Developed By : Nord Unit
Published By : HeroCraft
Category : Arcade, Puzzle
Release Date : Septeber 05 2019

Hyperforma is a block-breaking game by Russian developer Nord Unit. You could describe it as a futuristic-cyberpunk version of the classic Atari game Breakout.

In Hyperforma, the player takes control of the User, a hacker who is traveling into the Great Network, looking for a user whose codename is Princess, for no known reason. To do so, the User must solve 3D rotating puzzles scattered around 80 levels, where the objective is to hit a golden sphere at the center of the puzzle to complete the “hacking”. Throughout the game, the user will find the Interfaces, which are protecting areas of the network, and will act as bosses.

The gameplay is centered around hacking. The User will use a golden ball that will bounce around the map to destroy black blocks, which are a layer of protection for the sphere located in the middle. To add to that, the player also has abilities to use, such as cloning themselves for more balls to bounce or more damage to more blocks. The player can also launch a direct attack towards the center of the level by pressing A.

Those abilities can also be upgraded by getting XP. Those can be gained by completing levels, and they will give advantages such as a faster recharge for abilities or more powerful blows.

As I mentioned, there are boss fights too. The game is divided into chapters, and at the end of every chapter, there is a boss to fight. The boss fights are not like puzzles at all. In those, you have 3 hearts, and the Interface you are fighting will try to hit you, while you circle him spamming the A button to hit them. After you have been hit 3 times, you must restart the fight. This goes on until you hit the Interface enough times.

A big part of Hyperforma is its aesthetic. Everything in this digital world is stylized in such an artistic way. Lines of neon flow throughout the screen and everything is geometrical. The design of the massive Interfaces is both scary and impressive, making for some terrifying boss fights. 

Apart from the visuals, the sound is great too. The soundtrack is great and fits the cyber theme. 

Sadly though, the game has some major design flaws. The puzzle levels, even though they are well designed, feel repetitive after a while. Surely, the game throws some new obstacles every now and then, and the abilities help to make things more interesting, but the objective stays the same, and so does the way to archive it. All you need to do is to break blocks until you reach the middle.

The boss fights seem a bit out of place too. While they break the repetitiveness of the puzzle levels, they just don’t feel like they belong to the mix.

Also, the removal of the touch mechanics feels weird, since it’s an iOs game and the Switch is capable of touch controls.

In conclusion, even if it’s a bit repetitive, Hyperforma is still somewhat special. It mixes many things, and if you like games like Breakout you might enjoy it. The Switch version also includes a new co-op mode and the addition of HD-Rumble, so it’s not just a simple port for those who played the mobile version.

3/5

Check out Nord Unit!

Check out HeroCraft too!