Hypercharge Unboxed (Xbox) Review

As I’ve got older my patience for video games seems to be wearing thinner. After playing them almost daily for the best part of 33 years or so, everything with big budgets either seems to be doing too much and falling flat or repeating the same experiences repeatedly. I wouldn’t be lying if I said that my best gaming days were with a Sega Mega Drive or a Playstation 2. Without waffling on too much, what is the point I am alluding to? Sometimes I wish I could go back and play some of those fantastic shooters for the first time again. I’m talking stuff like Timesplitters, Perfect Dark, and Goldeneye, you get the jist.

When I first clapped my eyes on Hypercharge Unboxed I was extremely intrigued as it takes huge inspiration from one of my favourite childhood films, Small Soldiers. With Digital Cybercherries launching the game on Windows PC and Nintendo Switch initially back in 2020, the reception was very positive with the looming question of when will it be coming to consoles. It has taken a good two years from the announcement to get to the stage where the game will arrive on 31st May 2024 on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S but that is due to the hard work and logistics of the small team. But I will say at this stage of the review that the outcome is a very special, well polished and optimised indie gem that offers a very large nod to nostalgia for 80’s and 90’s kids.

What Is Hypercharge Unboxed?

Hypercharge Unboxed is a first and third-person action figure game which has a plethora of different modes and ways to play. You’ll be glad that if you’re investing in the game on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S then the game has full crossplay with Windows PC players. The main draw for some will likely be the ability to play in split-screen mode with up to 4 players, I mean who even does that these days? It takes me back to the glory days of Goldeneye on Nintendo 64, all playing together in person peeking at others to see where they were on the map.

A Quality Campaign With Plenty To Do!

The campaign can be played in a range of difficulties both in offline and online co-op or with AI squad mates if you’re slaying the game alone. For my review, I blasted through the campaign twice both on my own and with some friends online. Both were flawless and I was impressed with how computer players reacted during and between waves of enemies. So many games I have played where they don’t react how you’d quite like, but here they seem pretty intelligent. There are 14 levels to play through all with a range of challenges, hidden collectables and more to discover.

I enjoyed ticking off the checklists of objectives during each level with coins to collect, batteries to find and other hidden goodies. There are some great tasks like flushing the toilet or smashing a mirror, it brings opportunities to go off the beaten track and utilise the minutes between waves if you don’t want to skip the building process to protect against the hordes. There are loads of parts of maps where you could venture off and some of them make for useful vantage points or places to take cover, being able to duck into a coffee cup and pop out and fire is hilarious especially in multiplayer.

Fighting Waves Of Enemies Is Both Terrifying & Addictive

The variance of enemy types throughout the game is impressive and I felt as if no two waves ever felt identical really. There are too many to list but when you have spinning top-style toys thrashing towards you with toy soldiers robotically charging at you everything just seems to come to life. Gunplay is tremendous and with the ability to switch between first and third person on the fly at any given moment, just gives versatility to how you want to play the game. I’d liken the overall movement mechanics with Halo 3 with a dash of Timesplitters. It is exhilarating to play a shooter where players aren’t tactical sliding across the floor or jumping around corners, but if you want to do some of the old-school quick scope sniping, the bedroom floor is all yours!

Online PVP

Whilst I didn’t manage to get as much time as I’d have liked with the Online PvP modes due to the servers not being quite available, I did get a good few hours mixing in on the Crossplay with PC players in the last few days as we edge closer to launch. Online multiplayer is flawless and if you played the game a few years back, you may not be familiar with the new modes introduced. Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch are both here, but you also have Capture The Battery, Infection and King Of The Hill if you have that itch for objectives.

I had an absolute blast in this section of the game and whilst there aren’t any progressive levelling systems here, it is all good old-fashioned 4vs4 fun. The team have been clear that the PvP wasn’t their main focus on the game and whilst I would have loved a ranking system, I’d rather the game remain the quality product it is today than make for more complications for the team. There are menus for completionists to get some insight into how their progression is going with some deep stat tracking. You can join matches in progress, and create your own lobbies and custom matches if you want those personal private battles amongst your mates, it will be perfect for our own Complete Xbox Community Nights.

Customisation

I can’t stop praising Hypercharge Unboxed, but the customisation options are rife with many action figures. Choosing from and unlocking different heads, skins, weapons, packaging and more allows you to have your unique figure. You can even design your avatar and name to showcase in lobby areas if that’s your jam. What I especially adored is when in a game you burst out of your packaging and attachments for weapons can be purchased with in-game currency by plucking them from within the empty box. It is the finer details of the game that make you always feel fully immersed. Customisation is just the icing on the cake and whilst there is plenty here, I can imagine opportunities for more if the team want to be endless.

Visuals & Audio

You may have read several reviews already for the PC or Nintendo Switch version of the game and whilst on paper it is the OG Hypercharge Unboxed, the way it presents on a 4K OLED is staggering. I’m not joking when I say the entire experience immediately oozes quality. Having played a version on Steam shortly before my review to gauge a comparison between the two, I feel the console version is ported and optimised magnificently. I experienced no bugs or glitches in my time with the game and from a gameplay perspective everything was beautifully beamed onto my TV at 60+ FPS.

The map design blended with characters is the real star of the show here. How the game genuinely makes you feel like you’re a toy is just outstanding and very few games achieve that “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” feeling when it comes to a video game. Only Grounded has achieved that for me and this has the same quality and substance but takes everything a bit further for me personally, an incredible achievement for such a small team. Having a full-on scrap whilst navigating in a bedroom is fantastic fun and between waves of enemies I was just in awe of how great everything looks. I felt encouraged to go off and explore every nook and cranny of each map and I had a massive smile on my face the entire time.

Simply Stunning In Every Way

You have to play it to understand the amount of detail poured into how assets have been created. Walking across an RGB Keyboard on a PC setup on a desk in the bedroom to hear the keys mechanically clunk as they would in real life is super satisfying. But there are loads of moments like this and that is when you start to realise exactly how much work has gone into complimenting the great graphics with majestic sound effects. Hearing the plastic BB pellets disperse from the different weaponry is delightful especially if you are slaying enemies. Bring with this a versatile and catchy soundtrack and you soon realise that everything is knitted together to perfection.

Hooray For No Pay To Progress

The gaming structure is now a bit of a bugbear for most titles. Lots of titles try and reign in extra revenue with battle passes, cosmetic packs, XP boosts and more and it does become a bit tiresome when it is every other game. Hypercharge Unboxed has the right mindset and ideology of achieving everything on offer by just playing the game. I know this sounds too good to be true, but ploughing through the game and enjoying having the vision to unlock the best-looking skins by gathering goals and resources is refreshing.

Whilst, understandably, some people like the concept of battle passes to bring longevity to a game, the development team have reinforced this is never their strategy and doesn’t want monetisation here and that is fine with me. I wish more games followed this ethos and this is a brave move from Digital Cybercherries but it shows their pride and stance in their best project to date.

Final Thoughts

Hypercharge Unboxed is an exceptional game that has taken a lot of dedication and passion to produce, I’m sure the development team would go as far as to say blood, sweat and tears. Many emotions I felt as a gamer come from the pure nostalgic kick the entire experience presented me with. Not only does this magnificent creation from the small six-man indie team take me back to childhood, but it also made me well up a little. You may be asking why and the simple reason is how the game made me think back to those times as a child, carefree and with no responsibilities playing with these very same toys I see on the screen before me.

Feels Like I’m A Kid Again

Not only has playing this game filled my brain with vivid and fond visuals of being a kid in the 90s, but it has also brought me core memories with my 6-year-old son. Being able to play split screen with him and laugh and spend quality time with him whilst having the best fun, is what Hypercharge Unboxed is all about. Digital Cybercherries has managed to tear my child away from the domination of Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft and he now craves time on this with his Dad and “just one more game” before bed. I can’t thank the team enough for bringing this to consoles and making it accessible to those without a PC.

The Perfect Indie!

So, I have to grant Hypercharge Unboxed with the perfect score and I have several reasons for this. It sits on the pedestal of indie greatness that very few achieve alongside stunners like Cuphead and Vampire Survivors. In the three quality weeks I have had to review this, I have racked up over 50 hours of gameplay and I’m nowhere near done.

It is a game that will be cemented to my hard drive for years to come because it will now be the couch co-op go-to game of choice and the closest feel to the best shooters on old-generation machines, a salute to classics like Timesplitters and the early Halo titles. If you don’t purchase this game at a very reasonable price point, you’re missing out on one of the best games to come to Xbox in 2024.