"Strap on your jetpack, check your laser rifle and deploy into the hive, Jumper! Those bugs won't kill themselves, after all. Oh, and take some friends with you, it's positively swarming with aliens down there." I guess that's all the instructions you need when playing Hive Jump, an arcade game just released as early access title on Steam.

The premise is as simple as can be: enter the hive, make it all the way through, kill the evil Ãœberbug at the end. The execution, however, is what makes the game noteworthy. It plays like a fast-paced run and gun, with aliens rushing towards you from all sides. The levels are procedurally generated and due to their almost claustrophobic feel - no wide open spaces here, no sir - they almost feel Spelunky-esque. However, Hive Jump's outstanding feature might be its multiplayer. Up to four players can try to conquer the hive together (locally for now, with online multiplayer being added later), and this just looks like glorious, frantic fun.
There's a bunch of other things like daily challenge levels, customizable equipment - stuff like that is probably par for the course. A full campaign mode where you plan your deployment on a strategic map and unlock more things adds a light strategic layer and some overarching purpose to your exploits. What's important at the end of the day is that you have fun, and Hive Jump definitely delivers. I spent some time with an early build, and the game looks and plays incredibly well. I...