We’re closing in on the 20th anniversary of Peggle, and since then, nothing has come quite as close to matching the pure, joyous sensory overload of Popcap’s little peg-clearing masterpiece. Can Hyperdrop fill that gap for juggling skill and luck to clear stages? Maybe!
Coming soon to PC, Hyperdrop is the debut game from developer Dark Dark Goose and publisher Devolver Digital is billed as a pachinko roguelite. The setup is deviously simple, as you’re tasked with turning an empty pegboard into an unstoppable scoring machine. You’ll be able to do just that by upgrading pegs, allowing you to activate physics-defying gravity wells, explosions, and multiball buffs whenever they’re struck.
You can also upgrade your balls, making them bigger and filled with volatile energy. You can take things a step further by making them sticky or extra-bouncy, or you can use unique balls that have different properties and physics behaviors–please stop giggling. Like any good roguelite, you can expect to fail upward until you achieve that perfect run, harmoniously combining upgrades and buffs as you bounce around the stage. Once you’ve finished a level, you can take on increasingly difficult stages, face off in boss battles, and tinker with your builds.
The other big influence that you might have noticed–visually, at least–is Geometry Wars. If you’re a fan of that particular aesthetic, Hyperdrop has plenty of neon-soaked visuals for your eyes to absorb. You can try out a demo for the game right now on Steam, and if you’re a fan of this genre, then you can also check out all the other related games as part of Steam Pins and Pegs Fest. Like its other themed Fests, there’ll be discounts on games that incorporate pins and pegs into the design. Steam Pins and Pegs Fest is now live and runs through August 20.
Hyperdrop isn’t the only game in recent memory to address the Peggle-shaped gap in the market. Other titles include Peglin, which remixes Peggle with Slay the Spire-inspired gameplay, and Roundguard, which is a pretty fun bouncy dungeon-crawler. Both of these games are on sale during Steam Pins and Pegs Fest, so you can score a pretty good deal on these Peggle successors.