Overview – developed by Hyper Productions and published by Eastasiasoft, Hyper-5 is a cinematic sci-fi shooter inspired by classics of the genre. Take on 5 stages of challenging, side-scrolling action through a mix of environments. This title is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox family of systems, with a link to each version of the game at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank Eastasiasoft for providing the copy of Hyper 5 that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now, with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. I will be skipping the story section as there is a cinematic narrative that players should experience first-hand, so I will be moving straight into discussing the gameplay. Please Note that images featured are from the official press kit, so they will not match the Nintendo Switch visually.
Gameplay – Hyper 5 is a scrolling shooter with a cinematic narrative, set on the planet 4GDT, Hyper-5 receives a distress signal and heads into battle with an unknown threat. The objective of the game is to battle through the harsh environments of the planet, taking down the enemy forces and massive bosses that appear. While only being 5 stages long, the challenge will push players to their limits.
This title takes inspiration from the classics of the genre, with intense and fast paced shooting action, all while offering modern mechanics to the experience. Before taking off into battle, the player is able to set the loadout that they want to use for the stage from the armoury. This is where new weapons, ship upgrades and additional extras can be purchased using points earned in the stages.
The upgrades that players can obtain include new weapon types for the main attack, like spread shot as well as enhanced missiles that can do increased damage. There will also be the option to purchase improvements to the capacity and cooldown of the various bomb weapons. Alongside the weapons, the player will also be able to purchase extra lives, increased health and more to help them get through their mission.
These upgrades become very important as each of the stages have challenging phases, with large screen filling enemies that can take the player down in seconds. These challenges will likely lead to repeating stages, earning increased amounts of upgrade points and increasing the chances of survival by making more upgrades available. There is also a gallery that the player can unlock with points, adding to the replay value of this release.
As a modern shooter, there are two playstyles that the player can select from, with the option of precision and progression. The precision setting is best for those with a lot of experience in shooting games, with Progression more suitable for those who want to focus on obtaining upgrades. This also functions as the difficulty system, with the chosen setting affecting the player, enemies and overall gameplay experience.
Outside of the main cinematic story, there is the Time Trial mode where players can take on special missions with special conditions attached to them. There is also a leaderboard system for all of the game modes, where players are able to battle it out for the top spot with players from all over the world. These make for a competitive element that adds additional value to this title, giving a reason to return to the game after completion.
Now with the gameplay covered, it is time to move onto the other aspects of this release, starting with the controls.
Controls – the control style for this title has an arcade feel to it, with relatively easy to grasp inputs that are fairly responsive, but do feel a little twitchy at times. The best option for this title in terms of controller is to use an arcade stick, as it fits the feeling that the game attempts to invoke. When playing this title in either docked or handheld mode, the game is very comfortable to play regardless of the controller used.
Difficulty – this is a challenging title, with a lot of intense action that can be pretty intense which may be off-putting for some players. This difficulty will very possibly lead to the player having to replay stages several times, which can be a source of frustration due to repeated restarts. To balance this, there are difficulty options that can be selected from, with the precision and progression options that adjust the overall gameplay experience.
Presentation – this release uses a hybrid visual style that mixes full 3D models and backgrounds, presented in a 2D form which works well enough on the Nintendo Switch. However, there are some minor issues with the visual performance, due to the limits of the hardware like render distance and slowdown which are unfortunate. The sound for Hyper-5 is very good, with a soundtrack that is tailored well to the setting and voice acting that is performed well.
Final Thoughts – I am a fan of scrolling shooters like R-Type and Gradius, which made me excited when this hit my radar. However, there are blemishes that make this a slightly less than stellar experience. The majority of the action is solid, but unfortunately some of the sequences are made more difficult than they need to be. This is made worse by the need to grind and complete repetitive challenges to earn upgrade points to get past these segments.
I am unsure if I can recommend this title to a casual scrolling shmup fan, but I can recommend it to those who are into tough challenges. There is a lot of content in this release, with the unlockables in the gallery, the time trial missions and the worldwide leaderboards increasing the value of this game. It is has potential but sadly falls a little short of the mark.
In the end, I give Hyper-5 a final score of 3/5. This is a mostly solid scrolling shooter with a promising premise and cinematic narrative, but sadly this potential is spoiled by unfairly challenging action sequences and a frustrating need to grind to progress at times. If you do want to check this title out for yourself, a link to each version of the game will be below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation version (HERE)
Link to Xbox version (HERE)
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