Every weapon sounds too virtualized and artificial while headshots sound like I'm slapping a block of canvas instead of popping a watermelon. I don't think the game's cyber world setting does itself any favors here, either. It's an embarrassment to gaming weaponry, and it would hardly matter if there were an alternative to reach for.
It’s got no sizzle, not even a hint of pop. The thing shoots like an airsoft gun with a dying battery. I have a particular beef with the Ripper, Hyper Scape's only assault rifle. The first skirmishes of all of my matches were these embarrassing back-and-forths that felt like we were shooting each other with popcorn kernels. Part of the problem for me is that the time-to-kill is really long with level 1 weapons. Each of the nine weapons is undeniably distinct (revolver, minigun, plasma cannon, etc), but they’re not that fun to shoot. So far, I'm also disappointed by Hyper Scape's guns in general.
It stings even harder because Warzone already solved this problem by letting a low-tier SMG kick as much ass as an assault rifle with five attachments. I hate praying to the loot gods to shine favorably on me in Apex, and I still hate it here. Rather than a give and take, more levels simply mean more power, so clever teamplay will only take you so far against a squad with better loot. I like how streamlined Hyper Scape's looting is, but I dislike the linear weapon progression.
A max level Protocol V sniper rifle can deliver a one-shot headshot from full health, making it the deadliest weapon I’ve seen so far. Higher fusions means larger magazines, and in some cases, a straight up damage boost. High level hacks have much shorter cooldowns, but maxing out weapons feels way more important. Instead of scrounging the map for tiered loot, you can boost the stats of weapons and hacks by “fusing” them with extra copies you find on the map. There are also no weapon attachments, so there are no inventory gymnastics either. There's no armor, backpacks, or health packs (health regenerates automatically) and just a single ammo type to keep track of. I'm on record as being decidedly anti-looting in battle royale games, so it's cool to see Hyper Scape go even further than Call of Duty: Warzone to simplify the process.
The bright outlines around enemies and neon streaks left behind while running make subtlety impossible, so raw firepower plus healing seemed to be the ultimate decider in most of my fights. Extra mobility can be useful, but it felt so much safer to bring the healing field or armor buff that makes me bulletproof for a few seconds. Messing with each of the nine hacks in the build we played, I found myself ditching fun options like the short-range teleport for defensive hacks.
Hacks have unlimited use on a cooldown, so it does feel a lot like Apex in practice, except you're scavenging the build you want over time instead of locking into a set role. You can hold two hacks at a time and swap them out whenever you want. Abilities (Ubisoft calls them 'hacks') have to be looted from the world just like weapons. The biggest divergence is that Hyper Scape isn’t a hero game. I thought about Apex Legends a lot during my play sessions, because it’s clearly the flavor of battle royale that Hyper Scape is going for-a bright, frantic shooter with three-person squads, tiered loot, and abilities that can make or break a teamfight. The bright outlines around enemies and neon streaks left behind while running make subtlety impossible.