Although Hypercharge: Unboxed is not exactly a new game, considering it has been in development for several years now, it's rising to be one of the most enjoyable shooter games for fans of co-op and 90s-inspired media. Development for a very early version of this indie game began in 2015 when the UK-based studio behind it, Digital Cybercherries, was first formed by five friends who wanted to create their own action figure game. Inspired by films like Toy Story and Small Soldiers, or similar games such as Sarge's Heroes and Toy Commander, Hypercharge seeks to build a cross-generational bond between people who grew up in the 90s and others who didn't.
This is one of the reasons why Hypercharge focuses so heavily on its co-op feature, which will become all the more interesting with the release of the game's recently announced campaign mode. This will go live when Hypercharge finally launches on Xbox, which is currently scheduled to happen in the first quarter of 2023, but players on Steam and Switch will still be able to play it. Joe Henson from Digital Cybercherries talked to Game ZXC about the story campaign, the 90s nostalgia, and the possibilities of a battle royale version of Hypercharge.
How Hypercharge's Story Mode Creates Cross-Generational Bonds
Henson said that Hypercharge was built from the get-go to be an action figure game, as the whole team was on board with the idea and everyone was a big fan of action figures because of the timeless value they have to those who grew up with them. The fact that the 90s were a huge inspiring factor is a given, but Henson also noted how Toy Story and especially Small Soldiers were the perfect source material for the scale of the toys and the world around them, which eventually went into Hypercharge as well.
This can be seen in the current version of the game, but its story mode will take even more advantage of it by tackling the classic themes of good versus evil in a world where bad toys that are jealous of their counterparts want to either be seen by the kids or ensure that no toy gets attention. This is the premise of Hypercharge's story, where the good side is made by Sergent Max Ammo's toys and the evil side is represented by Major Evil, who wants to destroy the "Hypercore" in every human house. The Hypercore is a mystical piece of machinery that holds all the memories that children have about their action figures, which, if destroyed, would make all toys forgotten.
"Sergeant Max Ammo is an action figure being played with by the kid in the bedroom, and there's this limited edition of Sergeant Max Ammo called Max Damage, but he's being left in the box because it's a limited edition. The kid won't break him out, and he's growing really envious of Max Ammo."
As such, the first "Hyperwar" ensues between good and evil, and players only tackle the aftermath and the return of the big bad of the story in the new campaign, which will be tied to Hypercharge's existing Wave mode. There will also be comic strips explaining the backstory of this war between toys, and there will also be small nods to things like Toy Story, with the action figures being owned by a kid named Andy. Overall, this would be the perfect bonding activity for families with its co-op mode, and Henson highlights that Digital Cybercherries got lots of positive comments about this, specifically.
Lastly, Henson also considered the possibility of Hypercharge having a battle royale mode if the game is successful enough, or maybe even have the team regroup after wrapping up this project and make a new action figure game with this in mind. Yet, Henson also stated that battle royale games have become so popular that they oversaturated the market at some point, and there are also big competitors in the form of Fortnite and other titles. Ultimately, this will be a decision for a later time, but it's an interesting option nonetheless.
"Hypercharge as a battle royale? Probably not Hypercharge, but if the game blows up, would we consider a battle royale as action figures? I'd say yes. We may consider it, it just depends. The technical scope, with servers and all that, it can cost an incredible amount of money."
Hypercharge: Unboxed is available on Nintendo Switch and PC. PlayStation and Xbox versions are in development.
