The Consistency of Hi-Fi Rush
When we talk about consistency in video games, we are talking about how well the gameplay, character design, level design, art, sound, narrative, and a lot of other aspects serve the same purpose and follow the same rules of the game world. For example, when we are playing Super Mario Oddesy, we are expecting a cartoony-rendered world, where the character and the particle effects are also in cartoon style. The music and sound effects are funny and light. Mario’s movements are goofy and bouncy. You wouldn’t be expecting Mario to pick up a gun and start shooting or hear a realistic explosion SFX in this game. This is because Super Mario Odyssey is a platform game that features a fantasy world with magical creatures, so every aspect follows the same rules, maintained consistency, and formed a unique Super Mario style. I would like to talk about how level design serves the synced-on-beats mechanism in Hi-Fi Rush.
The level in Hi-Fi Rush is very linear, it usually consists of several rooms connected with tunnels. Rooms are used as combat space and tunnels filled with puzzles. Let’s see how combat is designed to match the core mechanism in level “Track 8: a history lesson”. I choose this level because it is the most unforgettable level in the game that firstly requires all three teammates’ special mechanisms both in combats and puzzles.
Break surface/armors Disable shields/enemies Overload machines/debuff enemies
During the combat, players are encouraged to attack enemies on the beat. In order to help the player find the beat, there are a lot of visualization elements around the combat space. For example, the soundwave on the screen is synced with the beats; the lightbar inside the charging pot is flickering along the beats; and the machine parts on the wall move along the beats. These elements don't just follow the same rules of the world setting that everything is synced to the beats but also reduced players’ difficulty to find beats. In this case, players could pay more attention to the combat itself.
Everything in the combat space is synced to the beats to help players find beats.
The health bar(2D UI) and peppermint(3D UI) are also animated to follow the beats. The rules of the game world feel extended and applied to every part of the game, maintaining consistency, and immersing players in the game.
The enemies are spawned in front of players in every combat, Chai will make a pose, then UI and sound are played, and the combat starts. It lasts about 10 seconds for players to finish the OODA(Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) loop. Since Hi-Fi Rush features fast-pacing combat, the OODA loop has to be quick. The combat spaces are flat and have no covers so it is easier to observe and gain information quickly.
Enemies always spawned in front of players and the player camera would also focus on enemies automatically so that the orientation phase is also quick.
From the enemy spawned on the screen to the actual combat, there are always about 3 seconds for players to make decisions. Because of flattened space and auto orientation, the decision-making phase could also be quick.
During the action phase, there were at most 3 enemies chasing players at the same time (usually 1 special: shooter or elite + 1-2 melee) and their attack frequency is varied according to the beats so players won’t be won’t be overwhelmed by a pile of enemies.
After breaking the stance twice of elite enemies, the game offers a beat-synced QTE that allows players to execute enemies. Instead of punishing players for losing the beats in combat, the game tended to award players for trying to catch up with the beat. In this case, when players feel unconfidence during the QTE, they can choose to dodge or cancel this QTE. When players lost too much health in combat (not attacking on-beats will deal less dmg than attacking on-beats to enemies), players would get an extra health pack from the next attack. The emotion curve is more dramatic due to the frequent health loss and healing that provides a more intense combat experience.
Aside from the combat, players will encounter light-weighted puzzles that also feature beats-related QTE. Three teammates feature three different mechanisms and the difficulty level increased one by one.
Peppermint can disable shields, the only test here is to shoot at the right time. The shooting time zone is wide, obstacles are slow(or no obstacles sometimes).
Macaron can take down heavy walls/items, the test of timing is more strict because Macaron’s attack follows every beat. (half a second per hit) However, even if you missed the beat, there is no cost and players could re-try quickly.
Korsica can overload machines, her test is the hardest and consists of two parts. First, players need to finish a strictly-tested QTE that uses Korsica to hit 4 beats in a row. Then players would be required to do timed parkour in a space. If players fall, they had to re-do everything from the beginning again. The time of punishment is the longest.
Before level “Track 8: a history lesson”, players would experience each mechanism individually or a combination of two mechanisms. Here players would use what they masted from the previous two mechanisms and combine it with the new challenge of the third mechanism to create a new experience. The challenge progressed, creating more tension, exciting players, and drawing their attention to the level. If players are bored and tired from combats and puzzles, there are also mini-platform games with beats-related simple QTE in the level to add extra freshness to the level.
Last but not least, I would like to talk about the boss fight with Mimosa in this level. This fight also tested players with all three mechanisms in combat. It is a short and intense experience that compressed all the key elements from the previous gameplay.
In the first phase, Mimosa was in the air (to show how cocky she is) while players are on the ground. This is not a comfortable angle of view but also not a good position. Mimosa is at a vantage point where players had to dodge Mimosa’s attack and use the perfect timing to stun her. After being stunned players has to deal as much damage as possible. However, players’ attacks are limited by how many beats there are, so this is where teammates came in. Players will summon teammates in the gap of each beat (attack gap) to deal additional damage. Players' skills had been tested while the target emotion is simulated.
A cocky marketing supervisor The perfect defense will stun Mimosa
In the second phase, players were placed on a dark stage, where observing and orienting enemies' locations was harder. Mimosa’s attack had a wider range and more strict timing for dodging or perfect defense. Mimosa would keep spawning melee enemies to distract players, which added tension to this combat. On the other hand, Mimosa was on the ground most of the time so it provided more attacking chances for skillful players.
Continuously spawning enemies. Wider attack and harder timing
The third phase is the most interesting one. It starts with a one-minute-long classic rhythm game, which relieved players a bit from two phases of intense fighting. This design wasn't just matched the rule that everything synced on beats (gameplay), but also make sense as a competition between Mimosa and players, to see who’s got more attraction (narrative). It is a consistency between the gameplay and the narrative.
Then, it tested players with both mechanisms of Peppermint’s and Macaron’s while dodging obstacles at the same time, which was the hardest challenge in this fight and lead the fight to the climax.
Finally, the fight ended in two rounds of beats-synced QTE, like all of the other boss fights, maintained the same ending style. In combination with the fantastic music, it feels like the finale of a great show.
