Hello! February came and went really quickly, and I got sick at the end of the month, so it’s taken me a little time to get around to this. Here’s a few things I enjoyed this month; I hope you’re well, wherever you are.
Hi-Fi Rush
It’s been a while since a game’s announcement made me grin like a goofy little kid, but Hi-Fi Rush did just that. A rhythm-action beat-em-up, you say? With a properly licensed soundtrack, an cartoon aesthetic, and a world where everything moves to the beat? Sign me the heck up.
The best part is Hi-Fi Rush isn’t just all style; beneath its colourful, slightly hipsterish surface is a game that’s finely crafted and just an absolute joy to play. Every level is unique, full of secrets, and culminates in a boss fight that plays with the soundtrack and each enemy’s traits — nothing feels like a chore. And it really came out of nowhere; its developer, Tango Gameworks, is more used to making survival horror games than music games, and Microsoft surprise-launched it onto Game Pass with no leaks — something that’s unfortunately rare these days.
We’re seeing a renaissance of rhythm games; a lot are clearly inspired by Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven series, hoping to fill the gap that series has left in its market. It’s really nice, though, to see teams using the genre to make something entirely different — and Hi-Fi Rush is one of my favourite games of the last few years because of it.
Hi-Fi Rush is on Xbox Series X/S and Steam, and is on Game Pass
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On
I’m not going to try and sell you on Marcel The Shell With Shoes On — it does a pretty good job of that itself, to be honest — but I wasn’t expecting it to be such a moving, heartwarming film about family, loss, and stepping into the unknown. It takes a little time to really get going and for every bit of its humour to properly land, but when it gets you it grabs you by the neck and doesn’t really let go. Just an absolute little gem.
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is available to rent or buy in the usual VOD places, and is in select UK cinemas
February’s Playlist
Beyoncé’s going on tour (and I am going to see Beyoncé going on tour, which is ten times more exciting), so naturally there had to be at least one Beyoncé song on this playlist. I think the shortness of February means that there have been fewer earworms, but most of those earworms were tied to Caroline Polachek’s new album — and Charlie XCX’s remix of Welcome To My Island, which goes harder than it has any right to.
I’m also really sad I missed Easy Life on tour — it just didn’t work out, logistically or financially — so I dropped a few of their songs in here. I’ll probably have something a little more coherent for March.