Disclosure: I was given a free key by the developer.
-=The Good=-
Stylish vector visuals
Good music
Interesting combination of gameplay styles
Solid controls
Centipede-inspired bonus levels
Multiple game modes
-=The Bad=-
Unkillable enemies
Occasional cheap deaths
Low powerup drop rate
Slow "Hyper" filling
-=The Details=-
The game itself is an interesting combo-pack of ideas, some of which are borrowed from Flump Studios' previous game, Horizon Shift (HS). From the vector graphic-designed enemies that look like they could have been in HS, to the animation playing faintly behind all of the action, it screams HS in look and presentation. However, the similarities end there for the most part. This is basically a twin-stick shooter, as you control the gun with the right stick, and movement with the left. But rather than just move around freely over the entire play area ala Smash TV or Robotron 2084, you're main area is along the bottom of the screen not unlike Space Invaders or Galaga. From there, you'll go after the red and green enemies for score and bonuses while avoiding their bullets by either moving/jumping out of the way, or bouncing off of blue objects to make yourself invincible.
Yes, you heard right, you'll be jumping and bouncing in this game. By jumping onto a low-moving blue object (or using a wall jump like in NES' Ninja Gaiden to reach a higher blue object), you become invincible to bullets and enemies. Not only that, the destroyed blue objects leave gems behind for you to collect either by hitting the floor and catching as many as you can as they fall, or by hitting the ceiling and getting them all. Another perk of the blue enemies is that bouncing off of them allows you to absorb bullets to fill up a Hyper meter that can be used to unleash a large blast that destroys most enemies (or get a big bonus... if you know how). As a bonus, if you can destroy groups of green ships, you gain a star. And if you collect five stars, you get taken to a bonus level at the end of the current stage to fight in what is clearly an homage to Centipede.
The action starts slow, but gradually builds into a frenzied skirmish of shooting, avoiding and collecting. The bosses in the game are the same way; starting off simple, but getting more demanding with each new one in terms of how you damage it and its bullet patterns. Thankfully, the controls are responsive and the hit detection seems to be on point as well. And as you frantically do all of this, you'll have some enjoyable music to listen to thanks to the OST that features catchy, synthy beats.
Sounds good, right? And for the most part, it is. But there are some issues with the game. First and foremost, are the unkillable enemies. This is a personal taste thing, but I HATE enemies you can't kill, especially when there are a lot of them. I've always felt they were a somewhat cheap way to add difficulty to a stage or section (I'm all for making a given enemy-type tough, but not indestructible). And sadly, this game features these undying things in the form of laser cannons that fire when you touch the ground, laser cannons that fire at timed intervals, and buzzsaws that go around the edges of the entire play area. All you can do is avoid them, which gets tedious after awhile and frustrating toward the end of the game... especially when they cause an unfair death.
Yes, this game has them too. There have been times where I beat the level, but triggered the floor laser cannons just as the level was ending. The result was the cannon's firing while the rest of the stage was blowing up. More than once, I found myself unavoidably falling into the laser blast and losing a life as the stage ended. I also encountered similarly unfair deaths after dropping from the ceiling. See, when you touch the ceiling and get all of the gems on-screen, you drop to the floor again. The problem is, you can't land on any blue objects as you fall. You just pass through them due to the invincibility you're given at that moment. When you hit the floor again, you become vulnerable again right away and that's where I got killed by bullet groups that I couldn't avoid thanks to how hectic things start getting around the mid-way point of the game.
A final pair of complaints come from the way powerups are handed out and how long it takes to fill the Hyper meter. It seems as if the powerups drop rather infrequently, and I've yet to figure out if it's because I'm not doing something right/often enough to trigger them, or if the game's just stingy with them. Either way, you really start feeling under-powered when you play through 15 stages and only get one powerup (if you're lucky). Lastly, the Hyper meter always seems to take forever to fill. And as if that weren't enough, I've watched it get emptied out without using it or dying. I'm still trying to figure out if that last part's intentional, or a bug in the game.
So in the end, what can be said about Hyper Bounce Blast? It's a fun little game and at 30 somewhat short levels, it can be a one-sitting type of game as well. The visuals, the music, the gameplay, several modes to choose from... it all works together pretty well to make for an entertaining game that keeps you on your toes. But issues like questionable deaths, unkillable enemies and some potentially iffy powerup frequency choices put a few blemishes on this game's vector graphics-inspired visage. So while it is a game I recommend, it's one that could have used a few tweaks in my opinion.
Score- 7.5 / 10
