HYPERWIRED feels like the kind of indie game people could easily become obsessed with once its rough edges are polished out. If future updates improve stability and tighten the controls, this could absolutely become one of the standout roguelike shooters in the indie scene. Right now, though, it feels like a brilliant game fighting against itself. Beneath the crashes and rough controls lies one of the most interesting survival-focused bullet-hell roguelikes released in a long time.

Acknowledging the title's limitations, I believe the experience is satisfying for those seeking short play sessions, especially in handheld mode. I must admit, however, that the scale of the pixel art gave me a bit of a headache, as I had to strain my eyes to distinguish between enemy and friendly ships, shots, power-ups, and even the arrows identifying the different types of sockets.

It’s tricky to enjoy the main gameplay loop of a game like Hyperwired, but I struggled to find it consistently. There is a lot to dig into here, and I enjoyed quite a bit; it was just bogged down by a few too many systems. The game looks cool, sounds great, and has some fun ideas. I only wish they all came together in a stronger package overall.

I must admit I am a bit perplexed by the lack of excitement in Hyperwired. Twin-stick shooters can so rarely be considered boring, but this one manages to land with a dull thud. Without meaningful threats or interesting upgrade paths, the game just thoughtlessly advances, each room feeling just like the last. The plug mechanic, which should have been its saving grace, ultimately acts as the anchor weighing it down.

Everything comes back to how limited your ship’s stock feels. You end up paying more attention to your resources than the game itself, and unless you’re playing a survival horror game, your eyes really shouldn’t be glued to the corner of the screen.