HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed Review: Some Assembly Required, Some Missing
Review was done the Nintendo Switch. Copy of the game was provided by Digital Chybercherries
When we see movies like Toy Story or Toy Soldiers, it is great to see these things come to life with a lot of personality. Well, if you want that personality to have a lot of shooting, a surprisingly high difficulty level and other strategic influences, then this game now exists in the form of HYPERCHARGE:Unboxed.
The game overall is a lot of fun. I was surprised by how well the main game mode worked. The player or multiple players are in charge of protecting three bases with various traps, walls, weapons, and shields. The concept is fairly simple, it plays a lot like a zombie horde mode but with specific objectives to keep safe. The actual game mode worked very well, there is a time to build and collect resources, get upgrades for guns and replenish/repair things. With good alerts about attacks, plenty of time to prepare for a wave of attacks and weapons, a welcome amount of enemy types and more, there is much to do in main PVE mode. Also! There are a surprising amount of maps and unlockables in the forms of weapons, voice lines, costume customizations. Also, also, a simple but workable PVP, split screen modes for up to four players and the ability to play online. This game has a serious amount of content in it! However, and there is a however, the moment to moment gunplay is...usable at best.
For all the great things in this game, it is disappointing to have the movement, aiming and jumping feel good at times, and clunky at other times. I tried many different settings, different controllers and docked and handheld modes. But nothing could really help the overall lackluster gunplay. I have tried other shooting games on the Nintendo Switch, and it may be the system itself, the controllers or lack of attention to detail in making the shooting feel good, but playing an FPS on the Switch does not feel great. Unfortunately, this game suffers the same fate, I tried a variety of sensitivities, turn accelerations and three different controllers, but none of them felt nearly as good as playing practically anything else on another system.
As an added note, the developer has publicly said that a full tutorial will be released very soon after launch. Also, after launch, Digital Cybercherries will be closely monitoring feedback, suggestions, and bugs, and will work with the community to improve and fix the game. It’s very nice to hear this from them and know that they are dedicated to improving the game and fixing anything wrong as fast as they can.
I am really impressed with the amount of content found in this game, way more than other shooter games upon release. It is fun and playable on the Switch! But for those who are used to FPS games on a daily basis, it may be a struggle to play. A simple campaign mode would have been nice with increasingly difficulty or unique situations, but it isn’t terribly missed. Also, players must reach certain levels or achievements on maps or with certain conditions to unlock more things, so that could be called some form of campaign or progression too. I would love to see this game come to PC, Xbox One and PS4. With some polish on the menu orientation and tighter handles on the gunplay, I think this title has a chance to be something really fun and challenging for many players for a pretty long time.
