Hi-Fi Rush turned us up to 11 before we even knew what hit us.
In one of the year’s biggest surprise releases, Tango Gameworks – a studio that cut its teeth on the paranormal genre with excellent projects like Evil Within 1 & 2 and Ghostwire: Tokyo – launched Hi-Fi Rush and served notice that its talented group of game developers were much more than just “a horror game studio.” Hi-Fi Rush was brash, bold, colorful, and most importantly, fun!
This incredible project — which had been developed in secret at Tango for nearly five years — pleasantly knocked its custom-built guitar over our heads with its crisp, rhythm-based gameplay, excellent soundtrack, and memorable characters, all wrapped up in a unique world for us to explore.
Because of its “shadow drop” release, it bucked the trend of a preview circuit (announce, hands-on previews, etc.) so we haven’t had a chance to follow the game’s creation – until now.
Xbox Wire was given exclusive access to talk to the heads of development at Tango Gameworks to bring you this unique, behind-the-scenes look at the inception of an idea as it moves through the entire creative process, right up to its full release.
Throughout this piece you’ll learn how Game Director John Johanas first pitched his dream project to the heads of the studio, how Lead Programmer Yuji Nakamura helped create the initial prototype that would be the framework the team would follow, how the team arrived at the bold art design led by Lead Art Director Keita Sakai, and how Audio Director Shuichi Kobori helped blend an absolutely banging rock-and-roll soundtrack into the action-packed gameplay of Hi-Fi Rush.
We hope this small peek behind the curtain of game development will give you a deeper appreciation for the massive amount of work and dedication that goes into our favorite games. Please enjoy!