Hive Jump is the quintessential game for all Starship Trooper bug haters. This is the game we all really really wanted to play after watching that movie. We can all come together and agree that all bugs must die. Hive Jump is all about assembling a jump team and slaughtering bugs. Your squad does this with a fairly large assortment of weapons, but don’t forget the skills! Navigating trap-filled caverns is no easy task even for the most veteran jumpers.

Developer: Graphite Lab

Publisher: Graphite Lab

6 Hours Played // Review Copy Provided // $9.99

It’s hard to talk about Hive Jump without noticing some hat tips to all that is awesome, and old. Specifically games like Contra, and movies like Starship Troopers. After all, Hive Jump is largely about slaughtering bugs with jetpacks. You can bust bugs solo or with up to 4 players locally. No split-screen, all players on the same screen, all shooting weapons, blowing bug guts everywhere. Hive Jump is, so far, the most fun coop action game on the Nintendo Switch for me. Take a few moments between the hive swarm and check out the rest of the review below.

Campaign Mode

When I first started playing Hive Jump I was ready to kick some bug ass and chew bubblegum. What I didn’t realize is that the campaign mode starts you out in a turn-based tactical map. I quickly found out that not only do you get to jump hives and wholesale slaughter bugs. You also get to place reinforcements and set traps on corps owned locations. To deal with the hives the corps give you the ability to scan, sweep, and bombard the bugs. Hive Jump turns what could be a mindless series of bug slaughtering campaign missions and gives us some nice tactical gameplay. After taking your turn and reinforcing your bases if necessary it’s all up to you and your jump team to attack and destroy the hives. If you don’t the next turn belongs to the bugs. I hope your troops can withstand the counterattacks.

Bug Busting Arsenal

In Hive Jump, you can mix up your current loadout before hive jumps or between levels of the hive. A large number of items are not unlocked to start with so you must unlock them with goo. The only way to earn goo is from jumping into hives and smashing bugs. Hive Jumpers can bring rifle mods, grenades, and utilities with them during each jump. The amount of item combinations is very large. No player should have any problems finding a loadout that fits their playstyle.

During my time with Hive Jump, I’ve noticed that some loadouts demand a changing of playstyles. A jumper cannot use the same playstyle with Tesla Orbs that they can with the Poison Cloud. You also might not be able to reach certain areas while using the Healing Cloud instead of an actual grenade. There’s a lot of loadout possibilities in Hive Jump and the combinations only get more interesting with the more players you add to your jump team.

Backpacks

One of the best inventions ever created in the history of roguelikes was the checkpoint. Roguelikes are commonly a really tough genre to complete. Often times requiring multiple runs. In my opinion, a good roguelike succeeds or dies on how fun it makes the main gameplay loop since you have to repeat it often. Repeating it often means dying often which sometimes is not so fun.

This is where the Hive Jump backpack comes in. Your jump team is given one backpack to carry. This backpack allows infinite respawns as long as you can keep it from being destroyed by bugs. If playing with multiple jumpers the backpack can be dropped and picked up by others. Give it to your best player, you’ll live a lot longer in the end. I really like the backpack concept. Even though the level or boss may be hard. You are at least given a fighting chance to succeed if you play your cards correctly.

Hive Relics

One of the key gameplay elements in Hive Jump are relics. Throughout the hives, you will find relics which are permanent boosts to your entire jump team. Only one of your team members needs to make it to the chest and open. You can stop fighting over who gets to open it now as relics are shared in Hive Jump. The addition of relics gives players a reward for thoroughly exploring the levels and successfully reaching the end of the relic rooms. You ideally want as many relics as possible by the time you reach the bottom of the hive. This will give your jump team the highest percentage of living.

Deadly Secrets

Found throughout Hive Jump‘s levels are doors that lead to relic rooms. In these rooms, you have only 1 life to make it to the end. If you can make it you will be rewarded with relics which provide permanent bonuses to your whole Hive Jump team. These rooms are not easy but don’t worry. If you die you will be placed back outside the door which you entered. Minus the sweet loot.

Immense Bosses

Jumping into alien filled hives would not be complete without a few good bosses. Hive Jump has a good variety of bosses which usually appear every two levels. Ambushes do happen every so often so don’t bank on a boss fight every time. My experience with Hive Jump bosses so far has been full of excitement, joyous successes and yes, death. Just as the levels are randomized every run so are the bosses. Even the lair which the bosses are in seems to be random, giving you a unique and potentially challenging run each time.

The End?

I really like Hive Jump. It feels good, it’s a lot of fun, I can bring other players with me. There’s a lot to like here for a fairly low price. The only issue I have ever found was a few seconds of stuttering on some levels. I couldn’t pinpoint where or why but it did happen once or twice. I’ve about had my fill with hardcore roguelikes which steal your soul right out of your eyeballs. I’ve about had my fill of games making me die 10,000 times in an hour and nothing to show for it. Hive Jump is none of these. It’s just a lot of fun, and it’s hard to find games that feel fun sometimes. If any of the screens above look interesting to you go grab this title now and go play it with your friends or family. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Make sure to check out my other recent review for Beholder, it was alot of fun spying on people all day long. Be sure to give Zach’s review on Rain World a looksie too. It looks like a unique title with an interesting art style.