Last Updated on Jul 2, 2025 @ 11:38:29 AM.
Have you ever dreamt of returning to your childhood, where films like Toy Story and Small Soldiers would be dominating your attention span? Unfortunately, time travel hasn’t quite been invented yet, but Digital Cybercherries has given us the next best thing with Hypercharge: Unboxed, a shooter that transports us into the mind and body of toys desperate to fight for survival, or just absolute carnage.
It must be said now, this isn’t a brand new release, but a port over on PS5, and the game has been available on PC and Xbox for a while, but now, PlayStation players can get their hands on it. If you’re unaware of Hypercharge: Unboxed, you’re going to get a heavy dose of nostalgia, and then some. With a huge array of levels to choose from, from a massive toy shop to a bathroom (with a flushable toilet!), and even a garage filled with aliens determined to eradicate you.
Digital Cybercherries has been very vocal about the fact that it’s a small developer, made up of single-digit staff, a group of friends that wanted to make gaming a living room experience again, and that’s one of the best things about Hypercharge: Unboxed. Whilst it offers an online co-op experience, it also brings back the split-screen fun from our childhood (a recurring theme for the game), and allows us to sit in the same space as those we’re playing with.
This might seem like something and nothing to some gamers, but for me, this was an important factor in the fun, and something that a lot of developers don’t seem to factor into their games, or just don’t care about. In a game that is fun for adults and kids alike, it’s nice to see that someone wants parents to be able to boot up and play with their kids, as well as their friends across the world.
Hypercharge: Unboxed isn’t attempting to rework and change the shooter genre, but everything it does, it does well. From having to defend your bases, to objectives based around the environment (all of which would be normal size, but as a toy, it looks massive), and collectibles hidden away, it provided hours of fun, and continues to now – the ‘feel’ of the different weapons is clear, and each responds in a unique way that’ll mean you quickly end up with a favourite.
With the bases you’re tasked with defending, you’re also able to build a variety of defenses, from LEGO-looking brick walls to gooey puddles to slow down the invaders from destroying your battery-powered hubs, and it can quickly devolve into a balancing act of building, defending, and killing that’ll test your ability to prioritise. It’s like a cartoony, action figure-based Headquarters match!
It’s the sort of game I can now boot up for a quick go on a level for twenty minutes, jump around a bathtub, customise my action figure toy, and then shoot some invading toys, all without having to worry about lore, stories, or the deep and meaningful. It also can’t be overstated that the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel when you’ve figured out exactly how to traverse around the area to grab a hard-to-reach collectible or coin, after it looks seemingly out of reach.
Hypercharge: Unboxed doesn’t just rely on nostalgia either, offering a full raft of PvP capabilities if you want to turn your toy-based aggression towards other players, and it’s all too quick and easy to lose a few hours shooting people around the globe. I did, at least.
It’s an experience that harkens back to early PS2 times, our childhoods, but with a fun gameplay loop, a nice lick of paint, and online capabilities. What Digital Cybercherries do next will be interesting, but I’m pretty certain it’ll be great.
Hypercharge: Unboxed
Hypercharge: Unboxed is a first and third-person shooter action figure game you’ve always dreamed of! Grab your friends, complete objectives, defend the Hypercore against waves of weaponized toys, and defeat Major Evil together in the story campaign!
Summary
Hypercharge: Unboxed is especially great fun for those who remember the more classic times of local multiplayer co-op gaming, and also offers an online component to fight the scourge of evil invading. I enjoyed the gameplay loop immensely, from the shooting to the base-building and especially jumping around the levels, and will continue to return to the game continually.
HOURS PLAYED: 14
PLAYED ON: PS5
- Nostalgia through the wazoo, it feels like playing your childhood.
- Every weapon feels different and unique, providing an additional layer of strategy to the title.
- Incredible level design.
- A couple of crashes meant restarting levels.
- A more varied set of base defenses would allow for different strategies.
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Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
