Hyperwired ended up being one of those games that quietly won me over. It doesn’t rely on a complicated story or cinematic presentation. Instead, it simply throws you into space, hands you a spaceship with an electrical plug hanging from the back and lets the gameplay do the talking. The shooting itself can occasionally feel a little fiddly before you’ve earned some upgrades, and there is a learning curve during those opening runs. Once everything starts coming together, though, it becomes a genuinely enjoyable pick-up-and-play experience that’s easy to recommend. At under ten pounds, it’s also very reasonably priced, and with a free demo available on Steam, there’s very little reason not to give it a try first. Hyperwired’s clever plug-and-socket mechanic gives it enough personality to stand out. Sometimes all it takes is one good idea, and in Hyperwired’s case, that idea is surprisingly… electrifying.

Hyperwired settles into a loop that's easy to return to for one more run, then another, then somehow another after that. It's not a game without flaws; the progression systems could use more punch, and the Overcharge mechanic needs smoothing out.