I have played a lot of MOBAs in my day. Some have had lasting appeal, like League of Legends or Smite , while some aren’t even out of beta yet, like Master X Master. Making a good MOBA is challenging. It’s hard to improve on the original Warcraft 3/ DOTA formula that’s been the backbone of the genre for decades. Still, that doesn’t stop companies from trying to reinvent the wheel with flashy, new mechanics. Hyper Universe is the newest contender in the multiplayer online battle arena genre. Does it have what it takes to stack up with the greats?
At PAX South, I got to try out a game of Hyper Universe and here are my thoughts.
They Are Hypers, Not Champions
Hyper Universe is a side-scrolling MOBA where two teams of four battle it out until one of their bases are destroyed. Unlike traditional MOBAs, Hyper Universe contains a network of seven platforms, two of which are turret lanes. The other lanes, which can be accessed through ladders or energy fields on the ground, are filled with NPCs that can be farmed for gold.
You play as one of over 12 Hypers in Hyper Universe (at least in the PAX South demo), each with their own set of unique powers. There are six classes of Hyper, ranging from tank to DPS. The actual Hypers don’t take themselves too seriously, with a lot of them being wacky interpretations of classic tropes. There’s a knight, who is a mongoose on top of a rhino straight out of Donkey Kong Country .
In the demo, I played as a card throwing monster in a yellow suit whose kit was a cross between Twisted Fate and Shaco from League of Legends. Like other MOBAs, you still earn the most gold by last-hitting the minions running down the lane, which can be swapped out for items. Killing a stronger minion drops a cube, which grants the person that picked it up a random buff.
I threw random cards, jumped from lane to lane and died a hell of a lot. When the game was over, I tallied up what made Hyper Universe different than other games.
Ways Hyper Universe Is Different From Every Other MOBA
It’s a 3D side scroller, so no top down perspective.
Each Hyper gets four abilities, on top of an ultimate.
The Hypers are all unique looking, with crazy backstories.
You play without a mouse, using the arrow keys to move.
No aiming is required since everything is on a 2D plane.
Ways Hyper Universe Is The Same
Ultimate abilities get unlocked at level six.
Items are assigned to the number keys; abilities and jumping to the letters.
The jungle has stronger monsters, which can be killed by off-lane players for more gold.
There’s a big boss monster, which grants your team pushing power when killed.
The Hypers have just as much cleavage as Smite gods and LoL champions, if not more.
It’s still a MOBA.
Hyper Universe didn’t blow me away, but it does show promise. The game was developed by Korean studio CWAVESOFT and is being adapted for the west by Nexon. I’ve spent enough time playing Nexon’s other titles, like Maplestory , to know the company treats its games with respect. If player’s aren’t already sick of the MOBA genre, there’s no reason HU couldn’t blow up.
Hyper Universe is taking registrations for the beta now and will have it’s full release sometime in 2017.
