Hi-Fi Rush has homages to Twin Peaks, JoJo, Scott Pilgrim, and more

It turns out Hi-Fi Rush quietly has a metric tonne of references in its character and cutscene animations.

Hi-Fi Rush might've launched less than a week ago as a surprise from developer Tango Gameworks, but it's already gone down an absolute storm with audiences. Players are now digging into the game's character animations, both in real-time gameplay and cutscenes, and discovering intriguing references like the Twin Peaks one just below.

Elsewhere, did you know Zanzo's character animations are just one massive reference to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? No? Well, feast your eyes on the roundup in the tweet seen just below, where it turns out the boss is real fond of pulling off some of the anime's weirder character movements.

There's also a sequence which is a pretty clear-cut homage to Edgar Wright's adaptation of Scott Pilgrim in Hi-Fi Rush. The sequences for the two heroes getting dressed can be seen side-by-side just below, and although Hi-Fi Rush's segment isn't quite as quick as Wright's editing, it's still a blatant tribute to Scott's clumsy nature.

Oh, and there's a whole sequence based on Xenogears in Hi-Fi Rush. Yes, when Chai sits down on the couch and wonders what the hell to do, that's actually a tribute to 1998's Xenogears, a cult classic RPG that would go on to pave the way for the Xenoblade Chronicles games of today.

Hi-Fi Rush is filled with these weird and whacky little nods. It's fascinating to wonder where the animation references originated from, because in the case of the Xenogears and Twin Peaks references, they form the basis of entire cutscenes, not just one of two quick seconds. There must be game and film buffs galore in Tango's programming and animation departments.

Check out our new games 2023 guide for a look over all the other games set to launch at some point later this year.