Hi-Fi Rush, Tango Gameworks’ rhythmic action game where every move happens to the beat of the music, made for an exciting shadow drop after last week’s Xbox Developer Direct. With its bright cartoon style, snappy rhythm-based gameplay, and popping soundtrack, it quickly became a hit on social media.
But Hi-Fi Rush isn’t just for the general public. Apparently, it got a little prevalent inside Bethesda at first. This is what led to Tango’s decision to drop Shadow in the first place.
Director John Johanas told IGN that Shadow Drop’s decision was made by the game’s marketing team, partly due to uncertainty about how the longer marketing cycle will play out. Tango is known for its horror, but Hi-Fi Rush clearly isn’t, so it just drops on Game Pass without a long lead-up, as it was in the days of Bethesda. So they figured that sudden word-of-mouth would naturally gain popularity. development.
“If you ask someone to buy something with Shadow Drop, you probably get a lot of skepticism, but the fact that Game Pass exists makes it possible for people to basically do just about anything. I mean, in theory it’s a demo, but it’s not a demo, it’s a complete game, and they just play, and almost naturally talk about the game, talk to their friends, You can tell them how cool it is. That’s what we wanted. Something special.
“That’s how it was really built within Bethesda…some people played it and told others about it [colleagues]They’re like, “Have you seen the games they’re making there?” Just playing this game has this weird viral positivity. Game Pass felt like the perfect opportunity to let something go…just play it, people talk about it, and that skepticism could quickly disappear. “
We spoke with Johanas to learn more about the team’s work on Hi-Fi Rush. This includes how and why Tango deviated from how it was done as a horror studio. You can read the full interview here. Also, check out our interview with Xbox head Phil Spencer, who touched on Hi-Fi Rush, his 2023 lineup for Xbox, and more.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. you can find her on her twitter @duck valentine.
