A baby’s cry. A fire alarm. There are certain sounds that raise the heartbeat and grab the attention straight away – HoPiKo's insistent retro soundtrack gives us that same visceral reaction, adding even greater urgency to this relentless platformer.
It's a perfect mix of the brilliantly simple and infuriatingly tricky. You are HoPiKo, and you're deep inside a games console on a mission to conquer the virus that threatens to destroy your surroundings. And, apparently, all videogames, ever. No pressure.
To do this you fire HoPiKo across the screen with each tap of the screen, leaping from wall to wall while dodging whirling obstacles. To make things even trickier, one mistake and you're back at the start of each series of stages. You need precision and practice in equal measure.
Along the way you can collect bonuses including new tunes (each as heart-pounding as each other), while skilled players will aim to complete each level as quickly as possible to scoop up collectibles and open new levels.
It takes some persistence, but you’ll find your groove. That’s when the real fun begins, as you chain perfectly timed manoeuvres together to shave milliseconds from your time. It's unbelievably satisfying when done right.
Putting down HoPiKo to write this has brought our heart-rate back down considerably – time to jump back in and take down that virus. Headphones on.