New games: Hypergun is a stylish shooter where you build your own synthwave-inspired guns

The aesthetics of synthwave, if not the music itself, have enjoyed the occasional resurgence since the music genre first appeared in the 1980s. Now is one of those times, thanks largely to internet memes and a certain inherent cultural stickiness that the neon-on-black look has. Hypergun is the latest game to bank heavily on that look, and it’s out now on Steam. Like the neon-drenched games that have come down this road before, Hypergun brings a healthy level of irony with it - after all, we can’t fully acknowledge that a retro style was cool without a wink and a nod, right? You’re Dewey Owens, an intern at DevTech Labs who spends his spare time frolicking about in DevTech’s combat simulation program trying to build the ultimate weapon - the Hypergun, if you will. This means procedural levels and modular weapons, which you get to slap together as you pick up components. Again, this isn’t exactly uncharted territory - you’ve got hints of Borderlands, Heavy Bullets, Far Cry: Blood Dragon, and even Paranautical Activity all on display here.