Are you tired of some of the more popular MOBA games out there? Want to play a 2D multi layered MOBA with a colorful cast of characters? Then developer CWAVESOFT Inc has your game with Hyper Universe. Fight on 4 vs 4 battles in several different game modes and try to capture the enemy base. While Hyper Universe may be 2D, players will be able to switch lanes by jumping up or down between different ladders, springs and teleporters. With anime-like visuals and 28 playable heroes—knowns as Hypers in game—Hyper Universe aims to blow you away!

Hyper Universe plays out in a comparable manner to most MOBA games. Players choose different characters with different abilities and try to destroy the enemy base. The different concept with Hyper Universe is that unlike most traditional 3D based MOBA titles, Hyper Universe goes for a side scrolling set up. Players can go between different lanes via different means which gives Hyper Universe an unique feel. With some amazing art and an impressive OST, Hyper Universe will offer players a more exciting MOBA experience than the competition.

Hyper Universe tells the story of different warriors taken from different dimensions, planets and worlds. These warriors must battle it out to show who the strongest competitors are. Each warrior, or better known as Hyper, has a different reason for wanting to do battle. Though at the end of the day, all that matters is the beautiful taste of victory and the groan inducing feeling of defeat. Which of these conclusions will be your fate? Choose a hero and begin to do battle in Hyper Universe!

Every generation, something semi-annoying occurs in the video game world. As a game genre gets popular, hundreds of companies begin to copy the idea of said popular genre leading to hundreds of clones. While some are amazing, most are forgettable and or just a plain waste of time and money. That’s why we here at Honey’s Anime were a little worried when we had Hyper Universe from developer CWAVESOFT Inc come across our tables for us to review. However, as we always give games a fair and unbiased examination, we went into Hyper Universe with an open mind and a ready controller. Here is our review of Hyper Universe.

Right away, upon picking up Hyper Universe, we knew what to do. Why you may ask? The simple answer is because Hyper Universe is a MOBA through and through. This worried us at first but after the first few matches, we saw something interesting about Hyper Universe. Let us talk about what makes Hyper Universe stand out from the other games like it.

While most MOBA titles—in this case, we’re thinking of SMITE and League of Legends—are 3D based with open ended paths and or top down views, Hyper Universe is instead a 2D based side scrolling MOBA. While there are still lanes like in most MOBA titles, Hyper Universe has different lanes on different levels which is a neat idea and makes the two available maps feel big—though sometimes too big—and not overly similar. This means players can find a number of ways to attack their enemies such as going down and then finding a ladder to go back up and behind them or using the warp points in game to find turrets under attack and appear in for a hopeful surprise attack. It really keeps the MOBA elements that are needed in check for Hyper Universe all while not making Hyper Universe feel too caught up in the formulaic approach most MOBA games take. Now, let us move on to the actual gameplay of Hyper Universe.

Being a MOBA title, Hyper Universe relies on the typical approach in terms of gameplay. Players choose one of the 28 Hypers, gear up before each match begins—or use auto spec—and begin their onslaught. Players need to take out enemy cannons and clear a path to the next cannon and eventually reach the enemy base. However, as with almost all MOBA games out there, going straight in will get you killed so you need to explore the map, look for enemies and enemy players to level up, gain new equipment level ups and then you can begin working your way to the end. While this sounds almost contradictory to our statement about Hyper Universe changing up some themes, we did mention only some and for a MOBA game this formula of gameplay always works best.

Now with any MOBA title, the various characters you use need to be fun and allow strategy on the field. Thankfully, that’s one thing that shines brightly in Hyper Universe. Each of the Hypers plays pretty different from one another and their various skills can lead to some very intriguing strategies. One of our favorites was Cain—who looks too much like the MC from Persona 5 but we’ll mention that again soon—who acts as a vampire and assassin in many ways. Not only is Cain able to heal himself with his various attacks but he can actually buff his teammates regardless of where they are on the field leading to some hilarious moments when a teammate goes from slightly losing a fight to flat out winning. Zet is also a personal favorite as his design allows players to get up close and personal with various debilitating attacks and skills. Each character has the same ideas as games like League of Legends such as several attacks and an ultimate but in Hyper Universe, most feel really diverse and not just a typical.

Visually, Hyper Universe is incredibly impressive. Characters have a very anime inspired theme—though that shouldn’t be a surprise seeing as how this is published by NEXON America Inc—and the visuals of attacks as well as the environments match. The same can be said of the epic OST which made us play with our headphones on while in other MOBA titles we usually listen to our own music. Hyper Universe is easily one of the better visual and sounding MOBA games in comparison to other titles and that is a wonderful thing going for it. Now, with that folks, let us finally delve into the few issues with Hyper Universe.

Hyper Universe isn’t a perfect game though there are no games that are truly perfect. One of our small issues is with something we mentioned earlier, character designs. Cain, for example, looks like the Persona 5 MC and some of the characters like Turner, Jennifer and Kurenai look ripped from games we’ve played in the past before. It’s not a huge issue, mind you, but it almost makes a fun game to have people try and guess what game that person looks ripped off from. Kurenai, you look a lot like Taki from the Soul Calibur series, just saying. Besides that though, as with most MOBA games your enjoyment will be based on how much you love the MOBA scene. Hyper Universe does a lot different in terms of style and ideas but equally it still adheres to the MOBA mechanics set before it which we can’t blame it for, why fix what isn’t broken. Honestly though, all of these issues are more minor flaws and not enough to stop us from saying the pros outweigh the cons.

The MOBA world has become increasingly more popular in the gaming landscape. While that’s a good thing, as we get to play more MOBA titles, that also leads to hundreds of clones of games like League of Legends and SMITE. Luckily, that doesn’t apply too heavily to Hyper Universe. There’s enough in Hyper Universe to feel unique and give the game a charm that other MOBA games just don’t have. While it has its minor flaws here and there, as a whole for the low price of $15.99 and the fact you get so many Hypers to play as, Hyper Universe gets a thumbs up for those who need a newer MOBA title to enjoy.

Hyper Universe was quite a surprise to us here at Honey’s Anime. We have played our fair share of MOBA titles and most tend to be fun but typically end up the same at the end of the day. While Hyper Universe doesn’t change the MOBA scene in every shape and form—which does hurt it a bit—the impressive visuals, unique side scrolling gameplay, the jaw dropping soundtrack and ton of different heroes does make Hyper Universe one of the better MOBA titles we’ve played in some time. What are your thoughts on Hyper Universe? Scroll down and drop a comment so we can hear from you beautiful souls out there on the web. If you did love the review why not keep coming back to us here at Honey’s Anime for more gaming reviews, news and articles for your enjoyment?