HYPER JAM Review for Steam

IF someone took the neon aesthetic and cheerfully-serious techno tones of Hotline Miami and combined it with Ruiner’s fast-paced, cyber brawler format, the love child would be Hyper Jam – a deliciously fast paced, RNG-driven fighter from Bit Dragon. Put aside any questions about a larger story or plot – the game is currently multiplayer only, the focus given entirely to pvp or – if, like me, you’re reviewing the game early – bots.

There is a limited selection of weapons in the game right now, representing somewhat standard choices; a katana that does quick melee attacks, a hammer that needs to be primed before swinging in heavy, close attacks, a rocket launcher, grenade launcher for mid-ranged area attacks, and an accurate, long range bow. All the weapons have a special attack that can be charged up by holding the left mouse, but, any attack can be countered by a simple tap of the left shift to block. This leads to a number of delightful combos and there is more depth than at first glance – dash can be used to dodge attacks as well as close distance to an enemy, and a properly timed block will redirect the opponent’s attack back at them.

What really makes Hyper Jam stand out is the RNG in-match progression. One game is a series of rounds, with players getting scored for their kills, style, at the end of each round. Then at the end of every round, a selection of random buffs are laid out for all the players to choose from. There’s a number in pre-access right now, but there is still a wide range – from fire attacks, to decreased dodge cooldown, vampirism, health buffs, confusion – there’s a lot, and if you get a perk twice its effects will stack up. What keeps it interesting is that the player with the lowest total score is the one that picks first, with the person in lead picking last. Though I was playing against AI, I saw the wisdom in this – you could keep certain picks away from the person in lead, or deliberately leave them with less favorable traits.

Combat is deceptively simple, fast paced, and satisfyingly kinetic, but it’s the combination of perks and the brawler-style gameplay that kept me coming back to play against increasingly difficult sessions of AI. Combat Tapping space bar to dash forward and deliver light attacks with a katana was my go to offense, but every weapon, melee and ranged, has a limited amount of ammo/durability before you have to cast it away, forcing improvisation and adaptation. The RNG of perk rewards and weapons drops forces you to improvise – one playthrough I went for speed perks and dash reduction whenever I could, so my character zipped around the arena like a hyper charged neon bunny, unleashing flurries of fast sword attacks and bow shots. In another, against a more difficult AI, I wasn’t winning from the outset, but soaking up enough vamp bonuses and health packs let me hang in long enough to use the splash and knockback from by grenades to send the enemy AI tumbling off a cliff.

Hyper Jam was a surprise delight – a purely multiplayer brawler that combines a flush neon cyberpunk aesthetic with fast paced, frenetic, RNG-driven gameplay. The result is a satisfying, rewarding experience that I kept coming back to, though I hope they add more weapons in the future.

8/10

Check Out the Hyper Jam Trailer:

Hyper Jam will be available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish for 14.99 USD / 22.45 AUD / 14.99 EUR on Xbox One, 14.99 USD on PlayStation 4 and 12.99 USD / 18.50 AUD / 10.79 EUR on Steam February 12, 2019. For more information, please visit: https://hyperjamgame.com/