SUPERHOT
Year: 2016
Rating: T
Time Played: 4+ hours
When I started playing PC games a year ago, I recalled being intrigued by a game where time only moves when you do. The game? SUPERHOT. Don’t let the low-polygon count and high-contrast graphics distract you from how fun this game is to play. The core gameplay mechanic is so excellent that this aesthetic works to its advantage. After all, there’s something satisfying about watching your enemies shatter into thousands of pieces in slow motion.
While the function of this first-person shooter is like SUPERHOT VR, they are two different games. I found the VR version easier to pick up and play, mostly because I haven’t played many first-person shooters on the PC. I eventually trained myself to adapt to the tighter keyboard and mouse controls to make it to the end credits. Additionally, I have played through SUPERHOT on the Nintendo Switch, which is somewhere in-between the ease of the VR version and the two-handed approach of the PC version. In either version of the game, the fact that you have some time to think about your moves and attacks helps get you used to the controls.
This version of SUPERHOT had a better plot, even if it was merely a vehicle for you to play through a set of first-person shooter puzzles. I enjoyed seeing each level’s “real-time” footage after I beat it in slow-motion since it made me look like I knew what I was doing in a pseudo-John Wick action sequence. While I think everyone should play a version of SUPERHOT, I still wish any of these versions were longer in playtime. After all, this game is more about surviving in this time-warped world than taking out as many enemies as possible, even if it takes multiple attempts to do so.
A time-warp first-person shooter that’s worth playing at least once, I give SUPERHOT 4.0 stars out of 5.
