Rinikulous Games is back at it again with their latest mobile game for iOS, HYPER BEAM. In this twin-stick arcade shooter, use your thumbs to zap enemies, travel through different sectors, and unlock items along the way. It’s a fast-moving, action-packed game that you’ll have a hard time putting down.
A friendly warning: At first, this game will make your thumbs feel crazy. But trust me, it's totally worth it.
Iron Man Challenge for Your Thumbs
The twin-stick aspect is a challenging departure from mobile games that glorify use of the index finger or simple thumb swipes. In HYPER BEAM, your thumbs control two players that are joined together by an energy beam capable of destroying incoming enemies. Your weakness is the two end-points (players) of the beam, and you’ll want to make sure that enemy attacks don’t come in contact with them.
Pro tip: If you can floss your teeth using your thumbs, you’ll master the movements required to power through this game.
One hit will deactivate your beam (it reactivates after a few very vulnerable seconds), and two hits will end the game. You can lengthen or shorten the beam as needed, and once charged, you can enter "Hyper Mode." In Hyper Mode, you’ll still need to protect your players from coming in contact with enemies, but the super-powered beam will obliterate anything in its path.
Practice makes perfect, and it definitely takes a little bit of getting used to the twin-stick mechanics. At first, it feels odd to orchestrate the movement of your thumbs to maneuver a beam across the screen, and it's easy to get frustrated. Keep at it. Once you conquer this aspect, see it fast and kill it quick is the key to acing this game. That and not blinking. No, seriously. Blinking can cost you your life. And while you're at it, iPhone banner notifications also need to go.
One of the five Hyper Modes you can unlock in the game.
Getting through a sector without getting hit unlocks a warp zone (save point) and also unlocks different Hyper Modes and color schemes. There are five sectors to get through before you unlock the infinity sector, in which the game becomes endless and moves a lot faster.
Micro Boss Fights Galore
HYPER BEAM is unique in that there are more than 40 different types of enemies that drift into your sector, and each one has its own unique personality and attack style. You have enemies that track you, rocket launchers, proximity bombs, black holes, stealth gurus, and just overall mean SOBs that you’re better off avoiding. One of the best parts of the game is meeting new enemies and figuring out the trick to defeating them.
The game system keeps individual and comprehensive stats for how long you survived, how many kills you made and what you were killed by. There’s also a library of all the enemies you will encounter in the game along with kill stats.
It's about remembering specific attack patterns
just as much as it's about strategy.
HYPER BEAM is the kind of game you'll keep coming back to -- whether it's to try to beat your last score or getting through a sector without taking any hits. It moves fast enough for pick up and play while waiting in line, but once you gain momentum, you'll want to keep playing. For a mobile title, HYPER BEAM is a challenging and engaging experience that caters to your competitive streak.
Soundtrack, SFX and Design Aesthetic
HYPER BEAM’s visual aesthetic doesn’t disappoint. Against a black, space-like background, the enemies are comprised of different variances of complimentary colors that pop. One of the developers, Nik, has a design background, and it shows because Hyper Beam is a beautiful game. Each sector has its own track, and the music blends seamlessly as you travel from sector to sector.
When you enter Hyper Mode, the energy-filled buzzing of the beams infuses you with a sense of power. Before the game was launched, the mini trailers with the sound effects to be included in-game caught my attention. As a complete product, it adds an incredible amount of atmosphere to the game.
Narrative Generated from Negative Space
Due to my love of stories, I’m constantly searching for the deeper meaning of things. HB made me realize that you don’t need a narrative at all to have a great game. The story is your journey as you play it -- the things you learn, the workarounds you develop, and the adaptations you make along the way to improve your chances of making it to the next sector. Even the enemies have their own personalities. Simplicity doesn’t mean story deprived. You just have to make the connections for yourself instead of having it served nice and neat.
The only tutorial you're gonna get.
In keeping with Rinikulous’s previous title, Lonely Sun, HYPER BEAM’s meaning and design philosophy is a metaphor for life:
“Aside from its gameplay mechanics, HYPER BEAM could be viewed as yet another metaphor for life -- a simplified version of life’s complicated nature, tribulations, and hurdles. Navigating, dodging, and fighting constant waves of multiple dangers and threats, planning and remembering what you’ve gone through, learning as you go… all these are meant to make you resilient, determined, and patient. The inevitable nature of failure gives you two choices: pick yourself up and try again, protecting the bond, or let the memory of your attempts fade away.”
The Skinny on HYPER BEAM
You’ll like this game if:
- You like competing against yourself to beat existing stats
- You enjoy games that allow you to figure things out as you go along
- Sound effects make you giddy
You may not like this game if:
- You get frustrated easily
- You don’t have an appreciation for minimalist design
- You have stiff (or no) thumbs
TL;DR: If you’re looking for a minimalist mobile game that will exceed your expectations, HYPER BEAM is a twin-stick, arcade game that quickly becomes addicting.
HYPER BEAM is available for download for iOS. The game is free to download, though you’ll have to sit through ads if you exhaust all your plays. For $2.99, you can remove ads from the game and play to your heart’s content. It’s well worth it to improve your trek toward Infinity.
The developer provided a copy of HYPER BEAM for review purposes.
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