SUPERHOT Review

SUPERHOT Review Screenshot 1

Superhot is a unique first-person shooter, which was created by Superhot Team originally for the 2013 7 Day FPS Challenge. The game was originally released as a browser-based game. We are now getting a full release for PC, OS X and Linux on February 25th and an Xbox One version launching in March. The game was greenlit in just five days, which proved it had a strong following. Plans are also in place for Oculus Rift support for the popular VR Headset.

You might be thinking we already have too many FPS games, but this truly offers a completely unique and interesting shooter experience. Whilst the game controls like a normal shooter, where you have to kill multiple targets, but this game only progresses forward in time when you move. This makes the game feel more strategy based and each scenario almost feel like mini puzzles. Time never actually comes to a complete standstill, but when you’re not moving enemies and bullets move very slowly. The game doesn’t really have a story of any kind, and the characters look minimalistic. The does start in an interesting way, with you booting up an .exe file that loads up the game.

Superhot takes the ideas and mechanics from the game Braid, and implements it into a first-person shooter. When you move your character or even move the crosshair, time moves forward. You can move full pace, or edge slowly. This is a great way of slowing down, and assessing the environment. Like I said, each mini scenario plays like a puzzle, where you need to dodge incoming attacks and take out all the bad guys. You can melee attack, as well as picking up dropped weapons, which is vital as ammo is limited. The game feels very much inspired by The Matrix, Max Payne and other time based games, but it still feels completely unique. I have certainly never played a shooter like this before.

SUPERHOT Review Screenshot 2

What makes this gameplay mechanic so fun and interesting, is the ability to assess each situation. You have time to see how may enemies there are, how many of them have guns and then time your shots to perfection. Most first-person shooters these days are fast paced, hectic and generally chaotic. This game feels precise, considered and almost feels turn-based. You have to take reloading into consideration, which I thought actually worked really well and added another layer of gameplay.

I found the best way to play the game was to firstly scope out the area, then move in short bursts, allowing you to empty your clip and then reload. It feels really satisfying to place a long distance shot, and then dodge incoming bullets. The game does get pretty hard later on, but never to the point where it became punishing or frustrating. If I died, it was my fault, and each area takes a bit of trial and error in order to succeed. The stages in the game are very short, but this works well and ultimately feels very satisfying to complete a perfect run.

I played the game on my PC, which runs Windows 10, a GTX 970, with 16gb RAM. The game ran perfectly, which is very important with this type of game as every frame counts. You need the game to feel tight, responsive and exact in order to beat the enemies. The game is coming out on Xbox One, and the team have been working to make sure the game runs well.

SUPERHOT Review Screenshot 3

The presentation of the game looks minimalistic, sleek and modern. I really enjoyed the overall style of the game, which reminded me a bit of Mirrors Edge. The environments a bright white, with interesting environmental areas of cover. The enemies are bright red, and stand out against the white wash backdrop. It feels immensely satisfying to shoot enemies, and sees them shatter into thousands of pieces, making it look like they are made of glass. The game doesn’t feel violent or gruesome, which is a change from modern-day shooters. Also the sound design is great and I enjoyed how the sound effects would slow down and speed up, depending on how fast you moved.

I didn’t know what to expect when jumping into Superhot, but overall I was pleasantly surprised with just how much I enjoyed it. I’m not a massive first person shooter player, but I do enjoy the occasional single player FPS, over multiplayer games. The gameplay is unique, and it feels responsive and compact. I enjoyed the challenge of beating each of the mini stages, which feel hugely satisfying. The world looks simple, but the minimalistic approach works really well. I would hugely recommend this game, and has been one of my favourite FPS games recently.

Rating 8

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Get the latest game reviews, news, features, and more straight to your inbox