SUPERHOT Review (PC)

excellent
key review info
  • Game: SUPERHOT
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
SUPERHOT battle sequence

SUPERHOT is the most innovative first-person shooter I have played recently, and I am not only saying this because the video game is making me to but because the title packs a lot of unique ideas that can push the entire genre forward and will delight a wide variety of players.

The entire experience is built around the brilliant concept that time, and therefore, enemies and the bullets they shoot, only move at full speed when the player acts in any way, which opens up a wide array of tactical opportunities and creates some extremely stylish combat sequences.

Video games have sought to capture the atmosphere and tension associated with action movies like The Matrix or any John Woo production for a long time and SUPERHOT is the first title that reaches that goal.

I raced enemies for weapons dropped to the floor, I punched opponents off ledges and jumped over moving cars, I dodged bullets (one of the most mundane aspects of the game) and carefully lined up my shots, all to get to the end of levels and once more hear the Super Hot, Super Hot, Super Hot chant that defines the game in many ways.

The title is developed by the Superhot Team and is being offered at the moment only on the PC, with plans to bring the experience to the Xbox One from Microsoft at some point in March.

Story

SUPERHOT offers a campaign mode that delivers a wide range of combat situations and asks the player to find the best way to move through them while both bits of narrative and instructions flash across the player's screen.

The narrative is also delivered through text messaging, with one clever trick that's repeated a few times too many and way too much screen manipulation, pushing the player through a short but interesting story in the techno-thriller genre.

It's both brief and ambiguous enough to keep gamers interested while they learn the core mechanics of SUPERHOT, and it touches, although with limited depth, on themes like individuality, the value of violence and the power of technology.

SUPERHOT bar fight
SUPERHOT bar fight

The campaign delivers some very enjoyable battles, but its main purpose is to show gamers the main mechanics and to teach them the tricks they need to go and enjoy the Endless Mode and the Challenges.

A range of options and modifiers can be applied to levels as the player seeks to deliver more kills, stay alive for as long as possible, complete levels fast and using only certain moves or weapons and unlock even more content to explore.

It's also worth exploring the rest of the directories that the video game features in the main menu for some interesting surprises and half-baked games that expand the weirdness of SUPERHOT, although they do not deliver more story details.

Gameplay

SUPERHOT borrows from a variety of genres, but at its core the game is a very innovative take on the first-person shooter, designed around the idea that time flows at a normal pace only when the player character moves and slows to a crawl when he stands still.

This means that gamers have all the time they need to line up shots, avoid incoming bullets and decide where they want to seek cover next, and that small incremental movements are the best way to deal with combat situations.

Both the player characters and their enemies take one bullet or melee attack with a weapon to die and punches, and thrown objects can also be used to knock opponents off balance and to get a chance to snatch their weapons out in the air.

Traditional shooters have trained players to move quickly and to go for the headshot, both very bad ideas in SUPERHOT, which wants gamers to think, create a plan, carefully implement it step by step and always go for the body to increase their chances of getting a hit.

Players need to first focus on the threats they can avoid, mainly bullets from the various weapons pointed in their direction, and constantly keep an eye out for the pink glow that shows another opponent is spawning in.

As the game progresses, more weapons are added, the density of the enemy forces increases, the levels become more complex, and the player also gains the ability to shift his personality into another body to disrupt tactical plans and gain better vantage points.

This is the only mechanic that feels a little forced and unnecessary, and I found myself mostly interested in finding non-identity shift solutions to the tactical puzzles, relying on classic movement and aiming to achieve the desired result.

SUPERHOT wisely delivers a real-time replay after every completed challenge, turning the incremental decisions a player has made into a smooth and deadly ballet.

Endless Mode gets very hard, very quickly (my top performance is currently 33) and gamers will need to constantly be aware of their surroundings to stay out of the patch of bullets and take down their enemies.

One of the best tactics is to use a weapon just to take out just one or two opponents and then throw it at the third to make sure that you secure another weapon and a new supply of bullets while stunning someone to get some breathing room.

Awareness is crucial for success in SUPERHOT, and the game's mechanics are so easy to pick up and the mistakes each gamer makes so clear that defeat always gets me pumped to try again and find ways to improve my style and performance.

Graphics and audio

SUPERHOT is carefully built to resemble the majority of its first-person shooter brethren while offering its highly charged individuality that serves to boost the unique nature of its mechanics and make the dance of death they create even more attractive to the player.

The environments, which range from bars and train stations to carefully constructed strongholds and prisons, are drawn in all white, with the lines and shapes giving gamers a clear idea of how they can use the pillars, tables, and windows to gain some protection from their opponents and their bullets.

In stark contrast with the locations stand the enemies themselves, created from red and orange polygons that shatter when they are defeated like fragile glass sculptures, with the point of final impact determining how the shards spread across the floors and walls.

The third element in this violent equation is represented by the gray weapons that always stand out against the background and move through the air in such gracious and sometimes improbable arcs.

SUPERHOT's biggest sound design achievement is to make the robotic and booming way in which the title is repeated after every level feel like both praise for the player who managed to deal with the challenges before him and a tease that even better is possible, that a higher level of Super Hot status is possible.


The Good

  • Time flows when the player moves mechanics
  • Tension-filled battles
  • Unique style
  • Level and mode variety

The Bad

  • Hotswitching feels a little unnecessary

Conclusion

SUPERHOT, with its focus on planning and impressive combat sequences, is a game that should be played by fans of the FPS genre but also by those who tend to criticize it for its lack of strategy or for the limited role it leaves open for planning.

The title combines innovation, centered around the idea that time only moves when the player acts, with simplicity, including a limited arsenal of weapons and moves to play around with, and style.

The developers at the Superhot Team understand that the modern first-person shooter experience is weighted down by story and by overly complicated mechanics, with studios far too interested in creating multiplayer modes that support long-term engagement rather than focusing on making each moment tense and joyous.

Playing SUPERHOT is fun even when I constantly fail because I know the game is now cheating in any way and that next time I have a chance to be more stylish, better prepared, smarter and faster to reach a new high score in Endless Mode or deal with another of the challenges.

story 8
gameplay 10
concept 10
graphics 9
audio 9
multiplayer 0
final rating 9.5
Editor's review
excellent
 

SUPERHOT Images (25 Images)

SUPERHOT battle sequenceSUPERHOT is super hotSUPERHOT station actionSUPERHOT animal attackSUPERHOT glass bloom
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