On Wednesday, Microsoft announced a brand new game during their Developer Direct called Hi-Fi Rush. From the creators of The Evil Within, and featuring Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami, this game is not a horror game but a rhythm beat’em up game. Featuring a colorful cell shaded art style, players are able to fight through enemies to the rhythm of rock-inspired music, and the more on rhythm they are, the better they’ll do in combat. It’s a neat concept and one that a lot of people immediately gravitated towards.
The stunning part of this was that at the end of the presentation, they announced that the game was ready to release today. In a shocking announcement, Hi-Fi Rush is available on Microsoft consoles and PC for purchase and GamePass the day of the announcement. Not a demo. Not a preview. The actual full game. We’ve heard of stealth releases before, but this is unprecedented.
All killer, no filler: Hi-Fi RUSH is available TODAY!
Learn more about the rhythm action mechanics by watching our Deep Dive video! (It’s like reading the sheet music before jumping in.) pic.twitter.com/1baY7ZleGd
— Tango Gameworks (EN) (@TangoGameworks) January 25, 2023
While this probably isn’t going to become the norm anytime soon, it’s really cool to see a game get a surprise release like this during an event that’s usually just for teasers and trailers. It’s going to be really fun seeing everyone react to it, all while players rush to go check this out throughout the evening.