While I can not fault the developer’s passion, it is time they stopped trying to make HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed a thing, as much like Gretchen’s dream of making “fetch” a thing, it is never going to happen.
Singleplayer.
Co-op Multiplayer.
PvP Multiplayer.
I just begin this review by stating I have a lot of respect for the developers; they clearly believe in HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed, and while I personally feel that belief is misplaced, and HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is never going to be the success they wish it to be, I cannot fault their passion, a passion that is demonstrated not only by their continued work on updating the game since 2017 despite it having never been a success, and being essentially entirely dead for the vast majority of its Steam Early Access journey failing to attract a double-digit concurrence player count for almost a year after its lacklustre launch which saw only 11 people playing worldwide (source), but also by their willingness to invest their own money to fund ongoing development, even after most of the team had walked away or been forced to find full-time employment elsewhere to keep a roof over their head. (source)
My only issue with the developer’s continued belief in HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is the players will see a very visually attractive game (and HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is stunning) and buy it on a platform that doesn’t allow refunds (Nintendo) or has limited refunds (Xbox), only to find that matchmaking is either entirely dead or only active for one or two hours a day at best.
A single-player campaign is a great way for players who cannot find a game online and have no friends or family to play with (locally or online) to have fun by themselves. Honestly, as a huge fan of Army Men games and the whole concept of warfare between toys, I was thrilled to see that HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed included a single-player campaign.
I got even more excited when I pressed start, and the cutscene began. The plot was whimsical, the characters were fun, and even the lore was rock solid. I had high hopes that this game would be as fun and memorable to me as the Army Men games were in my teens. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Within moments of the intro cutscene ending and gaining control of my character, my excitement vanished. The controls were clunky, the gunplay was atrocious, and auto-aim was overly aggressive to the point that firing my rifle felt like cheating.
Worst of all, the single-player campaign was almost entirely comprised of recycled multiplayer content with AI teammates and a wafer-thin narrative to tie it all together; while some games have pulled this off successfully, such as Titanfall 1, they did so because they had a good foundation, such as Titanfall, which had excellent gunplay and engaging core mechanics.
This is especially upsetting, considering that HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed’s multiplayer content is so generic and uninspiring that the only time it is enjoyable at all is when playing with other human players.
And that is the truly unfortunate thing about HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed; while it’s a great-looking game with a top-tier character creator and stunning aesthetic, created by developers who care about their game and want it to succeed, it is decidedly average in almost every other way, which is why it has never succeeded in attracting an active player base on either PC or Nintendo Switch, and why attempting to get onto a subscription service such as Game Pass or Ps Plus (if a PS port ever comes) would have been its only chance for success.
Unfortunately, the developers felt suggestions of HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed, being dead on arrival without being part of Xbox Game Pass were hurtful, and even now, as we approach HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed’s Xbox launch, they cling to a misplaced hope that HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed, a game that has failed twice on PC and once already on Nintendo Switch, will somehow become a success on an Xbox, despite HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed having undergone no meaningful changes since its failure on PC and Nintendo Switch.
For this reason, I wish the developers would stop hyping the game and its crossplay support with the essentially non-existent PC community. This will only cause anger and disappointment when finding full lobbies becomes more difficult once the initial launch hype dies down.
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is a shooter video game developed and published by Digital Cybercherries, it was released on 27 April 2020 and retails for $24.99.
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is the work of a very small team, and while they have continued to update the PC build for almost seven years, at times, development has moved at a snail’s pace due to the time investment required to launch onto other platforms (Switch and Xbox).
While I must commend them for continuing to update HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed at all, considering its tiny community, I feel continuing to work on the game and port to other systems is a waste of their time and buyers’ money, as while the developers want to succeed, and have backed HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed with their own savings, it’s just not good enough to attract the type of community required to support ongoing development.
Each subsequent re-release or port will carry the stigma of its past failings, and by the time it eventually makes its way to PS4 and PS5, it will be known as the game that died on PC (Twice) before dying on Nintendo Switch and Xbox Consoles.
This harsh reality will do little to inspire buyer confidence, which was already fatally low in the days leading up to its Xbox release.
Update (1 June 2024): At the time of writing this comment, less than 50 players are online in cooperative mode, and around 800 are split between all pvp modes.
Unfortunately, once again, Hypercharge has failed to win over the gaming community, which is a shame, as the developers are very passionate about it, even if it is unlikely to ever succeed.
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed supports:
While cross-platform multiplayer is supported between PC and Xbox, Nintendo Switch users are isolated from the rest of the (small) community.
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed offers the following matchmaking options:
The following peripherals are officially supported:
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is rated PEGI 12+ and contains:
HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed is an average game that looks great and is fun to play with friends and family in small doses; however, compared to so many other games on the market, it is severely lacking.
While 4-player local co-op is great to see, and for some people, this alone will be a reason to buy HYPERCHARGE: Unboxed, it does not make up for its lacklustre gunplay, terrible controls, and generally uninteresting core gameplay mechanics, which are unlikely to keep adults and older teens entertained for very long when so many better titles are available.
Overall, it’s not the worst game I played this year, and fans of couch co-op will enjoy it. However, for everyone else, I suggest waiting for a sale or avoiding it altogether.
