Life—a simulation as we know it, living inside the grid in a computerized world. In the game, but — really inside the game. You encounter a trial and complete it and hear the chant “SUPER HOT, SUPER HOT,” only to encounter a harder trial ahead. The game wants players to give up, but it also wants you to stay. This is “Superhot”.
The first-person shooter “Superhot” was first released in Feb. 2016 by the developers “Superhot Team” on Windows, Mac, and Linux and has since released on Xbox One, PS4, VR, and the newest edition, Nintendo Switch in Aug. 2019.
The game is very simple and clean in design as the only colors are white, red, and black. The enemies are also red and made up of what seems like glass as they shatter when struck or shot. Speaking of weapons, the weapon mechanics are also simple, as any black object can be used to throw or strike an enemy. If the weapon is a gun, it can of course be shot like a gun in real life as machine guns shooting multiple bullets, pistols shooting a single bullet with recoil, and shotguns shooting a big burst of shot.
The main thing that makes this game stand out from other games is the aspect of time. The faster players maneuver in the game, the faster game play may go. This comes in handy when players are dodging bullets as they may need to dodge them faster or slower. The game can go from a slo-mo movie to a rapid action thriller — that decision lies in your hands.
The game starts out as a friendly game to the main character that he and his friend play on his PC and then takes over his system and his mind the further he goes in the game. The game will try to force players to do things, which many seem strange or like a trap. There are also abstract messages the player receives which makes more sense when the player progresses through the game.
The game loses its simplistic touch in a way later in the game as it introduces unique mechanics such as soul/shape shifting which allows the player to “shift” or move into different objects, and even enemies. This makes the game faster paced and strategic.
Due to the strategy and fragility of the game, I got frustrated many times during the game, even turning the game off in the middle of the level and taking a mental break from the game to regroup my strategies. This game is meant for people who can think and strategize quickly, making the game difficulty vary by person. I talked to other players who were able to complete the game in a couple hours, to a couple weeks, making the game a great play for the speed running community as players can compete for the shortest amount of time to complete the game.
Overall, I think this game is a great game in terms of creativity, difficulty, and strategy and while I got frustrated many times throughout the game, I genuinely had fun throughout my playthrough of the game. I also recommend the game as it is a value game as it can be found very cheap from $5-$25 on all platforms and even can be found on the Xbox Game pass subscription service, which is what I downloaded the game from.