Hoverloop

Set in the year 2077, Hoverloop is a fast-paced multiplayer arena shooter where players pilot customizable hover drones as mechanized gladiators. Following the technological advances of the early 21st century, arena combat has become the biggest entertainment industry on earth, with champions rewarded with fame and fortune while losers are shunned by society. Players battle for glory across a multitude of maps and game types in high-speed combat, building their following and customizing their drones to flaunt their skill and style.

Hoverloop: Review

Introduction

In the vast, neon-drenched coliseum of video game history, some titles blaze across the sky like a meteor, leaving a brilliant, albeit brief, trail. Others flicker, stumble, and become cautionary tales of ambition outpacing execution. Hoverloop, a free-to-play multiplayer arena shooter from the micro-studio Not A Company, is a fascinating amalgam of both. Released into Steam Early Access in January 2018 with a bold vision to be the “lovechild of Unreal Tournament and Rocket League,” it promised high-speed drone combat, deep customization, and a triumphant return to couch co-op glory. This review will dissect its ambitious genesis, its flawed execution, and its ultimate legacy as a poignant footnote in the history of indie development—a game that reached for the stars but was forever tethered by the gravity of its own limitations.

Development History & Context

The Studio and The Vision
Hoverloop was the brainchild of Not A Company, a Belgian studio founded by Philippe Mesotten. The name itself is a telling artifact of the indie development scene of the late 2010s—less a formal corporate entity and more a declaration of passionate, garage-band style game development. Mesotten, alongside 3D artist Lars Driessen and composer Frank Liu, embarked on a project fueled by a clear, nostalgic vision. In an era where online multiplayer had become the solitary norm, they sought to “bring gamers back together on their couch, sharing a snack and shouting battle cries at each other.”

The project was partially funded by a successful €15,000 Kickstarter campaign in 2017, a modest sum that underscored its grassroots origins. The team chose Unreal Engine 4 for development, a decision that was both its greatest strength and a significant challenge. As Mesotten told PCGamesN, “It gives tiny development teams a huge range of tools… The extensive Blueprint system lets artists like me create reusable, modular art and even game mechanics.” This allowed a small team to punch far above its weight visually, crafting the glossy, neon-soaked arenas that defined the game’s aesthetic.

The Gaming Landscape of 2018
Hoverloop entered Early Access during a pivotal time. The arena shooter, a genre defined by classics like Quake and Unreal Tournament, was experiencing a niche resurgence amidst a market dominated by military simulators and battle royales. Games like Rocket League had proven that a singular, polished concept could achieve monumental success. Furthermore, the Early Access model on Steam was at its peak, a double-edged sword that allowed developers to fund development through community feedback but also risked launching into a saturated marketplace with unfinished products. Hoverloop’s free-to-play model, with plans for a cosmetic shop and season passes, positioned it as a live-service contender, a ambitious goal for a three-person team.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Hoverloop’s narrative is not delivered through cutscenes or a campaign but is instead a backdrop—a stage setting for its chaotic action. The lore, as provided on its Steam page and IMDb, paints a picture of a dystopian, cyberpunk future circa 2077. Following 21st-century technological advances, arena combat has surpassed all other forms of entertainment to become the planet’s biggest industry.

The Hoverloop league is this world’s modern colosseum. Here, “drone gladiators” battle for glory, their fates mirroring the brutal spectacle of ancient Rome. Victors are lavished with fame and fortune, while losers are “shunned and humiliated, becoming outcasts of our volatile society.” This premise taps into potent themes of spectacle culture, societal validation through violent entertainment, and the extreme polarization of success and failure in a hyper-competitive world.

However, this rich thematic potential remains almost entirely unexplored within the game itself. The narrative exists as flavor text, a compelling premise that never manifests in gameplay or character development. There are no characters to speak of, only customizable drones. The crowds that “chant their names” are heard only in the developer’s description, not in the game’s audio. The story is a promise of atmosphere and context that the final product never truly delivered, leaving it as an intriguing, yet ultimately hollow, backdrop.

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

The Core Loop and Movement
At its heart, Hoverloop is an arcade-style, third-person arena shooter. Players control a hovering drone, gliding effortlessly across a variety of maps. The movement system was a primary focus of iteration, with Mesotten admitting it started “very wonky.” The goal was to create a frictionless, air-hockey-like feel, evoking the anti-grav traditions of Wipeout and F-Zero but applied to combat. When tuned correctly, this resulted in a fast, fluid, and satisfying sense of mobility that was the game’s strongest mechanical asset.

Combat, Customization, and Progression
The arsenal was classic arena shooter fare: machine guns, explosives, and stun weapons. The key differentiator was each drone’s “unique ability,” such as Teleport, Deathray, Reverse Controls, Super Speed, or a Shield. This added a layer of strategic choice, allowing players to select a drone that suited their playstyle.

Customization was a major pillar. Players could adorn their drones with a “vast variety of materials, colors, hats, trails and emotes.” The promotional materials famously highlighted a giant toilet roll hat—a symbol of the game’s quirky, community-driven sense of humor. Progression was planned around a season pass system, with achievements tracking kills from “First Blood” to the daunting “Unstoppable” (10,000 kills).

Modes, AI, and The Multiplayer Paradox
Hoverloop boasted an impressive list of ten modes, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag (Assault), Invasion (PvE waves), Zombie Tag, and even Air Hockey. It supported up to 4-player split-screen and 8-player online matches, with AI bots filling slots when needed.

This is where the chasm between ambition and reality yawned widest. The game launched with online multiplayer in a rough “Beta” state, accessible only through a hidden Steam menu. The developers targeted a full online matchmaking system for a “Fall 2019” release. This date came and went. The last update was made over six years ago, and the smooth online experience was never realized. The game was left in a perpetual state of Early Access, its core promise—seamless online competition—forever unfulfilled. This rendered the extensive list of modes primarily a local or bot-based experience, drastically limiting its appeal and longevity.

World-Building, Art & Sound

Visual Direction and Atmosphere
Powered by Unreal Engine 4, Hoverloop’s visual presentation was arguably its most successful element. The arenas were futuristic, bathed in the glowing neon blues, pinks, and purples synonymous with cyberpunk aesthetics. The maps were varied in size and style, offering visually distinct battlegrounds that felt cohesive within its high-tech world. The drone designs were sleek and, with the extensive customization, allowed for significant personal expression. The visual direction successfully sold the fantasy of a glamorous, high-stakes drone combat league.

Sound Design
The audio was a key part of establishing this atmosphere. Composer Frank Liu provided a soundtrack of exclusive, high-energy EDM tracks. This was a fitting choice, mirroring the pulsating electronic scores of racing games like Wipeout and aiming to amp up the intensity of the combat. The sound design for weapons and abilities was functional, providing the necessary audio cues for gameplay. However, the absence of a roaring crowd—a key element of its own lore—was a noticeable omission that lessened the immersive impact of the “arena” setting.

Reception & Legacy

Critical and Commercial Reception
Upon its Early Access release, Hoverloop garnered a “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam from 40 user reviews (72% positive). Players praised the core movement, the fun local multiplayer, and the potential they saw. However, the negative reviews almost universally cited the lack of a player base, unfinished online features, and the eventual abandonment by the developers as fatal flaws.

The game failed to attract significant critical attention from major outlets. No official critic reviews are logged on MobyGames or Metacritic, cementing its status as a niche, overlooked title. Commercially, it remained a free-to-play curiosity with a small but dedicated player base; Steam data shows just over 1,500 owners, with a handful of players logging dozens of hours, likely in local multiplayer.

Lasting Legacy and Influence
Hoverloop’s legacy is one of unfulfilled potential and a cautionary tale. It stands as a monument to the risks of the Early Access model, especially for small teams. The ambition to create a live-service game with robust online features, a season pass, and constant content updates proved insurmountable.

Its influence on the industry is negligible in a direct sense, but it serves as an important historical case study. It exemplifies the immense challenge indie developers face when competing in the multiplayer-centric market and highlights the critical importance of nailing the core online experience at launch—or at least having a viable path to achieving it.

In a broader sense, it represents the end of an era for a certain type of ambitious, UE4-powered indie project that flourished in the late 2010s. It is a game remembered not for what it was, but for what it so passionately wanted to be.

Conclusion

Hoverloop is a tragicomedy of game development. Its vision was clear and passionate: a return to the visceral joy of couch competition, married with the slick presentation and customization of a modern free-to-play title. For a brief moment, with its fluid movement, stylish cyberpunk visuals, and infectious EDM score, it captured a glimmer of that dream.

Yet, it remains forever anchored in the harbor of “what if.” The failure to deliver on its central promise of a polished online multiplayer experience, followed by its abandonment, transformed it from a potential cult classic into a digital relic. It is not a bad game; in local split-screen, its core mechanics can still provide bursts of fun. But it is an incomplete one—a beautiful, high-concept drone whose battery died before it could ever truly take flight. Its place in history is secured not as a champion, but as a heartfelt, flawed, and ultimately humbled gladiator in the volatile arena of game development.