Hyper Sentinel Xbox One review: Retro style making a strong showing

If y'all're old enough to know of its existence, the side-scrolling spaceship shooter Uridium for the Commodore64 was one of the well-nigh influential titles in the gaming manufacture of yesteryear. Between the smooth controls and fast-paced laser gun action, reviewers and players akin were singing praises from the hills.

Over time, though, gaming has changed, and the releases of games like to Uridium have been few and far between. Hyper Sentinel, a brand new Xbox title, draws largely on Uridium for inspiration, bringing the classic game way to modern consoles.

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Gameplay: Strafe, shoot, score

In Hyper Sentinel, you lot control a small, but deadly, starfighter capable of tearing hordes of ships to ribbons with its laser cannons in order to rack upward points. As you lot strafe to the left and right to line upward shots, though, enemies will attempt to score their own attacks on yous — and your ship lacks in protection what information technology offers in offense and speed. This creates an intense dynamic in which you have to aimlessly bob and weave around enemies and their abilities while simultaneously trying to destroy them with your own. In a way, it plays out a lot similar the arcade game Galaga, except sideways.

At the cease of each level, you'll come across bosses. Bosses are big and more dangerous foes that require some strategy in order for you lot to crush. Things such as where y'all're hitting the enemy or at what time of a sudden become a gene, and the boss fights truly are what volition really test your skill every bit a pilot. Figuring out how to defeat the bosses and pulling information technology off feels like a satisfying accomplishment, and the itch to go after the side by side challenge is ultimately what kept me hooked.

Overall, the game is fantastic, but 1 issue it does have is that oftentimes times things can feel too hectic. At certain points, yous'll be dealing with so many things on screen that it feels similar a fleck of a miss, and dying in these situations usually feels like y'all were unlucky and not that you lot fabricated a mistake.

Presentation: Charming and vibrant

While the original Uridium was somewhat muted color wise due to the fact that the Commodore64 was a very limited console, Hyper Sentinel takes total advantage of mod hardware in gild to recreate Uridium's art direction with vibrance and expression. Colors are varied and rich, the video effects are unproblematic and smooth, and the whole matter runs at a very enjoyable 60 frames per 2d.

In improver to the awesome visuals, Hyper Sentinel also has plenty of pleasant sound effects and music tracks, too. These immerse you in the game's setting and really requite off that scientific discipline-fiction experience that you want from a spaceship game.

Hyper Sentinel Xbox One conclusion

Though things can oft become a niggling likewise crazy, Hyper Sentinel's mostly satisfying gameplay and excellent presentation make information technology a fantastic choice for retro gaming fans.

Pros:

Cracking gameplay overall.
Fantastic presentation.

Cons:

Gameplay tin can experience overly chaotic.

Hyper Spotter is available now on Xbox One for $14.99.

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This review was conducted on an Xbox One, using a copy provided by the publisher.

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