Hi-Fi Rush stars the wannabe rocker Chai as he battles for freedom from an insidious robotics company with the power of music. Like the encore after a stellar concert, the Arcade Challenge! Update! for Hi-Fi Rush adds even more for players to discover after completing the raucous story mode – and best yet, it’s out NOW and free for all players!
The Arcade Challenge! Update! adds two new game modes accessible via a new arcade cabinet accessible after finishing the story, on top of a wealth of challenges, secrets and goodies to uncover simply by feeling the beat and diving into the vibrant world of Hi-Fi Rush.
“These two modes take what we’ve put into our battle mechanics and ask you to really put your skills to the test,” says John Johanas, Game Director for Hi-Fi Rush at Tango Gameworks. “We strongly recommend you’ve maybe taken a run through the Rhythm Tower [available in the base game], know how to use all your combos and assists, and feel emotionally ready – you don’t want to be second guessing what moves you can pull off!”
The first of these new modes – BPM Rush! – pits Chai against waves of enemies that don’t just increase their forces between rounds. The beats per minute, or BPM, for the music that amplifies your moves (and your opponents’!) also ramps up, with later stages reaching up to a blistering 200 BPM.
“For reference, the highest speed in the main game was 160 BPM,” says Johanas. “[The Update!] features an Easy and Normal mode which reflects the amount of damage you receive and enemies take, but the overall gameplay is the same. However, completing either Normal or Easy will unlock an additional difficulty, EX Mode, which starts you almost right at the top speed and puts you against waves of high-level enemies as their damage gradually increases between each wave!”
Despite breakneck speeds and relentless robot hordes to deal with BPM Rush!, this is still Hi-Fi Rush. “The trick to this mode is the same as always: Feeling the beat!,” explains Johanas. “Even at high speeds, the fundamentals of combat are the same, so your attacks still land on the beat.” Of course, enemy attacks are also still synced to the beat – keep on rhythm and follow up with a Rhythm Parry and you’ll be turning those bad guys to scrap in no time!
“These two modes take what we’ve put into our battle mechanics and ask you to really put your skills to the test.”
Of course, Chai is also no stranger to working his way up from the bottom (he’s finally had his second guitar lesson, we hear) so taking your time is also key. “Like practicing a difficult riff on a guitar, we modeled BPM Rush! on general music practice techniques. Start out slowly and build yourself up to those high speeds,” says Johanas. “Maybe you won’t get all the way to 200 BPM the first time, but try it again and suddenly the first wave at 135 BPM feels a bit like slow motion where you can see the attacks coming a mile away!”
The second game mode now available in Hi-Fi Rush’s free Arcade Challenge! Update! is a twist on the game’s Rhythm Tower mode. In Power Up! Tower Up!, players battle their way up the Tower, tackling rooms of enemies and racking up a high score, but now with a de-powered Chai! Don’t fret, though, as you will earn a selection of Upgrades between rounds to bulk Chai up!
“We had a lot of fun putting some challenging, yet sometimes goofy ways that Upgrades can affect Chai in this mode. They give stat bonuses that bring Chai back up to where he was in the main game with things like defense, offense and partner assists,” explains Johanas. “They can even take you past the maximum, so you can overpower some aspects of Chai!”
However, some Upgrades may also come with special positive or negative modifiers, called Bonuses and Bugs, that affect how the next battle’s going to go down. “Sometimes you’ll get lucky and Zanzo’s laser drones will be on your side and taking out enemies for a floor,” says Johanas. “But other times, you may need to watch out for long range enemies since all beam attacks can now deal significantly more damage!”
If some Upgrades come with potential negatives, why take them up at all? As explained by Johanas, risk can possibly net a big reward. “In Power Up! Tower Up!, the way to get that coveted S Rank is with your final score, which is heavily influenced by your final score multiplier. The higher risk Upgrades you take, the more your final multiplier will increase, with safer upgrades offering less of a bonus. Additionally, getting a game over isn’t the end of your run but does knock a significant chunk off your final multiplier, so you’ll want to choose wisely and play well.”
It’s not just high scores players are vying for in these new game modes. Also included in the Arcade Challenge! Update! are 40 new challenges to take on – 20 for each game mode – that can earn players sweet rewards.
“Maybe you won’t get all the way to 200 BPM the first time, but try it again and suddenly the first wave at 135 BPM feels a bit like slow motion!”
“Some are easy, like just giving new modes a try, and some require you to master some techniques like, say, performing a perfect rhythm parry at 200 BPM!” explains Johanas. “Each of these challenges has a score applied to them depending on their difficulty and achieving them tallies up that score to unlock prizes.”
The prizes up for grabs range from accessories for Chai to costumes for 808 and even the fan-favorite Korsica, plus additional Photo Mode rewards such as new poses for each character, specialized filters, and additional sticker packs to customize your photos! “This new update gives you the first sticker pack right away,” Johanas adds.
“You can also unlock new Special Attacks that feature both CNMN and Smidge helping out in their own special way during battle. Lastly, we have something special for those who like to call themselves… completionists. We like to go overboard with putting little secrets in our updates but for this one, while it might not be so little, it really is a huge thank you to everyone who’s played Hi-Fi Rush so far.”
No need to wait for tickets – Hi-Fi Rush’s Arcade Challenge! Update! Is out now as a free download for all players! If you’ve yet to experience the topsy-turvy story of Tango Gamework’s music-infused action hit, Hi-Fi Rush is available on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, with Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass.