youVideo game industry hype cycles are generally measured in months and years, not minutes and seconds. So the simultaneous announcement and launch at the end of January hifi fever – the kind of “go buy it right now” reveal Apple is known for – feels nonchalantly countercultural. So does its bright, cartoony style – this game is as unabashedly colorful as a jet set radio fever dream, and even like plastic Guitar Hero instruments clog the nation’s closets, it’s refreshing to play a game that’s so unabashedly focused on music.
This is a fighting game to the beat of a drum. You play as Chai, an enthusiastic teenager who enrolls in a biological augmentation program with a shady pharmaceutical company. The operation goes awry when an old iPod-style music player is attached to Chai’s chest. Marked for extermination, you must guide Chai to safety, then help him defeat his oppressor. As you move through these Shibuya-inspired streets, the world and everything in it pulses to the beat of the game’s soundtrack (a mix of original and licensed tracks from bands like the Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails).
When defending against the attacks of the robot guards, you must try to time your punches, kicks, jumps and dodges to the beat of the musical staff. Unlike more traditional music games, even players with no sense of rhythm can participate; perfect timing simply increases the effectiveness of your attacks (and improves the rating given after the encounter). It’s entirely possible to fumble your way around, and regardless of when you press the button, the game adjusts the timing of your character’s animations to match the pace, allowing even an inept player to feel skilled. This is a world that, aside from the killer robots, is a joy to exist within and explore, made all the sweeter by virtue of their unexpected arrival.
