Hyper-5

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"GIVE ME A HYPE-5~"
GIST:
You are the autonomous(?) scout ship of the same name, I think. Either that or there is a skilled invisible pilot in there scuttling about and projectile vomiting in the cockpit… A-anyway! Distress beacon beckons their attention and so intergalactic beings must be vanquished, yada-yada-yada. Let’s blast some shi* up~
PROS;
:D GAMEPLAY
SHMUP that provides you with a plethora of ballistics to reign hell and pain over your foes! The standard primary-secondary fire modes, special armaments and super-secret “outriders” that are additional contraptions to provide cover fire or something to hide behind! How you go about unlocking them is through fulfilling subordinate mission directives like defeating enemies of a certain type a set number of times, finally managing to put down that big beastie after repeated attempts of barely getting by and loads more.
Doing so will get you upgrade points for your gear- all of which can be further enhanced or downgraded (thereby giving you points back) to channel them to where you can really deal a whole lotta hurt! Ideally, you should be grinding to the point of no return where you can slaughter incoming waves of enemies without breaking a sweat. And every level feels more like a workout session… Sometimes you could even change lanes in a level or jut vertically just a tad off screen for any incoming enemies thinking of squirming away unscathed.
Variety is the title’s calling card where much like its infinite capacity to inflict damage- you can also opt for game modes besides the campaign. Focusing instead on racking up points in “Arcade” or moving on up as quickly as inhumanly possible in “Time Trial”. Thus why I reckon it’ll take 4-5 hours to blast through, burst into fiery wreckage across all 5 story levels~
:D GRAPHICS
One word, precious. That’s how I sum up the game’s buzz-worthy and bounty desirable monster designs. Beginning with your stereotypical beep-boop but cool robots in earlier levels to more diabolical and grossed-out organic creatures from say... Alien! I swear, it got weirder but more blissful with every level. The unknown dangers lurking in the abyss akin to what can only be described as what you’ll find in Mariana Trench’s sister totally did it for me. But let’s move onto the meat of this fine specimen; the cinematography.
Which it so valiantly and almost arrogantly puffed out its chest in the Steam store page. Imbued into every crevice of its being- the cutscenes which populate throughout its runtime and pulled off with magnetic sophistication. The overly fresh perspective of mixing in foreground and background interactions like when an enemy bobs up from off screen or glides to you. Even dying feels like a victory; your debris scattering off in slow-motion is one final hurrah of your awesome existence. Not to mention, each second that you’re pew-pewing and dodging bullets~
:D SOUND:
Now another adjective, succulent- is what I’d use for the sound design. Sci-fi geeks prepare to meet your maker as this will have you be its bi*ch...! The soundtrack jettisons you to the expanse of an undiscovered planet… and it’s exciting but also hostile. So why do you still want to be there!? With upbeat tracks exclusive to each level that although keeping you attuned to the action never ceased in precariousness as to what will crawl out next!
The squelch of your shots connecting to juicy limbs is an indescribable pleasure. In fact, there are many other little effects be it in the GUI or upon finding out you fulfilled a condition that you so totally planned to. Which will send you off into the far reaches of wherever this planet is situated, leave you stranded and bombarded on a loop of presumably the main menu music~
:D POWERFUL
This title has humble beginnings that you will remember to the grave. Your meek and insect-bite of a shot is an image you can’t ever hope to forget, even if you tried. Sure, you may have at one point had no choice except to stomach the “shame” of not being able to fight back… Only cause you didn’t have much tools then; minus the tool you were, of course but not that it helped.
But then after repeated running of gauntlets, you held out and became one unstoppable motherfu**er! You evolve into those intimidating bosses at the end of the level… That on occasion start sweating in pinballs, but still. And add that to all the other defining features of Hyper-5, you get one powerfully balanced SHMUP with a lot of style~
"CONS";
:O TERRAIN:
While there is an accessibility option called “visibility” that help you outmaneuver the issue of frequently colliding with walls, mountains and structures. It is still quite hard to gauge depth sometimes and I get that it’s meant to be fully 3D in nature, it is also uneven because of that. Shots don’t connect, but they are still able to hurt you. That sort of thing, but it’s part of the learning curve~
BUGS:
x Could be as intended, but some debris from enemies float awkwardly around and take ages to dissipate.
NITPICKS:
~ Upgrading and downgrading takes forever. I wish there was an option to skip over them or at least a shorter zap version!
~ The font currently lies between a stylized “OG” type but it’s very hard to make out. And a “readable” version, which although easy on the eyes- is ridiculously bland.
~ I would prefer quicker commands; for instance “esc” to go back a menu. Than having to rely on selecting the prompts which are at times janky.
"DOWN LOW, TOO SHOW~"
Beyond extraordinary SHMUP… Each selling point truthful; the cinematic flair explosive, the action unfathomable. Five levels ain’t much, but it’s quality over quantity and lives well up to the hype~
VERDICT: S+
... for superb, severe, standoffish and spectacular!
A hyperactive and supersonic conveyance of gratitude as well as farewell to Hyper Productions for the key!
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Hyper-5 is has a very interesting design. Different from other 2D side-scrolling shoot em ups, Hyper-5 graphic engine is fully 3D Powered by UNITY. This is a very smart choice; this gives the game a unique art style and allows to tell the story in a more cinematic way. The ship design is cool and simple, every time you upgrade it shows visually on the ship. Level design is unique and diverse, the player will battle over 5 very distinct environments. From air to underwater caverns, even deserts! Each level has over 40 unique enemies and 5 challenging final bosses! Each level and final boss will challenge the player in a unique way, it will make you change strategies every time you die and re-spawn. But don’t worry! The armory is here to help! There are over 20 weapons systems to upgrade, this is where Hyper-5 shines. The progression system is very strong and very rewarding. The player will acquire “upgrade points” to use on the Armory. Armory can be accessed after you beat a level or replay a level. Again, this is the bread and butter of Hyper-5, you will feel the progression as you get stronger, and yes you will die! but coming back stronger to learn a level pattern and hit on that boss battle again is very rewarding.

I saw myself replying and memorizing the first levels and completing challenges multiple times. Hyper-5 has great replay value not only the player can go back and replay the levels stronger, but also “Arcade mode” and “Time Trial” are there as well. All this is combined with a great soundtrack that is unique to each level and boss fight! Makes this game so enjoyable to play!

Overall Hyper-5 is a Unique shoot-em-up that encourages progression and has a great replay ability. My only critique is that starts a little bit slow, but after the first upgrade, the fun will start on this great shoot-em-up!

Recommended with the provision that you enjoy old school shmups, this game is a decent entry in the vein of classics like Gradius, R-Type and Darius, with some interesting ideas. While it is lacking some polish in some areas (notably the menus and voice acting, the cutscenes are a bit amateur), it also has a certain low-budget charm.
The actual gameplay is good, the levels and waves generally feel well-paced and challenging to master (the last level being the exception, it's a bit of a slog), and the weapons are fun to experiment with and power up.
The ship and enemy design is decent, a couple of the five levels have branching paths and changing camera angles that add some welcome twists to the genre, also the fact that defeating some bosses is optional.
At the outset of Story Mode, you won't have a very effective arsenal, which you have to upgrade in-between rounds using collected resource points. Due to this, your ship feels pretty duddy at start, unable to clear even the first waves of basic enemies, which does not leave the best initial impression, the intro level seems absurdly hard with your little pew-pew gun. But you will end up replaying the first couple levels for a while until you can survive the first real dial-up of the action, acquiring some secondary weapons and upgrading them to an adequate state. As your weapons become more effective, the game starts to warm up and you can actually start cleaning out the waves of enemies.
In addition to the Story Mode, there is an Arcade Mode that plays more like a true OG shmup, with the upgrades being collected during play instead of bought with points. The only problem with this is as noted, the first level is absurdly hard with no upgrades, to get upgrades you have to clear waves, but you can't clear waves with no upgrades, if not impossible, let's say it would take a very high skill level to do so. The levels feel designed for the replay/upgrade loop of Story Mode more than Arcade Mode though, I don't find it as fun.
Then there are two Time Trial Mode missions which are both unique levels which are actually pretty fun and succeed better at delivering arcade-like action than Arcade Mode, IMO.
My biggest gripes are not really that big: Perhaps the arsenal unlock system could be better, a couple items you won't see until you've completely beaten some of the most difficult modes, where they might have been useful. Some of the obstacles you can collide with are not very clear but you will learn where they are, eventually. So, while Hyper-5 is not a perfect game, it is a good first offering from the developer and worth a shot for fans of the genre.

This one is a cautious recommendation from me. It has quite a few flaws, but there are also some interesting things. The biggest flaw would be game balancing. The second stage was so dreadful to pass, that once I upgraded my equipment enough, I passed the next two stages barely noticing them (in terms of difficulty). Another big problem is the ship colliding with terrain parts. I know there's some setting which explicitly marks these damaging parts, but there are usually other things you need to track on the screen. Honestly, I don't feel as these terrain obstacles add anything to the game.
Graphics are okay. Effects could use some more flair, but they're sufficient. The menus are a bit difficult to move through with gamepad, but you can get used to it.
What I like is the armory, where you select and upgrade your equipment. Not all the weapons are fun/useful enough, but there's still quite a few to choose from. There's a special currency to buy those upgrades. You earn it while playing (some enemies carry large sacks of it) but there are also goals to achieve, which reward you with additional points. Some goals are global, some are tied to a speciffic stage. Overall they're a nice addition to the game and give you some sense of achievement.
The game has a few modes to play. I only tried the story mode, but there are also Arcade and Time Trial modes for those who wish for more challenge.

I've been hyped for Hyper 5 for a while and it doesn't disappoint! Only 5 levels but they're a good length with plenty of variety and replayability. The deep sea levels are hectic but that fight against the titan is one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in a shooter.
Hyper-5's a great little sidescroller. Only 5 levels but they're decent length and the challenge-based upgrade system and variety make it very replayable. Good use of 3 dimensions, great art. Very fun.
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If you have played and enjoyed Gradius (Life Force), R-Type, Einhander or Silpheed then check this out. The game itself it a little rough around the edges and it is easy to lose sight of the enemies and bullets for all the eye candy on screen... but this game has some great ideas in it; such as:
1. Perspective changes mid level.
2. A face cam on the enemy while they are spiraling to the ground after being defeated
(really cool effect).
3. Mid-Level Multi-pathing that effects the way you play the level.
4. Huge and unique boss battles.
5. A store to upgrade the weapons you have unlocked and equipped.
6. Dozens of challenges and Achievements.
7. Three different modes of game play (Arcade, Time Attack and Regular play)
+++Positives+++
Graphics are nice, the bosses are well done and several of the ideas in the game are fantastic. The controls are responsive and I have encountered no crashes or game breaking bugs.
---Negatives---
The skipping cut scenes is a pain. The upgrade menus can be a pain. Some of the boss battles were slow. There are only 5 levels. The first level is super short and last level is super long.
Overall: I am going to recommend Hyper-5, but I want you to understand that if you are not a bullet-hell/side scrolling shooter fan you may not find this game to your liking. Further, if you have no experience with some of the games I listed above, you may not appreciate the ideas incorporated into this game. If you are a fan of this genera, then will know, enjoy and appreciate the unique elements found in Hyper-5.