Written By: Patrick Orquia
TITLE: Hive Jump
DEVELOPER: Graphite Lab
PUBLISHER: Graphite Lab
GENRE: roguelike arcade shooter
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1-4
RELEASE DATE: Sep 28, 2017
PLATFORM: Wii U
PRICE: $14.99
There are at in 1 lawsuit tons of games that got their backing from Kickstarter together with other crowd-funding sites. Some are awesome (Shovel Knight), quite proficient (Hyper Light Drifter), together with not-so-good (Mighty No. 9). Another 1 of these quite proficient Kickstarter games, Hive Jump, which was outset released on PC together with Mac, has been released on Wii U. Yeah, Wii U, it’s notwithstanding alive, together with Hive Jump is perfect on it.
Like most indie games nowadays, Graphite Lab went for a retro aesthetic, making this game alongside a 16-bit graphics look, which actually complements good the game mechanics. This game is similar Contra meets Starship Troopers, alongside a chip of metroidvania together with roguelike elements thrown in. The actor controls a grouping of soldiers, affectionately called jumpers, that has to locomote through the depths of alien hives together with nail their agency through swarms of insect-like creatures. Each flat is procedurally generated, which tin can live fire-, ice-, or forest-based, or a combination of the three, together with is filled with, aside from the aliens, mud/acid/lava pools, caverns, spikes, explosives, alien nests, walled sections, platforms, etc. Alien creatures, when killed, drib goos that tin can restore a chip of wellness (purple goos), or live used to upgrade together with unlock weapons, fortify fortresses, or scanning alien hives (yellow goos, basically the in-game currency). There are also rooms inward stages that the actor tin can locomote inward together with trounce to larn ability-enhancing relics, additional goos, or grenades.
Multiple weapons together with utilities tin can live unlocked inward the game. Some are the basic rapid-fire weapons together with to a greater extent than or less are overpowered, similar my favourite Tesla Orbs. Upgrade them to brand them fifty-fifty to a greater extent than powerful. Aside from the weapons, the actor tin can also usage explosives, which also of dissimilar kinds together with tin can live unlocked equally the actor progresses through the game together with accumulates alien goos, together with additional unlockable utilities, such equally an additional shield together with other abilities.
One cool aspect of the game that I similar is its permadeath mechanic. Like what I mentioned earlier, the actor controls an entire grouping of jumpers, 1 at a time. When 1 jumper dies, to a greater extent than or less other takes place. Doesn’t seem similar a permadeath, only each jumper has a name, together with at the halt of each mission, the names of each of the fallen jumpers larn shown, similar a memorial. What ties each of these jumpers is the trasponder backpack, which the actor tin can command together with maintain from harm’s agency for a few seconds equally to a greater extent than or less other jumper spawns, together with this backpack has its ain carve upward wellness bar. If the backpack gets destroyed, game over, together with mission failed. It cannot defend itself together with hence volition live real prone to harm when a jumper dies together with then it’s upward to you lot to movement it out of danger, together with when a novel jumper spawns, you’re dorsum inward action. As long equally the backpack is notwithstanding intact, you lot proceed fighting. It is possible for the wellness bar of the backpack to live restored, only it is quite rare together with tin can solely live obtained past times rescuing 1 of the persons of involvement within 1 of the rooms inward a stage.
Each hive boundary compose of at to the lowest degree 3 rounds/levels, or depths, alongside the finally 1 a boss fight. The higher the difficulty, the higher release of depths, together with the harder it is to hold upward a mission. Which is why it is needed to upgrade your gears together with opened upward every breast located inward the flat to larn a ameliorate fighting chance. Blasting away through enemies is fun, together with it’s to a greater extent than fun if you lot usage ameliorate weapons.
Aside from the hive jumps, the Campaign Mode also has overworld scenarios where you lot fortify together with defend your bases against invading aliens. If the aliens successfully invade a base, it becomes to a greater extent than or less other hive that needs to live conquered to live made a base of operations again. On the map, you lot volition regard all of your bases alongside the release of soldiers inward them, together with the alien hives alongside the release of depths together with difficulty to conquer them. The to a greater extent than alien hives you lot plow into bases, the harder the difficulty becomes. But of course, equally the game progresses, you lot volition improve on how you lot play. If you lot neglect a mission, you lot tin can elbow grease again, together with you lot tin can mix together with check dissimilar weapons together with abilities to accommodate your play style.
Along alongside get mode, the other modes inward the game are Arcade Mode (where you lot play a hive boundary alongside a gear upward release of depths based on difficulty) together with Challenges Mode (where you lot play similar to Arcade Mode, only alongside additional requirements or settings, such equally a build clean run, speed run, together with other difficulties). Each of the modes tin can live played solo or couch multiplayer (at to the lowest degree on the Wii U, online multiplayer modes is available on other platforms). Multiplayer is quite tricky for me together with volition likely live to other Wii U owners equally well, equally this would hateful additional peripherals needed inward gild to play. Wii remotes are non supported equally far equally I know, together with then each actor volition postulate a carve upward together with to a greater extent than expensive Wii U Pro Controller. Also, I don’t know a lot of people who owns a Wii U that I could play this game with, together with then I played this game solo for the operate of this review. I reckon that playing multiplayer volition live to a greater extent than fun, particularly on levels alongside higher difficulties.
Despite this game beingness actually fun to play, it is non a perfect one. I encountered to a greater extent than or less bugs inward the game, similar my grapheme on concealment all of a abrupt falls through the company flooring together with gets taken all the agency dorsum to the entrance. There is a grab fault accompanying it together with then it may live business office of the game, only it is annoying together with unnecessary. I could live alongside that, though. What actually annoy me inward this game are the frame charge per unit of measurement drops, where the activity almost slows downwards to a halt, together with inward at to the lowest degree iii times, completely freezes my Wii U. Those iii times that it happened, my play session for the game all of a abrupt comes to an end, equally I would live equally good frustrated to burn upward the game again.It’s frustrating, particularly when I’m close to destination a flat together with my Wii U freezes together with all the hard piece of employment on the finally flat gets thrown out of the window. Good affair the game auto-saves afterward every level, otherwise I’d live real pissed. I promise Graphite Lab patches this to brand the game better. Maybe throw inward online multiplayer equally well.
Hive Jump is a flawed only real fun game to play. I wishing I had friends to play it alongside only playing it solo is notwithstanding a blast. Despite the flaws, I notwithstanding recommend this game together with it is worth the money, equally it offers a real proficient replay value due to its roguelike elements together with high flat of customizability. Go elbow grease it out, solo or alongside your friends. If you lot are a fan of arcade shooter games, this game is for you.
REPLAY VALUE: high
PROS:
- Good visuals, game mechanics, flat design, grapheme design, 16-bit graphical aesthetics, together with musical score
- Procedurally generated levels
- Cool permadeath game mechanic
- High customizability on weapons together with gears
- Multiple Arcade/Challenges Modes
- Wii U gamepad provides instant access to the in-game map together with off-TV gameplay
- The codex lists all the enemies, unlocked weapons/gears, rescued personnel, together with relics obtained
CONS:
- No online multiplayer mode
- Numerous bugs that would oftentimes tedious downwards the framerate almost to a halt together with fifty-fifty freeze the entire console are present. Quite annoying together with frustrating
RATING: 4/5 alien swarm blasts
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