically erratic beat. This makes his actions surprisingly tough to trace, with the beat shifting in shocking methods till you nail down its looping sample. Studying this rhythm makes you admire how a lot care was clearly given to sync up with the beat in a way much more devoted than the bosses beforehand. As a direct consequence, this combat feels extra like a dance than another. It is not lengthy earlier than your inputs are being immediately extra by musical intuition than reflexes, letting you complete a zen-like circulation regardless of the extremely chaotic duel you are engaged in. As Roquefort begins revealing an increasing number of of his repertoire, this satisfying back-and-forth forces you to keenly adapt, additional engrossing you within the enveloping music to get the higher hand. It is a gradual escalation that does not cease till the ultimate blow is struck, probably leaving you with an aching foot from tapping and an elevated coronary heart charge that punctuates the adrenaline excessive skilled all through.
To say that I’ve had Hello-Fi Rush’s licensed soundtrack on repeat for a lot of the 12 months can be an understatement, however it could be an excellent better one to confess that I have never listened to Wolfgang Garter’s unimaginable monitor extra occasions than another on the tracklist. Every time, I am transported again to the fun of this unimaginable combat towards Roquefort and reminded of the immense rush a meticulously designed encounter like this will invoke, subsequently leaving a strong impression that is gradual to fade. Hello-Fi Rush may not be as effectively remembered after a 12 months of stellar releases, nevertheless it’s a sport with moments like these which might be sturdy reminders {that a} good old style boss combat is not a dying pattern in an trade laden with extra grounded approaches to setpieces. Typically simply bringing it again to fundamentals, and taking care to nail all of the little particulars, may end up in one of the vital memorable moments of the 12 months.
