10 Video Games With Zero Expectations (That Blew EVERYONE Away)
2. Hi-Fi Rush
Shadow-dropping a game - that is, releasing it with no marketing whatsoever - is a massive risk for any publisher, but it most certainly paid off in the case of Tango Gameworks' rhythm-action game Hi-Fi Rush.
During the Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct back on January 25th, Bethesda dropped a reveal trailer for the game and then announced that it was releasing later that day.
Historically, it's been incredibly rare for publishers to shadow-drop genuinely brilliant games, but rather risk the strategy with more on-the-bubble titles which might benefit from the sudden viral chit-chat.
Plus, Tango Gameworks - the team behind The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo - making a rhythm game? That could certainly go either way.
Yet Hi-Fi Rush released to rave reviews across the board, with effusive praise for its eye-popping visuals, addictive combat, and lighter-than-air tone.
And even though it landed on Xbox Game Pass the same day, it still managed to chart on Steam, even dethroning AAA flop Forspoken.
It'll certainly be interesting to see whether or not companies roll the dice with more shadow-drop releases in the future, or Hi-Fi Rush's outta-nowhere success will remain a fascinating outlier.