Cyber Hook Preview – PARKOUR

Developed by Blazing Stick and published by Graffiti Games, Cyber Hook is a synthwave-themed parkour first-person platformer that is currently in Early Access. I had the chance to play the demo and found the game to be an incredibly satisfying and fast-paced experience.

The demo itself is quite short, clocking in at 20-30 minutes depending on your skill level. The goal is to navigate through a neon-lit obstacle course using your grappling hook, double jump, and time-slowing powers. Levels start simple and become increasingly difficult, up until the insanely challenging final stage in the demo. You can freely swing around after beating the demo, which is a fun way to hone your skills.

You have to swing around on floating platforms while avoiding dangerous obstacles and blasting away other obstacles with your finger gun. It sounds like a lot to take in, but you quickly learn the ropes and make decisions on the fly while you’re swinging around. The levels are a good length and rarely have or require checkpoints, as you almost instantly respawn upon death.

Powers are quickly presented to you by a small screen-faced character. It’s a short and sweet tutorial for the fairly basic controls, which I appreciated. The demo rarely made me stop, which is important in a game where momentum plays such a major role. And make no mistake, the momentum is nice.

Cyber Hook constantly keeps track of your character’s speed both with a number in the bottom corner of the screen and with visual effects that illustrate the breakneck pace that you’re flying at. The best part of Cyber Hook comes from that speed, which is intoxicating to achieve and maintain. Grappling through hazardous obstacles at high speeds is a blast, and makes it easy to get lost in the smooth platforming.

Though my experience with Cyber Hook was brief (I ran through the demo twice,) I’m looking forward to seeing more of the game once it’s out of Early Access, as what I’ve played has made me feel the need for more speed.