Hi-Fi Rush arrived yesterday on Xbox and PC, and it’s quickly gained quite the following. Reviews on Steam are overwhelmingly positive, and feedback on social media has developer Tango Gameworks absolutely glowing.
But Hi-Fi Rush isn’t the only shadow-dropped success story. A thread on ResetEra from user Poimandres has gamers looking back with fondness and some of the best shadow-dropped games in history. "In light of today's pretty rad Hi-Fi Rush shadow drop, let's remember some of the best shadow drops over the years," they wrote. "What's been your favourite shadow drop?"
One game that kept coming up over and over in the thread is Apex Legends, the free-to-play sci-fi battle royale game from Respawn. Apex came out of nowhere back in 2019 and quickly slotted itself into the competitive battle royale market. The game remains one of the best battle royales around, with frequent content drops and a cast of inclusive characters that appeal to a wide audience.
Another name that came up a lot was PT, the surprise horror game by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro. A short first-person horror game, PT was kept entirely secret, with Kojima using the pseudonym "7780s Studio" for development. PT was so beloved that fans have called on Kojima to return to the horror genre for years--something that might finally happen with Overdose, the rumored horror game from Kojima Productions.
Persona 4 Golden's release on Steam was fondly remembered by many folks who were surprised to find Atlus pivoted to PC without any warning. Hollow Knight's arrival on Switch had many fans delighted to play one of the best Metroidvanias ever made. And Tetris 99 brought the classic game to a totally new audience with a competitive element unlike any we've ever seen.
It's enough to make you think that everyone should shadow-drop their games. That's probably a bad idea for small indie devs, but for larger names that can afford a huge media blitz, it's been proven a few times that it can be a successful strategy.
Hi-Fi Rush is enjoying success on Xbox and Steam, so go check it out and see what all the buzz is about.