Game – SUPERHOT
Release Date – PC – February 25th, 2016/ Xbox One – May 3rd, 2016
Platform – Xbox One(Review), Playstation 4, Playstation Vita
Developer/Publisher –SUPERHOT Team/SUPERHOT Team
Price – $24.99
Reviewed By – Weston Terry
Every move counts in this fantastic first-person shooter/puzzle hybrid. Every move you make allows your enemies, as well as their movements, to move as well. Unlike moving quickly in most shooters, this game wants you to take a few seconds to sit still, look around, and make your plan of attack. One small step is only a fraction of a second, so take your time and find your way through each puzzle.
You complete a level once you eliminate all of the enemies. Sometimes, it is as simple as taking shots with a pistol, or punching an enemy a few times to take them out. Other times, however, you may find yourself in a small room with three armed enemies! Taking the time to disarm, attack, and take out the entire group of enemies may take you over fifteen or so minutes (once you take into account restarting because you keep falling!), but in-game, only five seconds have passed. Obviously, the calculation of movement when time is standing still is where the meat of the game is, and during those times, it is a lot of fun.
SUPERHOT has 32 total levels in its story mode. The character you are playing has a friend that has cracked a new game, and has sent you the first few levels. I don’t want to spoil anymore, but the story does get a little more interesting as you go. The things you are directed to do towards the end were a little meta, but I enjoyed it. It was fantastic, and left me wanting more!
When a game leaves you wanting more, it is usually considered a good thing. However, with the main story being short, it did the opposite. I felt like there just wasn’t enough “meat” for the story to last. A few new mechanics, or even levels designed around some mechanics, would have made the game feel longer. For the most part, the game was just multiple levels with the same skills that you already had.
To fill the void of a short campaign, however, are two additional modes. One mode is simply a more challenging take on the previous 32 levels, such as having “Katanas Only” missions. It was fun, but simple. Same concepts as the story but only allowed the player to do certain things. Endless Mode was the mode that quickly became my favorite. It was addicting to try and survive in an area as long as possible while continuing to rack up kills. The Tetris-style “play until you can’t” concept really kept me engaged. I was trying to keep besting my previous score until way late into the night (my wife would argue morning…)!
SUPERHOT is fantastic. I believe that it is a terrific game that just didn’t have enough levels. The rest of the content is great, and I do believe there is enough here to keep you entertained for hours. And, once VR headsets are more available, I can see this game becoming a foundation for other games to build on. The SUPERHOT Team did a great job taking an old idea, adding a unique layer, and creating something that was a lot of fun to play. If you find this game on sale, then pick it up. It will be worth every penny.[rwp-review id=”0″]
