It is based on the 1983 game Lode Runner from Broderbund.

While each level in the original fit on a single screen, Hyper Lode Runner has a scrolling playfield.

Hyper Lode Runner received mixed reviews upon release.

[3] Despite noting the game's "decent gameplay" and the inclusion of an edit mode, Electronic Gaming Monthly found Hyper Lode Runner to offer little enjoyment as an unremarkable port of the original title.

[1] In a retrospective review, Dave Frear of Nintendo Life described the game as "enjoyable" but critiqued the game's "off-putting" difficulty, expressing disappointment with the lack of a save function for the level editor.