Hi-Fi Rush: How To Simplify The Rhythm Games

As the most surprising part of Xbox and Bethesda's January Developer Direct, "Hi-Fi Rush" was not only revealed but released the very same day for Xbox and PC. This first surprise hit of 2023 is a rhythm, character action game that naturally features plenty of rhythm-focused minigames, but they don't need to get in the way of one enjoying the title. In fact, one of the several different accessibility options within "Hi-Fi Rush" is specifically for making those possibly pesky rhythm segments much easier.

In one attempt to help players keep track of the music's beat, "Hi-Fi Rush" has an adorable robot cat named 808 (who, yes, players can pet) travel with player character Chai throughout the game. 808 will lightly bounce and flash in sync with any given stage's accompanying music. This could prove helpful for many and 808's visual cues have accessibility options of their own, but the rhythmic minigames are their own kind of beast which may demand more than some players are capable of.

While it is billed as a rhythm game, the developers behind "Hi-Fi Rush" explained during the game's reveal that it isn't paramount for players to always sync their actions with the beat. For example, Chai will always attack on beat no matter the player's input. Instead of punishing players for missing beats, the game rewards actions that land to the beat. This isn't the case, however, with rhythm minigames. 

When these show up, players will have to press the button that appears on their screen precisely as a shrinking circle lines up with another icon surrounding the button. While this happens, new buttons appear in seemingly random locations on the screen. As a result, it can be challenging to keep track of, and failing to hit the correct button at the proper time causes the minigame to restart.

While there's no way to skip these segments altogether, the "Single Button Rhythm Game" option is available in settings. This doesn't offer any leniency for timing button presses, but it will limit rhythm minigames only to require one button. This means that players can keep their thumb in one place while only worrying about when and where those shrinking circles will appear. It may not be the biggest boon for the more rhythmically challenged, but it's a nice alternative for those that want to make their time with "Hi-Fi Rush" as enjoyable as possible.