HYPERVIOLENT
A RETRO-STYLE FIRST PERSON SHOOTER WITH UNIQUE IDEAS + HEAVY INFLUENCES
TRY IT YOURSELF: HTTPS://STORE.STEAMPOWERED.COM/APP/1409200/HYPERVIOLENT/
Upon booting up the demo for the first time I was immediately intrigued by its interesting art style and sound track present in the main menu. Besides knowing it was a retro-style FPS I didn’t know anything else and was going in completely blind. The 2022 Steam next fest introduced me to SO MANY good upcoming titles in the retro fps space (which I’ll explore in later articles) I feel spoiled with how many good games are on the horizon so it was a matter of adding this to the list and i’ll get to it when I get to it.
Boy was I happy to discover this game!
Like any game with the words `Retro-FPS’ in its description, a few things come to mind. Pixelated low-poly graphics, lightning fast movement, shotgun/rocket/railgun weapon types, and varying enemy types consisting of zombies, monsters, and demons ranging from large to small. HYPERVIOLENT declares itself as a retro-fps but like many of the recent demos I’ve played, it offers so much more than the usual run and gun gameplay. The steam page description states “Brutally fight your way through hordes of monstrous foes as you attempt to contain the infection and uncover its dark origins in this gloriously violent, fast-paced retro shooter” but I found myself moving through the world fairly slowly.
I found the standard movement speed comfortably slow because the world HYPERVIOLENT puts you in is fastly explorable. I wanted to take my time, examine the environments, and scan through every room to find everything I could. This game doesn’t work like traditional fast-paced shooters. You can’t just run over items and pick up everything you come across. You need to look at the item you want and select it to pick up and place in your inventory. It’s meticulous. This enforced the slower paced nature of this game and enabled the mindset of exploration and leaving nothing behind. There is also no traditional sprint mechanic either, so you’re stuck with the speed you have but don’t be in such a rush to get through this game. There is much to see.
I NEED to mention this before I get off track but my immediate thought the moment I landed into HYPERVIOLENT is “Is this System Shock?” The low-poly 3D environments, the 2D sprites for weapons and enemies, the way you interact with the environment with item pickups and interacting with computer screens. There is SO MUCH more beneath the title ‘retro-fps’ in HYPERVIOLENT which has instantly impressed me. The first weapon you’re offered is a steel pipe (sound familiar?) The way the prompt on screen is displayed with the text font, colour, and sprite designs flooded my mind with classic system shock design and I was immediately hooked. Considering the original System Shock is incredibly dated and clunky to play today (edit: I've since played System Shock and it’s still great) , this might be the throwback fans have been waiting for.
I don’t want it to seem that HYPERVIOLENT is just a System Shock clone, however, as it very much stands on its own. Like many current R-FPS titles, it wears its inspiration on its sleeves but offers a fresh perspective. Back to movement for a second, there is an interesting default setting which I tried my best to push through but after a while it made me nauseous. Remember in Turok when you ran through the jungle strafing side to side and there was that ‘leaning’ effect and the camera would tilt? Well that is front and center with HYPERVIOLENT when looking left to right. I’ll admit, it does look very cool and it certainly helps with the game’s unique feel but I had to turn that off as it feels very unnatural to me. Imagine putting your ears to your shoulders every time you wanted to turn your head to look left or right… Exactly.
AT LEAST there is the option to change it. You may even reduce the amount so you still do it to a lesser extent if you’d like. Implementations where unique design choices are included but remain completely optional is a win for the developers in my book.
As mentioned above, it’s not your typical run and gun FPS. It heavily features RPG mechanics which I feel fit incredibly well within the game’s design. You’re encouraged to carefully manage your inventory, decide which each of your hands hold at any given time (yes, this game features probably the best functionality of dual-wielding items i’ve ever seen), weapon upgrades, NPC interactions and interactive computer terminals laying out the story behind the madness. You’re able to hold a weapon in one hand, and a flashlight in the other. You can hold 2 weapons at once for maximum combat efficiency if you’d like and each item operates using your left and right mouse buttons independently. This gives the player the ability to effectively choose how they’re going to handle the next enemy encounter and carefully plan ahead. Are you suspecting a large quantity of enemies? Better load up 2 SMGs together. All the enemies are wasted and now it’s time to backtrack and explore? Better get the flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other just to be safe. Otherwise, get the shotgun (and presumably other large weapons) which requires both hands and start blasting!
The enemies are 2D Pixel sprites but they’re not to be messed with. They’ll be waiting to ambush you around corners and strike when you least expect. I’ve encountered various enemy types that are akin to zombies, shotgunners and machine gunners which require different combat strategies to clear. Your standard zombie-types will rush you so better have something fast and effective at close range handy (shotgun, SMG). Other types will stand back and shoot you from a distance. You can push your luck with the shotgun but you might want to stand back, peak cover and snipe using the SMG or pistol. But in the end, the choice is yours. You can carefully tread the colourful yet darkly lit corridors, taking out the enemies one by one, OR you can do what the title suggests and go in guns blazing! Just be sure to stack up on Health Kits you’ll find scattered throughout the levels because you’re going to need them.
Early Access Update:
I began a new playthrough of HYPERVIOLENT after its release in early access and was met with some pretty severe game breaking bugs which I’m happy to report, have been squashed in subsequent updates however every time the game gets an update, it deletes my save files… I’ve restarted my campaign 4 or 5 times now either from an audio bug from the checkpoints or EA updates, I’m at a point now where I’m awaiting any further updates before I begin my trek again. I’m also playing through the System Shock franchise so once I get the itch to focus solely on HyperViolent I hope I’m not met with another save file deleting update. I would like to finish it someday.