Growing up in the late 80s and through the 90s, we had some kick-ass toys, action figures, and our imaginations. Then growing up happened and took all that away leaving a void. Thankfully Digital Cybercherries have come to the rescue and rekindled that spark of childish wonder with Hypercharge: Unboxed, a game inspired by Toy Story and Small Soldiers.
Hypercharge: Unboxed is a first and third-person shooter set in a world where toys created machines that help humans remember their fondest memories of their toys when they were children. These machines are now under threat by Major Evil, a collectible action figure who turned evil because he was never played with. Now it’s up to Max Ammo’s elite team of action figures to help protect the precious memories of humans.
Now, onto the game itself! Hypercharge: Unboxed‘s controls will take a little to get used to at first but thankfully there is a tutorial level you can play that will teach you how to play, with the help from Max Ammo himself!
The characters are voiced well, and the soundtrack is amazing along with the sound design. I like how at the start of each level there’s a comic-book cinematic foreshadowing what silliness awaits you and your team.
When it comes to gameplay, Hypercharge: Unboxed is like a tower defense game where you have to set up traps around the Hypercores to protect them while you and your teammates (Ai or Co-op) run around the map fighting off Major Evil’s forces who are coming in waves to attack them. After a wave is defeated you can collect coins to buy weapon upgrades, or to build/repair traps, during these breaks between waves you can go and try to complete as many objectives as possible as well as locate hidden bobbleheads and collectibles. There are over 600 unlockable items in the game that don’t require microtransactions, or season/battle passes to unlock, just playing the game and doing well unlocks these features, you know, like how video games used to be.
Overall, I had a lot of fun playing Hypercharge: Unboxed, I should note that this review and my experience were from playing the game solo with AI teammates in the campaign. This took me back to what I was imagining how it looked with my toys fighting each other. With its cartoonish look, silly dialogue, easy-to-learn controls, and solo player-friendly attitude, Hypercharge: Unboxed is a fun game for anyone of any age can enjoy. On my scale of 1-10, Hypercharge: Unboxed is a 10!
Hypercharge: Unboxed is out now on Xbox One and Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
