Do you ever glance at a game and become automatically intrigued almost immediately? I’m 37 years of age now, and my gaming journey spans several generations from Atari’s early days to now. Modern-day gaming can come across as very stagnant when it comes to new IPs and different experiences. What I mean by this is we see the same games year in and year out. Call of Duty I’m looking in your direction! I absolutely adore the Xbox platform, especially in the last five years, because of the introduction of Xbox Game Pass and the ID@Xbox initiative. Anyone who knows me realises I am dead keen on indie titles and when I attend conventions I leave the AAA games to last and dive straight into the smaller studios’ titles. I strive to find unique and passionate projects by small dedicated teams with limited budgets and reach, some of which are massively inspirational. Recently Hypercharge: Unboxed has taken me and the Twitter community by storm and whilst it is available on Windows PC and Nintendo Switch right now, Xbox gamers can’t wait to get hands-on with it. Please stick with me as I take you through the storyline and history of the game as I see it, and why I think it means so much to the team at Digital Cybercherries.

What Is Hypercharge: Unboxed?

Before I delve into the journey this incredibly unique title has taken, it is important to take a step back and explain what the game actually is and entails. Hypercharge: Unboxed is a solo and co-operative first and third-person based shooter with a childhood dream most of us have probably imagined as we have grown up. Most of us will remember the film Small Soldiers; if not, you’ll surely know the Toy Story series. This game clearly takes inspiration and elements and ideology from these blockbuster movies and blends them into a magnificent concept that hasn’t really been done in a video game before. Sure, we have had Toy Story games previously and even a Small Soldiers release back in the original Playstation era. The long and short of this is though, these adventures have always been incredibly lacklustre and doesn’t really mimic the excitement of those movies.

Hypercharge: Unboxed thrusts an aura of nostalgia into the face of gamers and I have to admit that when I saw footage of this, I was in awe of how great it looks. It almost ticks every entire box of what you could possibly want in a game in this genre. Playing as an action figure fighting against waves of toys with tower defence action mechanics. Set in everyday settings such as the toy store, the garage and the kitchen with familiar surroundings we’re all used to especially as parents now, the illustration and craft behind this project just oozes passion and perfection.

Five Adults & One Childhood Dream

I review a lot of indie titles and I always find it mind-blowing when these close-knit tiny teams construct such memorable and solid creations. Hypercharge: Unboxed has just five individuals on the development team and whilst the game has been around for over two years on Windows PC and Nintendo Switch, the brand is very much being evolved. What we gamers don’t see in video game production the majority of the time is the dedicated and hard-working people who feed our entertainment and hobbies. The path that development took with Hypercharge: Unboxed has been a very rocky and difficult operation for all of the team at Digital Cybercherries.

I’ve been following the timeline very closely and thanks to how open and transparent the head of marketing and PR Joe Henson has been, we have seen an insight like never before into what happens behind the scenes. Little did people know that this group of talented creators were still working full-time jobs and then ploughing their spare time into crafting everything you see before you today. With hype and intensity surrounding the upcoming release of the game on the Xbox family of consoles, we have seen many viral Twitter posts trying to ramp up the excitement. As with anything social media orientated these days, a minority of users fuelled posts with toxicity, demands and posts bordering on slander. When people try their best, there is always some idiot out there to try and spoil the party. This resulted in things coming to a head and an upsetting but realistic look into the mental health aspects of the industry when Joe posted on the official page with some strong and well spoken and much-needed words which you can find HERE.

Game Development Is An Emotional Rollercoaster!

Whilst watching the above video actually made me well up, and I don’t do crying, it really opened my eyes. I could see the pain this guy felt when he had worked so hard to get it to this stage. I wanted to learn more about the background of Hypercharge: Unboxed and you really could see what it meant to Digital Cybercherries. When you look into the roadmap and how the game evolved this is when you realise that this team of five have climbed up the steepest of all mountains in the gaming industry. Thanks to an incredible podcast from my friends Jon Clarke (Sikamikanico) and Nick (Shpeshal Nick) over at Xbox Era, we received an even deeper look into everything Hypercharge: Unboxed related.

Here we heard just how much passion and commitment have gone into the game. With an early access launch on Steam not gaining much traction at all when it was first released, it was back to the drawing board. Left with an arduous decision of whether to continue with the progression of what they worked so hard on or abandon it completely, I could tell it wasn’t an easy choice. Joe and the team went back to square one and re-coded and reworked pretty much 99.9% of the entire package. Still working their day jobs and pumping their own finances into the future plans, it was all or nothing at this point.

The Nintendo Switch Effect!

With Hypercharge: Unboxed in limbo and with the team wondering what direction to take the game, they opted to work on a Nintendo Switch release and towards another early access 2.0 launch. This proved to be a financial gamble which paid dividends and gave this dream a huge leg-up! Sounds easy to port a game onto a handheld device, doesn’t it? Well, actually it is far from simple and became a phenomenal task to adjust and prepare it for a console. I can only imagine the joy and elation as this choice was an instant success and beamed the game into the top 20 sellers in the Nintendo Switch charts. Not only this, it has been praised for becoming one of the most well-presented games on the Switch with true 30FPS visuals.  This allowed more flexibility for Digital Cybercherries to do what they truly love, and that is to keep building on this magnificent journey.

Hypercharge: Unboxed Coming To Xbox In Q1 2023

After all the viral posts, hype and retweets we finally received the fantastic news that Hypercharge: Unboxed is indeed coming to Xbox. Whether or not this game hits the Xbox Game Pass subscription doesn’t matter in my opinion. I’ll be buying this regardless as this admirable tale already makes me want to invest, not just in this product but in the people who poured literally thousands of hours into their dream. You can instantly see how much has gone into every area of the game and it has been done with pride and with attention to detail. The evolution of the game continues and with the green side of console gaming waiting with almost unbearable anticipation to get hands-on with these action figures, we are lucky enough to see a new campaign on the horizon. The teaser trailer dropped very recently and things are cooking up beautifully for the first quarter of next year.

5 Individuals & One Childhood Dream – Final Thoughts

7+ years in the making and still being worked on, the dream is being realised. Joe and the others behind the scenes are inspirational, talented and hard-working people who strive to do this to break into the industry to make us happy. Valuable lessons should be learned here to be kind and to realise that wonderful games take time. We should not rush anyone in the gaming world to get their creations out there. We need to give them time, kindness, and a voice and platform to show us in their own time. I saw the emotion in Joe when he created that brave video speaking out and that transferred to me immediately. The guys and girls across the globe making games are only human and we should be kind and courteous to all. Developers and publishers accept constructive criticism and feedback, but there is a way and time and place for this. All I have left to say is that I absolutely can’t wait to get going in 2023 with Hypercharge: Unboxed and will be purchasing on day one. I hope everyone who made it this far in the article will do the same. Lastly, I tip my hat to Joe and the entire crew for sticking this one out and continuing to keep us smiling and wish you every success. If anyone deserves it, it’s Digital Cybercherries.

If you can’t wait for the Xbox release of Hypercharge: Unboxed, you can download a demo on Steam or purchase the full Windows PC release HERE. Those on Nintendo Switch can check it out right HERE.