Hyper-5 | PS4 Review

After having landed on PC, "Hyper-5" finally makes it's way to consoles under the banner of publisher EastAsiaSoft. Carrying with it a polished, and well functioning port that could easily be compared with other shmup greats. Darius comes to mind in that regard. I realize in saying this though that I have a bad habit of comparing games that have obvious influences, but do bare in mind that while there are some similarities 'Hyper-5' does good to bring what once was hype back in the 90's to the next level. Putting the "Hype" in "Hyper". Both visually, and mechanics-wise. Tweaking, in it's wake, staple scoring and shooting gimmicks. Making modes that have been done time and time again fresh, and exciting. 

Below you will find an easy to consume series of sectional paragraphs detailing everything from the plot to the gameplay, and even the mechanics. I have spent enough time with the game that I can give you an honest opinion at the end as well, if you care for it.

Hyper-5, The Plot ...

With 'Hyper-5', fans of the genre will be met with a very familiar setup. It features a piloted deep space scout ship known as "Hyper-5" that is responding to an emergency beacon on planet 4GDT. In a cinematic fashion the ship flies in, does it's level by level routes through player handling, and transitions by section in a similar cinematic fashion. Not offering much else on plot points, but giving the player enthusiastic or excited voiced one-liners from the onboard AI on occasion. This is all offered up within the main mode of play, and outside of it.

Hyper-5, The Ship ...

The 'Hyper-5' deep space scout ship is armed for combat, and defense out the gate. Featuring four distinctly different loadout add-ons that can be unlocked using unlock points, and selected prior to playing. These four fully functional features include the gun, missiles, a tech bay alternative, and an overclock satellite system. The guns offer a variety of different shot types, as one might expect. Shots that are individually upgraded at the cost of UP (unlock points). Giving the shot more power, speed, and coverage. Replacing the traditional power-up system that past shmups have used, but only in the campaign. Alongside guns exist limited use missiles. Missiles, themselves, come in a variety as well, and can be upgraded multiple times just like the guns. Leaving the tech bay alternatives as added firepower, or defensive options depending upon what the player chooses. Gifting shields or using the ship to emit damage dealing alternatives like swarm missiles. After that the only thing left is the overclock system, and it too has multiple options, but in the orbiting satellite form. Creating a third means by which to dish out damage or negate damage taken in the defensive sense.

Unlock Points & Modes ...

In total 'Hyper-5' has in it three modes of play, an armoury for upgrades/unlocks, and a gallery. The three modes include a campaign style mode with level select, an arcade mode without plot points, and a time trial mode. With the campaign, and arcade gameplay is basically the same. A series of transitional levels or stages with static waves of enemies coming in across a left to right side-scrolling, and sometimes overhead perspective. Containing bosses, special destructible set pieces, and lesser enemies that come in a wide variety depending upon the stage. Stages or levels are environmentally varied, and include both land, and underwater biomes that visually look the part. The end goal with each stage or level is to fully clear the waves in order to capitalize on UP (unlock points), and make a highscore in the process. At the end of each boss inclusive biome battle the results are tallied, and with the campaign specifically hitting stacked milestones related to enemies killed, time spent playing, and other things will not only bank you additional UP, but also unlock hidden features within the armoury. 

With Arcade mode the gameplay stays the same as above, but the means by which you boost, and refill your selected loadout is more of a traditional power-up style. Also at the beginning of a playthrough you will be prompted to select one option from each of the four ship parts. This includes the previously mentioned gun, missile, tech bay option, and an overclock satellite. Only the ones you have unlocked will be selectable though, and since there is a power-up system in tow that will be the means by which you power-up your weaponry and defense.

In a similar fashion as to the Arcade, Hyper-5's 'Time Trial' does things different enough for the standalone mode that it is. With time trial you can play through single timed missions based on levels that you've beaten in the campaign. The gameplay is overhead focused, but still side-scrolling from left to right, and top to bottom. Leaving the odd indicators for path change as a means with which to choose what part of the level you want to transition to. Something that is also mirrored in the other two modes. As far as the power-up system goes you do get to initially select your loadout. From there it's all about collecting dropped time increase orbs, or score boosts that turn up as golden coins. You're time, and score will be tallied differently from campaign, and arcade accounting for waves bested, time left, and other things based upon feats accomplished within that singular section of the game. Adding as a bonus score to the score multiplier for each feat met. That, and UP for spending in the armoury.

The armoury, itself, is the base hub for selecting loadout options for campaign as well as upgrading those options multiple tiers at an increasing cost. Resulting in effectiveness boosts, and additional ammo, life, retries, speed or other loadout based upgrades. Outside of that exists the Gallery, and the gallery is basically an animated bestiary of creatures and ships that you've encountered and defeated. This includes lesser enemy types as well as bosses.

Hyper-5, The Presentation ...

Visually 'Hyper-5' is a game built upon polygons. Featuring modern textures slapped on top of those polygons, and rendered texturally in such a ways as to look more organic, or bionic depending upon what you're looking at. It's also filled with special effects, dynamic lighting, particle effects, and visual filters to give each level's set a different look through interactive destruction, and traversal. The sets or levels are, themselves, parallax in nature giving the game a 2.5D appearance that goes into the background. Even the top-down perspective has 3D depth to it. In some parts of the campaign, and arcade mode paths chosen will change the perspective from side-scrolling to top-down adding to the game's cinematic flair. Speaking of cinematics the developer went the extra mile to make all levels or stage cinematically transitional. Giving the player brief pauses to go along for the ride before engaging the enemy.

Audibly, 'Hyper-5' is grounded with a more modern take on instrumentals, synthwave, and metal. With each stage the tunes change, and those tunes do compliment what's going on. Like an epic unfolding the soundtrack peaks, and dips in intensity noting key moments such as boss battles, and wave laden fights. 

The Verdict ...

I have actually seen this game years back, and was hoping it would make it's way onto the PS4. Surprisingly, even to me, it did. Under the EastAsiaSoft banner, no less. Bringing with it the glorious graphics, the hype soundtrack, and gameplay that at least tries to do things differently by comparison. You can tell it's a project done by a staff who knows what works, and what doesn't with shmups. There is definitely a hint of passion towards the genre with 'Hyper-5'. 

That having been said 'Hyper-5' is not a flawless experience. I did run into a few things during my playthrough I feel could be better. For one thing the ship's hitbox isn't made clear, and the ship is rather large for genre standards. Secondly the ability to change speed results in less than noticeable shifts. Something that is imperative since there is bullet hell involved. Thirdly, visibility for bullets and the ship, at times, is problematic. The visual filters that blur the scenery or darken it lead to some cheap shots taken. Even the enemy bullets populate the screen with such an intensity at times that it's hard to distinguish them from your own bullets or power-ups. There's that and a lack of identification of environmental hazards in some areas. It's hard at times to distinguish what will hurt you if you run into it, and what won't. Only through experimentation was I able to find some of this out. 

Complaints aside, 'Hyper-5' is still good enough of a game to recommend. While I'd have preferred a traditional power-up system than the unlock and upgrade system it still manages to offer a viable score based competition in the late game that coincides with an online leaderboard. I do like how the game looks overall, how it sounds, and how it plays. It is competently crafted by what are no doubt seasoned developers who are familiar with shumps. If you fancy a new shmup worth buying into give this one a shot or a buy. It's good!