Hyperwired Review

Twin-stick shooters are rarely my cup of tea. That isn’t to say I haven’t enjoyed my fair share of them — games like Enter the Gungeon, Hotline Miami, and Resogun are all titles I’ve happily run through. But a deep familiarity with the genre is not something I possess. Roguelites, however, have made up the bulk of my gaming diet over the last five years.

Hyperwired aims to marry these two genres, taking the semi-randomized, choice-driven progression of a roguelite to spice up an otherwise sparse twin-stick shooting experience. Not content to leave things there, developer SIDRALGAMES also introduces its primary gameplay and level progression mechanic: plugging in.

Publisher: SelectaPlay, Beep Japan Inc.

Developer: SIDRALGAMES

Platform: Played on Nintendo Switch

Availability: Released July 2, 2026, for PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, Playstation 4/5, and Xbox Series X/S

---

While most twin-stick shooters are denoted by fluid, free-flowing movement and frantic bullet-dodging, Hyperwired grounds you. Plugging into an outlet tethers your ship to a small radius, restricting your mobility in exchange for energy, health, or stage progression. The Nintendo Switch version also notes this action with a nice little rumble in your hand, as if the power were now running through you, the player. On paper, this adds a compelling tactical dimension to the combat; in practice, the execution leaves much to be desired.

Mechanically speaking, the tether system functions perfectly well. Snapping onto an outlet is proximity-based and intuitive, theoretically forcing you to make risk-reward decisions about when and where to anchor yourself. Unfortunately, the surrounding systems quickly homogenize the experience. Because normal levels feature sparse enemy numbers, your sole objective is to rush toward four specific stations, plug in to revive them, and unlock the exit.

This loop severely trivializes the combat. The most optimal strategy is always to ignore the small drones and mechanical turrets that inhabit a level, sprint to an outlet, and only fire your weapons to temporarily clear encroaching foes while you charge up. While a scoring system exists, there is no mechanical incentive to chase a high score beyond self-satisfaction. Even if you get the urge to hunt down the mostly-harmless fliers drifting around the map, a stifling energy economy prevents you from venturing away from your power sources for long.

This energy restriction is where Hyperwired ultimately short-circuits. Because your reserves deplete so rapidly, the most viable strategy during the much more punishing boss fights is to hover near a charging station. Take the giant helmet-like boss, for instance. It sits back and fires spreading shots at the player before slowly lumbering around to initiate contact damage. Getting in close poses a much greater risk of damage with little to no upside. By contrast, staying out of range tethered to a station means your energy, laser charge, or ammo reserves remain high, allowing you to deal much more damage over time with some room for safety, and this is even before upgrades for being plugged in are considered.

small red ships chase a larger green ship as it flies through rocky debris.

---

The game does feature a roguelite upgrade tree to expand your energy capacity, but because upgrade drafts are randomized, prioritizing damage and movement speed is always the safer bet. On top of the randomization aspect, few of the upgrades feel noteworthy or exciting to receive.

Sure, having a more powerful laser or more bullet damage is nice and valuable, but it doesn't alter how you play in any meaningful way. They’re not the types of upgrades you see offered and say “wow, I really want to try this out!” Roguelite genre titans like Hades make each run feel meaningful with not only the number of choices provided, but the ways in which those boons alter the play experience, crafting a run that feels like it is uniquely yours. By contrast, Hyperwired's incremental numbers-based approach feels totally unremarkable.

While there is a certain element of “you control the buttons you press” to all of this, the severe lack of reserve resources sans multiple upgrades necessitates that players plug in frequently. There is an “overcharge” mechanic that is meant to mitigate staying plugged in eternally, forcibly unplugging the player from the socket, but it is slow to take hold.

Plugging into a station with full energy will begin to build up overcharge (denoted by a red bar above your ship) only after several seconds of being plugged in, and will take an additional seven or so seconds to fully “overcharge” your ship. Unplugging from the station quickly lowers the overcharge bar, meaning only a few seconds off the power source are needed at any given time.

While the tether should create tense, tactical trade-offs, its sheer necessity makes every run feel identical. This monotony is doubly felt when you realize the bosses appear in the exact same order every time. If you’ve made it to the end once, you have seen it all.

---

Thankfully, power-ups aren’t the only means of differentiating runs, as players can unlock new ships to fly after rescuing them during the course of a level. When saved, these ships assist you in combat as automated minions, taking out the chaff while you focus on unlocking objectives. After a run is completed, these ships become selectable by the player and have their own unique abilities, such as more bombs. Despite the mechanical diversity of ships, the core structure remains the same — plug and move until you reach a boss.

This mechanical monotony is unfortunately mirrored in the game's presentation. On a purely technical level, Hyperwired sounds great. A pulsing, techno-inspired soundtrack permeates the soundscape, and clear auditory feedback when firing your weapons or locking into a socket lends weight to the actions (especially when accompanied by the rumble).

However, the soundscape ultimately suffers from the lack of action on screen; because the level is so routinely starved of enemies and urgent threats, the music feels like a rave playing to an empty club. Instead of escalating the tension during an intense firefight, the booming beats merely highlight how quiet and empty the levels actually are. Space that could be filled out by ships firing on you or explosions in the distance is simply left hollow.

The same could be said of the visuals. While the ship designs are clean and the pixelated artstyle is clear and beautiful in motion, the dearth of onscreen action leaves mostly empty space to fill the view. When enemies do show up, there is little variety in their design. You face the same handful of enemies across the entire run, making it easy to lose track of how just how long you've been playing or how far you've progressed.

Verdict

I must admit I am a bit perplexed by the lack of excitement in Hyperwired. Twin-stick shooters can so rarely be considered boring, but this one manages to land with a dull thud. Without meaningful threats or interesting upgrade paths, the game just thoughtlessly advances, each room feeling just like the last. The plug mechanic, which should have been its saving grace, ultimately acts as the anchor weighing it down. Despite this, the game can be fun in short doses, making it a good fit for the portable modes on Switch or for a Steam Deck.

Image Credits: SIDRALGAMES, SelectaPlay, Beep Japan Inc.