Developer: Blazing Stick
Publisher: Graffiti Games
Platforms: PC, Switch
Tested on: PC
Cyber Hook – Review
Fast-paced parkour, scaling walls and running through a colorful environment is all part of the experience Cyber hook will offer you. Cyber Hook has been released for a while and we also got the chance to take a look at it. We ended up quite surprised to find out how good it actually is. Hardcore parkour, time trials and leaderboards, this game has it all.
Story
As Cyber Hook is purely focused on you running through levels as fast as you can, there isn’t really much time for a story in this game. You do have Dron, a small digital creature that is there to help you understand the game. He explains that you are stuck inside this game as a runner and you need to run through all the levels of Cyber Hook to escape back to the real world. First, Dron will explain all the basic controls in a few tutorial levels before you can take on the many levels Cyber Hook has to offer. In terms of actual plot, that’s basically all there is to the game.
Graphics
Cyber Hook is situated in a very colorful cyberspace. Everything looks as detailed as can be with the type of graphics used in this game. In the distance, you can see digital mountains that look quite awesome and the sky is filled with stars just as if you are flying through space. It truly has that certain ‘Tron’ vibe with all the straight lines in the distance, slowly forming the platforms you have to get on or past. In this game, you really feel like you’re in the middle of a digital world, which is a job well done for one of these neon-inspired 80s homages.
Sound
The sounds in the game are all good and the music in Cyber Hook fits the game’s digital cyberspace theme perfectly. Sadly, there’s only one track available in the whole game, so each time you start a level, the same music will start playing over and over again, which could result in getting a bit dull after a while. While we get the somewhat simplistic sound design, it would have been nice to have a bit more meat on the bones of the soundtrack.
Gameplay
Cyber Hook is a fast-paced first-person platformer where you are armed with a grappling hook and a laser gun to parkour through many tricky levels filled with obstacles. The game proves to be very intense for those who want to clear the levels as fast as possible.
Cyber Hook urges you to make the best out of the equipment you’re given. The grappling hook can not only be used to swing around in levels, but you can also use it in a clever way to boost your speed constantly. You can reel yourself into the point of attachment and let go just before you reach it to fly around the levels and keep your speed and momentum as high as possible. You can also shoot it at the ground in front of you and pull yourself towards it to build up your speed, which definitely makes this a very fast-paced game, but this also requires some practice to perfect it. Your laser gun is only used to shoot green obstacles and switches that block your path.
Each level in Cyber hook has three target times which are rewarded with gems, comparable with games where you earn three stars if you manage to beat the level’s fastest target time or hit all target objectives. After clearing a level you see the target time for the next gem to urge you to try and improve your fastest time.
After clearing a level, you will see your own rank compared with all the other players around the world. The game will show you your overall ranking and your national ranking, so aside of trying to be the best in the world, you can also try to just be the best one in your country. When you check the full results of other players over the world, you can also check their replays to see how they managed to be as fast as they were, which can inspire you to try a different way you took earlier.
Especially when checking the replays of the best players around the world, you’ll see that each level can have multiple ways to complete it. Each level is charted out to go just the direction indicated, but by using the speed you acquire by quickly using your grappling hook, you can easily fly over obstacles you would normally need to cross in a different way. To be able to use your imagination to clear those target times in your own way is definitely one of the best characteristics of the game.
Conclusion
Cyber hook is a great fast-paced platformer where you need to use your grappling hook to get to your target destination. After mastering the game’s controls, the game will constantly challenge you to clear each level with the best time you can manage. To be able to look how other players cleared levels with their overwhelmingly fast clear times are very fun to watch and can inspire you to try and beat the levels in the same way they did. Clearing each level in Cyber Hook may not be the hardest task to do, but trying to take on the global competition is the real challenge in this game. If you like fast-paced platformers and competing with others on global leaderboards, then we definitely recommend purchasing this game as it will keep you entertained for many hours
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