HYPER BEAM

HYPER BEAM is a heavy-hitting, minimalist mobile title that is difficult to put down. (GameSkinny Feature)

A friendly warning: At first, this game will make your thumbs feel crazy. But trust me, it's totally worth it. 

The twin-stick aspect is a challenging departure from mobile games that glorify use of the index finger or simple thumb swipes. In HYPER BEAM, your thumbs control two players that are joined together by an energy beam capable of destroying incoming enemies. Your weakness is the two end-points (players) of the beam, and you’ll want to make sure that enemy attacks don’t come in contact with them.

HYPER BEAM is the kind of game you'll keep coming back to -- whether it's to try to beat your last score or getting through a sector without taking any hits. It moves fast enough for pick up and play while waiting in line, but once you gain momentum, you'll want to keep playing. For a mobile title, HYPER BEAM is a challenging and engaging experience that caters to your competitive streak. 

Narrative Generated from Negative Space

Due to my love of stories, I’m constantly searching for the deeper meaning of things. HBmade me realize that you don’t need a narrative at all to have a great game. The story is your journey as you play it -- the things you learn, the workarounds you develop, and the adaptations you make along the way to improve your chances of making it to the next sector. Even the enemies have their own personalities. Simplicity doesn’t mean story deprived. You just have to make the connections for yourself instead of having it served nice and neat.

In keeping with Rinikulous’s previous title, Lonely Sun, HYPER BEAM’s meaning and design philosophy is a metaphor for life:

“Aside from its gameplay mechanics, HYPER BEAM could be viewed as yet another metaphor for life -- a simplified version of life’s complicated nature, tribulations, and hurdles. Navigating, dodging, and fighting constant waves of multiple dangers and threats, planning and remembering what you’ve gone through, learning as you go… all these are meant to make you resilient, determined, and patient. The inevitable nature of failure gives you two choices: pick yourself up and try again, protecting the bond, or let the memory of your attempts fade away.”

You can check out the full review on GameSkinny.com where I gave HYPER BEAM a 10/10. For more information about Rinikulous Games and their upcoming projects, check out their website. HYPER BEAM is available for download for iOS.

TL;DR: If you’re looking for a minimalist mobile game that will exceed your expectations, HYPER BEAM is a twin-stick, arcade game that quickly becomes addicting.