Hi-Fi Rush is one of my favorite games of the last few years, a musical tour-de-force that filters 2000s-era gaming through the benefits of modernity. More importantly, in the wake of the genuine tragedy that is the sudden, startling closure of developer Tango Gameworks last week, I found myself thinking about Chai's adventures, and back to something about the game that stuck out to me: Hi-Fi Rush's overt joy seemed tempered by a palpable frustration at how difficult it is to do creative, worthwhile work within an unsympathetic corporate structure.
And speaking as somebody who has also been part of good teams shut down by the massive businesses that own them, it's a message that broadcasts loud and clear.
