Hi-FiRushis a unique action game byEvil Within 2director and produced by former Platinum and Capcom member Shinji Mikami. The game came as a complete surprise, with no previous announcements, and so did its licensed soundtrack. This is a rare treat for a non‑rhythm game, though fans question whether thisrhythm-based actiontitle could count as one.
Related:Best Rhythm Games On The Nintendo Switch
Bethesda has put out aSpotify playlistfeaturing every licensed song in the game, so fans can find thiswhole side of the soundtrackin one place.Hi-Fi Rushalso has an original soundtrack, though players won’t find it on Spotify. There are even songs to go in place of the licensed music hidden under the Streamer Mode, meant for content creators that don’t want to be hit with a copyright strike.
7Wolfgang’s 5th Symphony – Wolfgang Gartner
Wolfgang’s 5th Symphonyis a cool little bit of sampling that starts as a Beethoven reference but fails to come into its own. It’s the only song in the game to heavily feature sampling, on top of being quite different fromthe (mostly) rock soundtrack.
While the constant rhythm and general predictability do makeWolfgang’s 5th Symphonya perfect song forHi-Fi Rush, they don’t make it the perfect song. The acid bass mixed with an iconic orchestra hit is fun, and so are the voices erupting from it at weird times. Still, the song refuses to bulge from its 4 bars-long hook and never comes together in the end.
61,000,000 – Nine Inch Nails
1,000,000is a weird choice for this game. The driving distorted guitar and energetic drums are lively andeasy to tap your feet to, sure, but only in isolation from the lyrics. The incessant repetition of “I don’t feel anything” and intrusive suicide thoughts referenced throughout turn the obsessive rhythm into something quite hard to dance to, let alone play video games.
Related:The Best Dance Games, Ranked
This isn’t the first time that Nine Inch Nails music found its way into a video game soundtrack. The whole ofQuakewas scored by Trent Reznor ofNIN, though their style is hardly recognizable there. Many of the band’s songs were also featured inTap Tap Revenge, an early mobile game inspired byGuitar Hero.
5Invaders Must Die – The Prodigy
One could wonder whyInvader Must Diewas included in this soundtrack. The reason is (probably) quite simple: it just sounds like video music. The four-on-the-floor beat, an incessant kick locked with the metronome, also makes it a good fit for a rhythm game. Still, being one offew electronic songs in theOST, both licensed and original, it does feel slightly out of place.
Speaking about the song itself for a moment: it’s pretty good.Invader Must Dieis an instrumental piece from a band that doesn’t do a lot of instrumental music. If the game had more electronic music,Invader Must Diewould seem to belong in the unlicensed soundtrack, in a good way. It almost sounds like video game boss music, all high energy and with no breakdowns longer than a couple of bars.
4The Perfect Drug – Nine Inch Nails
The Perfect Drugis a great fit for a game likeHi-Fi Rush. Verse, chorus, and breakdown couldn’t be more different from one another, going from erratic guitar lines and crushed, lo-fi drums, to a simple but catchy pop-punk hook. It all ends with a classic NIN break-and-noise drop.
Related:Best Songs in Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival
The Perfect Drugfirst appeared inLost Highway, the 1997 David Lynch movie that includes music from, among others,Twin Peaks’Badalamenti, Lou Reed, and David Bowie. Nine Inch Nails isn’t new to this sort of incredible collaboration: as recently as 2019 a cover of their top hitHead Like a Holewas featured in an episode ofBlack Mirror. Long story short, NIN ended up writing a Miley Cyrussong,Ashley O.
3Whirring – The Joy Formidable
The occasional missing beat and angular leading vocals make this a weird choice for a rhythm game, but one that certainly pays off in the end.Whirringfrom The Joy Formidable isan extremely emotional song, sonically if not in its lyrics, without feeling out of place in the game.
Going from a lonely bass and voice to the full intensity of two guitars swimming in reverb,Whirringis quite the journey. Even if the energy level is all over the place, the incessant drums verify that there is never a moment where it feels like the song just stops. Good news forHi-Fi Rush, since this means that the big set pieces won’t be accompanied by silence.
2Lonely Boy – The Black Keys
Lonely Boyby The Black Keys manages to stay fresh after over 10 years and 150 million views on YouTube. It’s one of the most widely-known rock songs of the last few years. Anyone who managed to learn aboutHi-Fi Rushdoesn’t need an article to explainLonely Boyto them.
Lonely Boyhas all thatHi-Fi Rushneeds: an organ-driven hook, powerful drums and guitar, and a chorus stuck on the same two lines, so anyone can join in by its second appearance. It’s also a great fit with the (mostly pop-rock) non-licensed soundtrack.
1INAZAWA CHAINSAW – Number Girl
Number Girl is probably the most well-known punkband from Japan, and even they aren’t very famous after all. That’s a shame: first because Japanese punk is great, and second because Number Girl is great. But that only means that this is the perfect chance to catch up on Number Girl.
INAZAWA CHAINSAWhas some incredible energy, courtesy of the dirty drums and guitar. It also manages to grow into a drop that’s as natural as it is surprising. Most importantly, this song has to come as a complete surprise to anyone outside of Japan. It makes one wonder what would have happened if theHi-Fi Rushsoundtrack wasn’t an all‑time hits collection, but rather a playlist tailor-made for the game.
