It’s been the story of the week, and it could go down as the story of the year: Microsoft has gone about shuttering several studios, specifically those associated with Bethesda. In a year filled with layoffs and generally bad news for theXboxbrand, this is the straw that’s breaking the camel’s back. Considering thatmore closures and layoffs could be on the way, Xbox is certainly not helping its reputation with players.
Among the studio closures, perhaps the saddest one among fans has been that of Tango Gameworks. The closure of Tango comes on the heels of the developer releasing one of 2023’s best titles inHi-Fi Rush, a rare game published by an Xbox-owned studio that actually justifies Phil Spencer’s extensive usage of the word “creativity.” It’s a special game that I’m still glad was ever allowed to exist, and it deserves to have a respectful salute, especially since Microsoft doesn’t seem to want to give it one.
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Xbox’s “Impossible Game”
In many ways, Hi-Fi Rush feels almost like an “impossible” game for Xbox, Bethesda, and Tango Gameworks. A developer long known for making horror games such asThe Evil WithinandGhostwire: Tokyo, owned by a publisher who in itself is owned by a console manufacturer known for big-budget, AAA-scale titles, was given the reigns to make a AA-style rhythm/action blend with the aesthetic of a Saturday-morning cartoon? Everything about this sounds like a dream, but it’s real.
Hi-Fi Rush feels like one of the rare moments where something that sounds too good to be true ends up true. Tango spent years working on the game, keeping it secret until it saw an announcement at the inaugural Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct in January 2023. As if this surprising little game couldn’t get any more surprising for Xbox fans, it was later announced during the show that Hi-Fi Rush would be released on the same day, while also receiving an Xbox Game Pass release to boot.
It became a critical darling and the recipient ofseveral year-end awards, including a Game Award for Best Audio Design and a BAFTA Award for Animation. It also reached three million players between purchases copies and Game Pass users, doing well enough for Xbox’s VP of marketing, Aaron Greenberg, to call the game a “breakout hit…in all key measurements and expectations” for Xbox.
Seemingly, though, it wasn’t enough of a “breakout hit” to keep Tango open or stop Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty from telling developers that Microsoft needed “smaller games that give [Xbox] prestige and awards” just a day after shutting Tango down. Sure, Hi-Fi Rush may have been in development too long - or been too expensive - to fit Matt Booty’s definition of “smaller,” but it’s still a disheartening comment and a sad way to sum up a truly special game.
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Here’s To Tango’s Magic
Hi-Fi Rush sees Tango Gameworks at its genre-bending best. It’s a game that mixes hack-and-slash character action with rhythm game mechanics, so everything in the game moves in sync with the rhythm of the background music. As a result, every input you make in the game must be done in time with the music to ensure you achieve the highest possible scores in levels. No, you’re not required to play in time with the music, but you won’t be able to dole out as much damage or perform incredible combos if you’re playing out of time.
It’s a unique new idea for an action game, and the combat design is absolutely sublime. The musical aspect of the combat makes it easy to get sucked into, doing away with complex combos and button combinations by simply allowing players to get into a jam with the music. Tango Gameworks also did an exceptional jobadding accessibility features to the gameas well, meaning even those who have no sense of rhythm can still slide in and enjoy the game.
Hi-Fi Rush also goes for a linear level design, which is an interesting scaling back for Tango Gameworks following a pair of games -The Evil Within 2and Ghostwire: Tokyo - that featured open worlds. This is a welcome design choice, though, as it shows how Tango made sure the game didn’t overstay its welcome and try to get too big for itself. It manages to be self-contained while still ensuring thateach level is a memorable romp. From a gameplay perspective, all of this comes together to make Hi-Fi Rush Tango’s most confident game.
Even beyond the gameplay, Hi-Fi Rush shines. The visual design is absolutely brimming with personality and charm, with a cel-shaded art design that’s overloaded with bright colors and excellent style. It’s a refreshing change of pace for Tango, making it one of the studio’s most graphically impressive games. It should also be said that the music is top-notch as well - it should be, it’s a rhythm game - with excellent rock jams from bands like The Black Keys and Nine Inch Nails. On a personal level, the section of the game where the Nine Inch Nails song plays is one of the best moments I experienced in a video game throughout all of 2023.
“At release, Hi-Fi Rush’s story felt like an adorable, cartoony adventure. Now, in the wake of Tango’s closure, it suddenly strikes a different chord.”
Writing-wise, the “Saturday-morning cartoon” vibe of Hi-Fi Rush delivers what is, on the surface, a sweet tale of a wannabe rock star banding together with some newfound friends to take down a corporation. Genetically embedded with a music player that allows him to perceive the world through a form of, our lovable hero Chai must destroy the company that created him and now sees him as a “defect.” At release, Hi-Fi Rush’s story felt like an adorable, cartoony adventure. Now, in the wake of Tango’s closure, it suddenly strikes a different chord.
Alongside Chai, many of the characters who fight alongside him are workers who are tired of being a cog in the machine of a corporation. While Chai and his friends were able to fight back against the corporation, Tango became a casualty of a larger business. Sure, the game may have been in development long before the Xbox buyout, but its story almost feels poetic in the wake of this past week’s news.
It’s almost like Hi-Fi Rush was the culmination of not only Tango’s game development philosophies but also their overall hopes and ambitions. It was a showing of the developer’s desire to push creativity, and not fall into the machine. It’s a real shame Xbox had to crush those ambitions and close Tango down, but if Hi-Fi Rush is truly the end for the folks at Tango Gameworks, they most certainly went out with a bang. It’s just truly unfortunate that we may never get to hear the encore.
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