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The Playdate’s best game is coming to Nintendo Switch and PC this month

If you don’t own a Playdate, you’ll still be able to experience one of its best games. Hyper Meteor is coming to Nintendo Switch and PC on July 27 with loads of new features.

HYPER METEOR - Announcement Trailer

Originally built for Panic’s quirky Playdate handheld, Hyper Meteor is a modern spin on Asteroids. It’s a bite-sized, arcade-style high score game where players blast meteors while piloting a ship. The twist, of course, was that the ship was controlled by the Playdate’s unique crank, having players turn the ship 360 degrees by spinning it and then pressing a button to boost forward. It was a clear standout among Playdate’s first season of game releases and now it’ll be easily available to those who never bought one.

The new version of Hyper Meteor is naturally a bit more feature-filled, no longer working with the Playdate’s limitations. In addition to its standard endless mode, it’ll feature a survival-based Meteor Mode, a wave-based challenge, and a three-minute high score blitz.

A spaceship flies through meteors in Hyper Meteor.
Vertex Pop

The biggest addition is a two-player co-op mode, which wasn’t possible on the Playdate. In addition to that, the updated version features online leaderboards, a new soundtrack, 50 achievements, and 25 swappable color palettes to give its minimalist art style a little extra oomph. It’s a fairly substantial reimagining of a bite-sized minigame.

Though a Playdate game coming to other platforms is new, it’s not surprising considering the developer behind it. Vertex Pop has made a name for itself on Nintendo Switch since its launch, with indie standouts like Graceful Explosion Machine and Super Crush KO. If you’re a fan of either of those games, there’s a good chance you’ll appreciate Hyper Meteor too.

Hyper Meteor launches on Nintendo Switch and PC on July 27.

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Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
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