Every now and then, a game will pop up that reminds everyone of what gaming used to be like. Either in its aesthetics, its choice of gameplay, or simply the generous proposition of what’s packaged in. There will always be a natural attraction to certain titles. In this case, Hypercharge: Unboxed by Digitial Cybercherries feels like it pays homage properly to times long past. With so much content to enjoy, an actually staggering amount of customization and modes that give me a warmth I haven’t felt since I played the original Halo games as a kid.
Developer & Publisher // Digital Cybercherries
Platforms // Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, PC
MSRP & Release Date // $29.99 on Xbox, May 31st, 2024
Reviewed On // Xbox Series X
A Toy Story
Hypercharge: Unboxed is set around defending multiple Hypercores around different locations under the leadership of Max Ammo as you, him, and a small tactical group of toy soldiers fight against Major Evil. To put it plainly, the plot of the game is used to just move from one level to another. Each level opens up with a few comic pages showing a short cutscene with some honestly funny dialogue from Max Ammo or groups of his fellow troops.
From stumbling into a bathroom and having one of his soldiers fall into the toilet, to wandering in tall grass and stumbling upon a cardboard gate, setting the tone of a boss arena, each level never failed to make me smile and laugh. Especially some of the classic game callbacks.
Hypercharge: Unboxed knows what type of game it is and does not try to intrude with a heavy narrative. Instead, it focuses on giving the player a brief summary of the level through the eyes of each character in those comic pages. Then, it jumps into action with some very smooth FPS and third-person gameplay.
Defensive Hybrid Shooter Gameplay in Hypercharge: Unboxed
Hypercharge: Unboxed features a hybrid of first-person and third-person shooter action. You can swap from first person to third person perspective with a press of a button. As well as being allowed to change which shoulder the third-person camera is on. The moment-to-moment gameplay is equally fluid and very satisfying.
Each level starts you off with a different weapon. You can either have an assault rifle, shotgun, sniper, or laser rifle. During each level, you can find attachments that can add a secondary gun to your rifle. For instance, if you start with an assault rifle you can find an attachment to add a shotgun and swap between them as needed.
This system also applies to radars, flashlights, and sights. My favorite combination was a laser and machine gun combo to take out small swarms of zombie-like foes in certain levels with ease. It was made even cooler by having a chain gun grip.
The gameplay loop of Hypercharge: Unboxed is focused on having you defend the Hypercores from waves of enemies. Every Hypercore will have areas around it where you can set up traps and other defenses like walls and turrets. The right setup for each area is the key to ensuring you can run around the level to take down enemies as you please. Defending multiple zones sounds stressful at face value. But the game will assign very intelligent player bots to help you defend in each level. You can either play alone or play with friends as well. The game also features split-screen co-op, a feature that is very rare these days.
There is some clunkiness in the menus, however. As there is no real button to return to the lobby to give yourself a break. At the end of each level, you will have to pause and manually exit instead of having that little bit of convenience. I also noticed if you choose the Free Roam mode for each to get a feel for the level, you will still have to exit out of multiple menus after finishing your free roam to go into the campaign. It would have made a little bit of difference to have an option to choose from the two after each run.
A Wonderful Variety of Enemies and Bosses
There are 14 different levels in Hypercharge: Unboxed, with a lot of different enemies that are designed around toys. From robots that walk slowly and pack a punch, Beyblades that can hurt defenses rapidly, and bouncing balls, to flying ponies that heal their allies, toy soldiers, tanks, and vehicles. As well as some crazy aerial enemies, like cardboard planes, and toy jets. Some of my favorite enemies to take down include the Power Ranger-like enemy that’s quick and has a deadly blade. I also really loved shooting down the toy soldiers when they were parachuting down. They are especially fun to take down with the melee, the punch feels just right with the Toy soldiers.
Some of the levels also include some bosses. An early level in a bathroom has this very slow-moving robot that spins its head with a deadly laser beam. I found it frustrating to take down since you can only damage it by hitting its head, and it has to turn its protective head plate to certain angles for you to do so. But my favorite boss in Hypercharge: Unboxed was hands down the Mecha-Rex. It reminded me of fighting Brumaks in Gears of War and the fact it has a level dedicated to just fighting it in a small arena was intense and so much fun.
One of the things I did not like about the bosses was how they were reused in later levels. There is an airship that drops toy soldiers down that I recall being in two different levels after its introduction. Similar to the giant robot from the bathroom level. Aside from that, the variety packaged in with this game is fantastic and kept things fresh in each level for the most part.
Rank and Filed by Performance
Hypercharge: Unboxed also makes excellent use of each level to have a selection of different collectibles. Whether they are the coins you can collect to spend on defenses for the Hypercores. Or simply little alien toys in a garage, or places to put stickers on. The game ensures if you have downtime between each round in every level, you will have stuff to look for. But it does not stop there as they also have little objectives to do. Some will be constant between each level like ensuring Hypercores are either not damaged or destroyed and finding little paths to run across in a set time. You can also take advantage of the Free Roam mode to take care of some of the little objectives before jumping back in to focus on your ranking in each level.
Some of these objectives like defending the Hypercores perfectly count towards the award you get, and the others do not, however. It is purely for that extra little bit of challenge to make the level more fun to engage with. The game also has two tiers for the award system. A set of awards for the Casual and Normal difficulty modes, and another set for the Expert and Nightmare difficulties.
Hypercharge: Unboxed also challenges you to get at least Gold in the normal difficulties to unlock every level and finish the campaign. But when you get mostly Gold or Ruby in the difficulty modes, what do you get? Well, an absolutely staggering amount of customization options. From the toys to the different heads they can wear, the color palettes for both the toys and your weapon. Additionally, customization options also include the packaging your toy comes in and custom names for lobbies as well. My favorite was becoming a red and gray wolf called “The Flying Knuckles” with a Swiss cheese weapon skin. The customization is a ton of fun and worth the extra challenge. It adds a lot of good replay value, because even when the objectives are the same, aiming to complete certain challenges gives you the drive to go that extra mile.
Performance of Hypercharge: Unboxed and PvP
Hypercharge: Unboxed ran very smoothly, with very little wait time between loading screens. I experienced no technical hiccups either, like freezes, bugs, or crashes. It was a very smooth experience and looked absolutely gorgeous. One problem with the control scheme of the game is how the default feels worse than the “standard” option. The jump button (right bumper) and other assigned controls just do not feel right as one of the buttons in a first-person shooter. Especially when the right bumper is assigned to grenades or the melee button in most other first-person shooters.
Every level has so much detail and little touches in the environment. Like in the bathroom level, I found funny mock designs for toothpaste, lotions, and detergent.
While in a different level set in a kitchen, I was taken aback by the sheer level of realism when looking at a pizza baking in the oven. It was funny to see a consistent plasticky design to everything in the game being broken up by little things in the environment like so.
Hypercharge: Unboxed also features online multiplayer with an array of classic PvP modes. Such as free-for-all, team deathmatch, king of the hill, and even infection. The gameplay translated very well from a PvE setting to PvP. The only problem I ran into was some of the nooks and crannies of the environment that can give you a lot of cover and a very large vantage point to kill people with ease.
I am already itching to dive back into the PvP as someone who really enjoys the Halo feel it has. Suffice it to say, but the game is a very meaty package with so much to enjoy.
Audio and Accessibility
Hypercharge: Unboxed also excels in certain areas in its audio design. Every surface has its own unique sound. From carpets to metal surfaces, even wooden planks, and walking down a guitar string. I was impressed mostly by how the guns sounded. They nearly match the biggest games in the AAA space and the context of the weapons being toy guns elevate that wow factor. When starting level too, you burst out of a toy package and you can distinctly hear the plastic cover as you run across it into action. The voice acting for everyone, and every enemy was pretty good too.
I loved the stern British tone of Max Ammo, and the sinister robotic voice of Major Evil. As well as some of the other characters, namely a knight-like character that sounds like he’s speaking from a real helmet. The soundtrack never excelled however. It’s great background music but none of the tracks ever elevated the experience.
For accessibility, there are very few to mention. As mentioned previously, the default control scheme is inferior to the “standard” one. Which may cause some confusion with some players.
The game also does not convey very well that the HUD scaling works similarly to the UI scaling. When using the UI scaling to increase the text of the main menu, you can tell how big everything will get. But you have to go into either free roam or any other mode to see the change for HUD scaling. Hypercharge: Unboxed could have also benefitted from some colorblind options as well for those who need it.
Overall Thoughts on Hypercharge: Unboxed
Reject modernism, embrace Hypercharge: Unboxed, as it is the definition of fun. The campaign doesn’t take itself seriously and has free roam and difficulty options to offer you an experience you can customize. With so much enemy variety and a collection of great bosses that spice things up. Every level is filled to the brim with so much detail and extra stuff to do. As well as a ludicrous amount of customization you take advantage of for your character. Despite some of the menu clunkiness and the reusing of bosses, and the default controller scheme being weird. It is an experience I cannot recommend enough, especially at its very generous price tag on each platform. You owe it to yourself, as you can feel like a kid and just have fun, and in the end, that is what games should be.
Disclaimer – A game key was provided for this review.
