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Hi-Fi Rush: 5 Best Tips for Beginners

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Hi-Fi Rush is undoubtedly the talk of the town at the moment, and understandably so, seeing as it was only revealed in the hours leading up to its actual release just last week. And now that it is here, both Xbox and PC gamers are going above and beyond to dig out its every Easter egg, secret, and hidden challenge. But for us, we're mostly content with the idea of scurrying around for some tips that may just prove useful for the next budding rockstar. And if that's you, then be sure to read on. Here's what you need to know before taking on Hi-Fi Rush.

5. Know How to Identify the Beat

First and foremost, you're going to need to know how to identify the beat, and most importantly, when to time your attacks for the best possible damage output. To do this, you will need to keep an eye on the health guage at the top left section of the screen, which always stays in time with the song that's playing. Alternatively, you can examine the world around you, as it always bops to the beat of the track you're working through. As a last resort, you can enable an in-game beat slider that shows you when each attack should be made. You can apply this feature by tapping the Menu button on your Xbox controller.

Elsewhere in Hi-Fi Rush, you can find Smidge, an assistant drone that will aid you during your conquest to overthrow the Klane empire. If you do happen to see cheeky grin of the helper bot at any point, be sure to take the time to speak with it for a few additional pointers to help boost your skills.

4. Don't Be Afraid to Lose Momentum

The good news is, your attacks will always land, regardless of whether or not you actually hit the beat on the button. And it's because of the game's rather forgiving layout that, in spite of what you may think, maintaining momentum during each track really isn't all that important, and therefore you shouldn't let it control you. The fact is, combos will be twice as effective when strung together in synch with the beat, but they do not need to be timed perfectly in order to actually beat the track.

Of course, the more you play Hi-Fi Rush, the more likely you are to grow accustomed to the score that it employs. And so, with that, you shouldn't concern yourself with hitting every beat on the marker straight away, as you'll have plenty of time to go back and take another shot at them once you familiarize yourself with the tools of the trade and its rock-heavy soundtrack.

3. Explore Every Nook and Cranny

As you'll come to figure out relatively early on in the story, there are far more collectibles to dig out than your bog-standard platformer. For starters, you're going to want to smash whatever objects you can find for Gears, which is an in-game currency that holds the power to grant you additional abilities. You can find Gears stashed away in just about any object around the world, include crates, traffic cones, and machinery.

As well as Gears, you're also going to want to keep your eyes peeled for health upgrades, which come in the form of an item known as Life Guage Pieces. You can identify these items by their ultraviolet aura. To see how many are in tucked away in each track, just tap the pause button and look for the icon on the far right of the screen. Acquiring enough of these will gradually boost Chai's overall health and performance, which will in turn make your job on the battlefield a whole lot easier.

2. Check the Wall of Fame

Shortly after powering through the first track, you'll be able to meet Peppermint, who will then invite you back to The Hideout, a hub in which you can interact with a variety of useful features. During these quieter segments, you're going to want to check out the Wall of Fame, which is located behind the sofa in the center of The Hideout. Interacting with this will reveal all of the challenges that are available to you, as well as the Gears that will be rewarded for completing them.

It makes sense that you would want to take a good look at the half-finished mural before heading out on a new track, as learning the criteria of each challenge can help you focus your energy on priority objectives during levels. Between said levels, you're going to want to check back with the mural and collect your Gears, which you can then spend over at Peppermint's workstation on new moves, Special Attacks, and permanent upgrades for Chai.

1. Add Style to Your Combos

It's fair to say that getting an S ranking in Hi-Fi Rush is probably the thing you're going to want to swing for each time you throw down the gauntlet. Unfortunately, the only way to get such a ranking is to add copious amounts of flavours to your combos, which of course means throwing in Special Attacks, Dodge Attacks, and Just Timing moves.

On top of keeping it time with the beat, you're also going to need to learn how to spice up your regular attacks, as to keep things from going stale and plummeting towards a bad score. Bottom line here is this: don't just stick to the one button. Furthermore, if you can purchase new attacks at either The Hideout or at one of Peppermint's stores, then you'll have access to a wider variety of combos. Do yourself a favor here and get creative as often as possible, as higher rankings means more perks that will help you out later down the line.

 

So, what's your take? Do you have any useful tips for new players? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.

Jord is acting Team Leader at gaming.net. If he isn't blabbering on in his daily listicles, then he's probably out writing fantasy novels or scraping Game Pass of all its slept on indies.