review with trailer, price and gaming experience for Steam and Xbox One

In the shooters the most important thing is not to shootIronically, the key lies in knowing how to dodge. At the end of the day, we do not release the trigger by having infinite ammunition and we have to face an exaggerated amount of bullets by a significant number of enemies throughout various levels.

Not only agility when dodging is essential, since they are also resistance games, especially against the final bosses, with epic and long battles, so it is vital to enjoy nerves of steel. And that's why it seemed ideal Hyperdot since it serves precisely to train us in that facet.

Flag minimalism with an arcade touch

We once saw games that focused on improving our agility at the controls, such as Shooting love, the "Dr. Kawashima of the shmups"but what about Hyperdot It is not intentional and it is quite a surprise for fans of that facet of the ship games that dive these days for Xbox Game Pass on Windows 10 or Xbox One.

Released on January 31, 2020, it went largely unnoticed on both Steam and Xbox Live, but it was not until a few days ago, with its arrival on the Microsoft subscription service, that it experienced a significant peak of players. And since it is "free" in that way, I dared to try it, because of course, due to its minimalism and apparent simplicity (avoiding a series of geometric figures), I would not have paid attention to it in any other way.

Developed by a single person, Charles McGregor, who also works as a composer, in Hyperdot the stage is a single circumference of variable size where we have to endure several seconds without being hit by the various geometric figures that come out. Each phase introduces variables to that pattern so that we always face a new challenge.

It goes from the most basic, with figures that follow a predefined route and without any harmful modifier for the protagonist ball, to the most complex, with figures that chase us, that the ball skates or that the entire screen is dark and we have a flashlight that illuminates what surrounds us. And to name a few examples.

By sensations, saving the distances, it reminded me of the progress of the Geometry Wars when it comes to constantly introducing new types of enemies in each wave. In Hyperdot the concept is simpler and more direct, in any case, by asking us, generally, to endure between 20 or 30 seconds without being touched; but the spirit Arcadian it is still the same. And it also has an infinite mode.

HyperDot, ideal for those dead moments at home

Having 100 phases, it is logical that its difficulty is increasing, as well as the level of possibilities. He knows how to play the tricks of modifiers very well, since they are capable of complicating apparently simple tasks. And not even a wink to the original is missing SUPERHOTwhere the modifier SUPERDOT does just the same as that indie: if we don't move, everything goes ultra-slow.

In certain phases, in addition, the objective of holding certain seconds will be changed for that of obtaining tokens or secure the percentage of an area. This achieves a dynamism that will end up biting us to continue until we hit our faces with a challenge that will put us against the ropes, especially in those where the ball skids, increases its speed or we are in the dark. Luckily, there are no lives.

It's a hell of a training for ship games, both for the choreography of certain figures and for thinking in thousandths of a second the most optimal route to follow. But without worrying about shooting, of course. And that there are a few power ups in some phases, like a shield or an explosion. Nor do they make as much difference, nor are we facing an impossible game. In fact, it is tremendously accessible in terms of control, where it is compatible with Xbox Adaptive Controller and many more accessories … even by eye tracking.

The good? Which has mode multiplayer for four people and level editor, in case we want to create the ultimate extreme challenge by adding a few modifiers and enemies to each wave. The bad? What I have experienced on Xbox One X slight slowdowns at the beginning of certain phases or in almost all the dark ones … and that is optimized for this model! On PC, yes, it does not happen.

iGamesNews's opinion

Definitely, HyperDot is a pleasant surprise, a game that unfortunately it went largely unnoticed at launch and that, shortly after we give it a chance, it will sting us to try to overcome all its tests. Furthermore, with Xbox Game Pass there's no excuse and you also have Xbox Play Anywhere.