Small toys, big battles, and endless fun ahead
By Paul Hunter
Hypercharge Unboxed is a toy-themed shooter that blends third-person and first-person action with tower defence mechanics. Originally released on Nintendo Switch in 2020, the game is finally arriving on PS4 and PS5 (version reviewed) on May 30, 2025. Developed and published by Digital Cybercherries, a team of just five indie devs, the game offers a surprising amount of content for such a small studio. It's set in oversized household environments—think bedrooms, bathrooms, and toy stores—where you play as action figures trying to protect important cores from waves of attacking enemies.
The game focuses heavily on a wave-based mode where you work to defend core towers while building defences, shooting down hostile toys, and collecting in-game currency. There’s also a deathmatch-style multiplayer mode that uses the same maps, but the wave combat is clearly the main attraction. While you can go it solo, the structure and design lean towards playing with others, either online or locally.
On the PS5, the game impresses with sharp details and a level of polish not always seen in ports. Shampoo bottles, toy boxes, and blanket forts have been filled with thoughtful design touches that spark memories of childhood. From the outside, it may look like a novelty game, but under the surface, it’s a full experience with structure, upgrades, and systems to learn.
So, is this nostalgic, plastic battlefield worth setting up your defences for? Or does it belong back in the toy box? Let’s find out!
Tower defence meets childhood imagination in Hypercharge Unboxed’s main mode. At the start of each round, you collect coins scattered across the level or earned by defeating enemies. This is used to build traps, walls, and other helpful structures around your cores. Certain build spots are locked to specific structures, like springboards or barricades, while others let you choose from your own loadout of traps. As you complete levels and save cores, you gain access to new build options and advance to tougher stages.
You can play the wave-based mode solo, but it's even better with a full group. Difficulty doesn’t seem to scale based on how many people are in your squad, which can make solo runs punishing on some maps and extremely easy with friends. It’s clear the game was built with cooperative play in mind, and some of the slower unlocks can feel like a grind when you’re trying to push through by yourself.
I found myself replaying the same early stage multiple times in a row just to earn a perfect rating and grab all the collectibles. In one round, I finally beat it with all cores intact and was rewarded with a new trap that makes future attempts way easier the first time through.
Hypercharge Unboxed is clearly built with multiplayer in mind. You can team up with others in wave mode, either online with up to eight or locally in split-screen with up to four. In addition to the wave battles, the game also includes a PvP mode, offering free-for-all battles in shared locations from the wave mode. The layouts weren’t designed for competitive balance, so it ends up feeling like a nice extra. Still, it can be a fun break if you're already familiar with the environments.
Once you adjust to the control scheme—jumping is mapped to a trigger button—you’ll find the movement and shooting tight and responsive. The optional gyro aiming activates only while aiming down sights and works surprisingly well. The action can start to feel a little samey if you’re playing back-to-back rounds on the same stage, but the gameplay holds up thanks to responsive controls, useful build mechanics, and the nostalgic concept of battling toys across oversized everyday spaces.
Communication isn’t essential, but it helps during later stages when building defences becomes more strategic. Gathering coins, deciding on trap placements, and covering multiple Hypercores is smoother with a team. Online connections held up well, with no major lag or dropped sessions during my testing. Local split-screen also runs smoothly and is a great option if you’ve got others at home.
Overall, the multiplayer works well, even if the balance could use some fine-tuning. Playing with others helps the slower progression feel less noticeable and adds more life to repeated stages.
Hypercharge Unboxed looks far better than you might expect, especially on the PS5. The game runs smoothly and maintains a clean, sharp image. The visuals stay consistent across modes, with no major performance drops or blurry textures. It’s rare to see this level of visual polish from a competitive shooter—especially from such a small development team.
The game leans fully into its toy theme. You’ll fight in places like bedrooms, garages, bathrooms, and stores—each packed with colourful props, oversized furniture, and creative set dressing. There’s something amusing about dodging behind a shampoo bottle while avoiding an attack, or climbing up a stack of books to reach a sniper spot. Even ordinary items like boxes or detergent bottles have playful names and tiny details that make exploring each area more enjoyable.
Character design sticks to the action figure vibe. Your plastic soldier pops out of a toy box at the start of each mission, which sets the tone perfectly. Weapon upgrades come from your own box too, with zip ties breaking off when you access new gear. Little moments like that help sell the idea that you're in a world built for toys, not people. The animations and visual effects all serve that same purpose—simple, but fitting.
Audio works well too. Voice lines are light and playful, helping the game capture the tone of toy-based media like Small Soldiers or Toy Story. Nothing ever gets too serious, and the sound design reinforces that playful energy. While the music doesn’t stand out much, it never distracts either. All in all, Hypercharge Unboxed delivers a clear visual identity and sticks with it. The environments are fun to move through, and even when the gameplay starts to repeat, it’s often worth continuing just to see what the next level looks like.
Final Score: 8.5/10 - Great
Developer: Digital Cybercherries
Publisher: Digital Cybercherries
Genre: First-person Shooter, Third-person Shooter
Modes: Single-player, Multiplayer
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
Hypercharge Unboxed is a toy-themed shooter that blends third-person and first-person action with tower defence mechanics. Originally released on Nintendo Switch in 2020, the game is finally arriving on PS4 and PS5 (version reviewed) on May 30, 2025. Developed and published by Digital Cybercherries, a team of just five indie devs, the game offers a surprising amount of content for such a small studio. It's set in oversized household environments—think bedrooms, bathrooms, and toy stores—where you play as action figures trying to protect important cores from waves of attacking enemies.
The game focuses heavily on a wave-based mode where you work to defend core towers while building defences, shooting down hostile toys, and collecting in-game currency. There’s also a deathmatch-style multiplayer mode that uses the same maps, but the wave combat is clearly the main attraction. While you can go it solo, the structure and design lean towards playing with others, either online or locally.
On the PS5, the game impresses with sharp details and a level of polish not always seen in ports. Shampoo bottles, toy boxes, and blanket forts have been filled with thoughtful design touches that spark memories of childhood. From the outside, it may look like a novelty game, but under the surface, it’s a full experience with structure, upgrades, and systems to learn.
So, is this nostalgic, plastic battlefield worth setting up your defences for? Or does it belong back in the toy box? Let’s find out!
Tower defence meets childhood imagination in Hypercharge Unboxed’s main mode. At the start of each round, you collect coins scattered across the level or earned by defeating enemies. This is used to build traps, walls, and other helpful structures around your cores. Certain build spots are locked to specific structures, like springboards or barricades, while others let you choose from your own loadout of traps. As you complete levels and save cores, you gain access to new build options and advance to tougher stages.
You can play the wave-based mode solo, but it's even better with a full group. Difficulty doesn’t seem to scale based on how many people are in your squad, which can make solo runs punishing on some maps and extremely easy with friends. It’s clear the game was built with cooperative play in mind, and some of the slower unlocks can feel like a grind when you’re trying to push through by yourself.
I found myself replaying the same early stage multiple times in a row just to earn a perfect rating and grab all the collectibles. In one round, I finally beat it with all cores intact and was rewarded with a new trap that makes future attempts way easier the first time through.
Hypercharge Unboxed is clearly built with multiplayer in mind. You can team up with others in wave mode, either online with up to eight or locally in split-screen with up to four. In addition to the wave battles, the game also includes a PvP mode, offering free-for-all battles in shared locations from the wave mode. The layouts weren’t designed for competitive balance, so it ends up feeling like a nice extra. Still, it can be a fun break if you're already familiar with the environments.
Once you adjust to the control scheme—jumping is mapped to a trigger button—you’ll find the movement and shooting tight and responsive. The optional gyro aiming activates only while aiming down sights and works surprisingly well. The action can start to feel a little samey if you’re playing back-to-back rounds on the same stage, but the gameplay holds up thanks to responsive controls, useful build mechanics, and the nostalgic concept of battling toys across oversized everyday spaces.
Communication isn’t essential, but it helps during later stages when building defences becomes more strategic. Gathering coins, deciding on trap placements, and covering multiple Hypercores is smoother with a team. Online connections held up well, with no major lag or dropped sessions during my testing. Local split-screen also runs smoothly and is a great option if you’ve got others at home.
Overall, the multiplayer works well, even if the balance could use some fine-tuning. Playing with others helps the slower progression feel less noticeable and adds more life to repeated stages.
Hypercharge Unboxed looks far better than you might expect, especially on the PS5. The game runs smoothly and maintains a clean, sharp image. The visuals stay consistent across modes, with no major performance drops or blurry textures. It’s rare to see this level of visual polish from a competitive shooter—especially from such a small development team.
The game leans fully into its toy theme. You’ll fight in places like bedrooms, garages, bathrooms, and stores—each packed with colourful props, oversized furniture, and creative set dressing. There’s something amusing about dodging behind a shampoo bottle while avoiding an attack, or climbing up a stack of books to reach a sniper spot. Even ordinary items like boxes or detergent bottles have playful names and tiny details that make exploring each area more enjoyable.
Character design sticks to the action figure vibe. Your plastic soldier pops out of a toy box at the start of each mission, which sets the tone perfectly. Weapon upgrades come from your own box too, with zip ties breaking off when you access new gear. Little moments like that help sell the idea that you're in a world built for toys, not people. The animations and visual effects all serve that same purpose—simple, but fitting.
Audio works well too. Voice lines are light and playful, helping the game capture the tone of toy-based media like Small Soldiers or Toy Story. Nothing ever gets too serious, and the sound design reinforces that playful energy. While the music doesn’t stand out much, it never distracts either. All in all, Hypercharge Unboxed delivers a clear visual identity and sticks with it. The environments are fun to move through, and even when the gameplay starts to repeat, it’s often worth continuing just to see what the next level looks like.
The Verdict
Hypercharge Unboxed showcases a clear passion from its small development team, delivering a toy-themed shooter with strong visuals and creative level design that taps into childhood nostalgia. Its wave-based gameplay is simple and accessible, especially enjoyable with friends, though solo play can feel a tad grindy due to unlock requirements. The game really shines when you play with friends, whether's that's tackling the story mode or engaging in frenetic PvP battles. The game offers plenty of content and moments of fun, making it a solid choice for those who enjoy cooperative shooters with a playful twist.Final Score: 8.5/10 - Great
Hypercharge Unboxed details
Platform: PS5, PS4Developer: Digital Cybercherries
Publisher: Digital Cybercherries
Genre: First-person Shooter, Third-person Shooter
Modes: Single-player, Multiplayer
A key was provided by the publisher.