How Hi-Fi Rush Succeeded Despite Zero Marketing

Video games are a form of art. Although many would disagree with this statement, the medium exhausts a person’s imagination and creativity.

Without these elements, I’m sure you know what we would get is bland and mediocre garbage. There are many examples where a game Just doesn’t provide anything

Technically there is no limit to the power of thinking and imagining. People have come up with some crazy ideas on both sides of the spectrum, even outside of the gaming industry.

It shows that the possibilities are endless, yet, to explore said possibilities, you need passion and drive. If a man can go to the moon, making a good game shouldn’t really be a problem.

Still, it’s a problem. By focusing on everything but the core aspect of a video game to make more money and please investors, gaming has lost much of its charm.

From big-budget marketing to unnecessary microtransactions, the shift in focus is stark. People have forgotten how word spreads, especially when something is so good that it just grows and spreads organically.

We’ve had plenty of examples in the past year opposing this new gaming state, such as Elden Ring & Stray. Now, Hi-Fi Rush has also joined their ranks. While it’s nothing unique or groundbreaking, Hi-Fi Rush has set itself apart from the competition by embracing the nature of gaming and showing creativity and passion.

Why is creativity important?

Books are special, and there are a lot of people out there who feel the same way. There is a reason for this, and that is that the book stimulates the mind of the reader.

Their mind is free to wander and view the contents of the book in a completely different space. This element specific to a book is fully experienced by the creative abundance within us.

Getting that image from inside your mind and projecting it onto a screen, something you can experience visually and physically, is a tremendous achievement. When executed well, it can yield some very good results. This is what Hi-Fi Rush has achieved.

The first point I want to make here is about the presentation of this game. The way it presents itself right from the start draws you in as a player. It piques your curiosity and makes you want to see more. The more you see, the more you want to experience it. One way to do this is through its configuration.

A great example of this is Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. Honestly, that game, along with Web of Shadows, was a breath of fresh air. The former’s visual presentation, with four distinct art styles, added a lot of variety that blended well together. Its sequel, Age of Time, lacked that charm, and we all know how that turned out.

It’s like a sales pitch. If the first thirty seconds of your headline isn’t catchy, it’s not going to draw in an audience. There are many ways to achieve this, but these days it often boils down to flashy graphics and empty promises that most developers fail to deliver.

Hi-Fi Rush doesn’t suffer from this simply because it didn’t do anything like that. This is not groundbreaking or the first of its kind. Developers wanted To make this game. They wanted people to play it and keep it. Fun. This drive and passion is what fueled the project, and what makes it so special.

Hi-Fi Rush is visually appealing.

I want to preface this part by saying that even broken things can be beautiful. Alden Ring came out last year. His world, The Lands Between, had fallen apart. As a result of the Shattering and Fall of the Golden Order, that was the world. broke down. Interestingly, the game also crashed on launch. Especially the PC port.

Yet despite its world being a shell of its former self and questionable launch state, the game was beautiful to look at and a huge success.

Keep in mind that Alden Ring didn’t break any new ground in graphical technology, but it was still a miracle. You could say something along these lines for God of War Ragnarok. what is the meaning of this? This means you don’t need flashy technology to achieve stunning visuals and a sense of scale.

Look at Forspoken, big budget and bright engine driven. Still, it looks inferior to Final Fantasy XV in every possible way. And it’s obvious visual degradation Reveal in 2020 as Project Athiya..

In contrast, Hi-Fi Rush does not pursue these things. It knows what it wants to do, and it gets it. At a glance, you might say it’s cool. It doesn’t go after photorealism or fancy ray-traced puddles.

Neither of these things is inherently bad. It sounds great when done right, but most developers focus on what’s really important.

Anyone who says that graphics are the only thing that matters in games or should be prioritized above all else is objectively wrong. Graphics alone don’t make a game, and they won’t sustain it. If that were the case, there would be zero demand for games like Triange Strategy or Octopath Traveler.

What matters most is the final product, the combination of story, gameplay, music, art direction, performance and graphics.

Many games have achieved this this past year, and Hi-Fi Rush is one of the first games this year to achieve it. One of the main reasons word spread so quickly is because it was available on Game Pass on day one.

Marketing can potentially be a double-edged sword.

The purpose of marketing is to increase awareness of your product. To make sure people know about its existence and are able to see what it’s bringing to the table. This allows them to consider purchasing the said product, resulting in campaign success.

But what if the product is not standard? If the product is not ready for release or if it does not appeal to the audience, it will receive negative attention rather than the opposite. One could argue that this would cause people to see where the product reaches and thus increase sales, but the opposite could also be true.

If a game isn’t good, it won’t sell. It doesn’t matter how graphically advanced it is or how popular the IP is, if it’s bad, it won’t sell. Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 is another great example of this.

Corporate arrogance and a focus on advanced graphics led to the game’s downfall. However, it was Rescued by people with passion. The story has been told many times, and it all comes down to one simple fact – make a good game.

Marketing is definitely an important factor, or at least getting the word out. A good part of the reason Hi-Fi Rush achieved its success was that it was announced directly on. It’s not marketed…no. It was announced. Many people attended the show and watched the trailer. But the rest of it was entirely the game itself.

The quality of the game is what made it a success. People enjoyed playing this new rhythm action game and it clearly shows. Metacritic has the highest number of user ratings on both PC and XBOX. This speaks volumes regarding the impression left by Hi-Fi Rush.

In contrast, Forspoken was heavily marketed. Yet, it ultimately failed to deliver. It’s normal and possible to enjoy a casual game, but that doesn’t change the facts.

The reason for success

There are many instances where marketing was extremely beneficial. One of them is 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man. This title changed the landscape of Spider-Man games, and for good reason.

Another example is the Elden Ring and of course the God of War Ragnarok. I’d also like to mention Stray, but I’m sure we can agree that it was all about the cats with him.

All these games were huge success stories regardless of the marketing factor. At the end of the day, however, what made them successful was their substance. Great the game.