Hyper-5

When I first played games like Einhander and G-Darius back in the 1990s, they felt like the future of shoot ‘em ups. After all, the genre had grown stale and predictable by the end of the 16-bit era, so it was cool to see consoles like the PlayStation and Saturn shake things up with polygonal action games that took players on the type of roller coaster ride that had previously not been possible on the outdated hardware. I was reminded of how much I loved that roller coaster ride while playing the new game Hyper-5, a throwback shoot ‘em up that mimics a lot of what those 32-bit games were doing all those years ago. It’s a game that lives up to the potential of those Square and Taito greats, all while giving us an exciting action experience that looks great on 4K televisions.

Of all the shooters I’ve played recently, Hyper-5 is by far the most cinematic. This is a gorgeous new game that puts us in the cockpit of a scout ship that is drawn into a terrifying battle after responding to a distress beacon. With little known about the enemy, it’s up to us to not only survive the brutal onslaught, but also take the battle to them, ending the war once and for all. Through five stunning stages, we’ll take on the challenge and uncovers the mystery of the sudden invasion.

Hyper-5 comes to us from the appropriately named Hyper Productions, a first-time developer who attacks this genre with a surprising amount of confidence. While we’ve seen these types of levels and locations before, the game goes the extra distance to hook us with an engaging story, great looking cinemas and stunning backgrounds that constantly change over the course of the level. It’s still derivative and never fully feels like it etches out its own personality, but this is a damn good debut release.

One of the best things about the game is how customizable the Hyper-5 is. This is the kind of game that wants you to play and replay these stages multiple times, both grinding and completing missions that will unlock upgrade points. It’s here where you’ll be able to boost your defense, add more firepower, change the secondary weapon you’re shooting and so much more. This is will not only make the later levels a lot easier, but it will change how you play earlier parts of the game. I had a lot of fun upgrading my little scouting ship and then overpowering everybody in the first stage, completing even more missions and earning upgrade points.

The game is also good about slowly dolling out bonus equipment and abilities as you complete each stage. For example, you’ll quickly earn a couple of drones that will offer additional firepower. There’s also a charge beam that you’ll earn after defeating one of the tougher bosses. And like everything else in the game, you can upgrade and customize the equipment and abilities you earn, giving you a lot of incentive to go back and earn as many upgrade points as possible.

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This system also helps keep the game from becoming needlessly frustrating. While it’s true that the final two stages are incredibly tough, I never felt like they were out of reach. Even at my most hopeless, I knew that I was earning upgrade points that would make the next attempt that much easier. Hyper-5 is a tough game, but it’s also fair. This isn’t on the same level of difficulty as the most notorious bullet hell shooters, and I think the upgrade system will help a lot of new players get into the shoot ‘em up genre.

That said, I was disappointed that Hyper-5 was only five stages long. Don’t get me wrong, the roller coaster ride we get is fun, exciting and thoroughly satisfying, but it would have been nice to see a few more stages. I also wish the game was a little more polished than it actually is. There’s a bit in the second stage where the Transformer-like robot gets all twisted and turned around, and that’s just the start of the weird glitches that plague that level. Thankfully, these issues are isolated, but when the rest of the game is so good, you can’t help but notice the imperfections.

While a bit on the short side, Hyper-5 offers hours of gameplay and the type of production value that you rarely see in this style of shoot ‘em up. It’s even more impressive when you know that it comes from a first-time developer, giving me hope for the future of action games. With its cinematic look, incredible graphics and addictive upgrade system, Hyper-5 is the type of shooter that just about anybody can get into.