SUPERHOT

Before SuperHot was released, I was familiar with the game thanks to its demo. I played through the demo countless times, loving its originality and style. Upon release, the number of bad reviews kept me from buying it, opting to wait for a decent sale. When the price was finally right, I purchased it, and I must say, despite paying considerably less than full price for it, I am still very disappointing with it. Calling it short is an understatement, in that I beat it in under 2 hours. The game itself isn't much longer than the demo, and doesn't actually include much else that wasn't in the demo, at least from a game play perspective. You are given a string of very short, unconnected levels. The transitions between levels are often so abrupt and jarring that the experience is more frustrating than enjoyable. You never feel like you are able to play for more than a few seconds, and are constantly yanked away from the game. Sometimes quite literally, as one "story" element of the game actually requires you to Quit the game, and reload it. I'm not joking. I felt like I was being teased with a game, but not actually allowed to play it. They spent more time in an effort to create a augmented reality-esque experience, at the cost of actual gameplay. The only time the game allows you to really experience the gameplay mechanics for what they are is after you beat the game. It unlocks endless mode which allows you to challenge yourself in a single arena as long as you can stay alive. This single element is more successful and more enjoyable than the entirety of the single player game. The only problem was that I was so frustrated with the game by this point, I didn't have much interest in continuing. Its unfortunate, because this game had so much promise. I can honestly say that the free demo is a better representation of the idea behind this game, and is also far more enjoyable than the final product.

Alright so, let's think back to Portal. A first person shooter with a spin on the genre, wanting to tech-demo the game they released a 1-2 hour version of it. The difference is, SUPER HOT here is $25 by itself. Portal was $25 in The Orange Box and $10 by itself at the time. SUPER HOT has one of the most pretentiously "hurr hurr we're self aware" stories I've seen, everything feels forced, everything screams "pretentious indie-game" from the DOS menu, to the "NOW JUMP" (press space to jump) "GOOD DOG" lines of the *AHEM* 'story', to the "OH LOOK, WE DISABLED THE ESCAPE KEY SO YOU CAN'T QUIT! WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW?!" only for Alt-F4 to still work. And if you have multiple monitors, good luck getting it to open in your primary... No options No control-rebinding But all that aside, how is the gameplay? WSAD = Move Left Click = Shoot Right Click = Throw Space = Jump E = "Special Ability" While holding still the game runs at 1/100th speed (making the "time stands still when you do" a lie) But it does allow for some nice highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkQgotnFV9U Not bad for just the gameplay but I wouldn't suggest paying more than $5 for it in its current state. $10 if you REALLY like the concept.

The campaign is 3 hours at most and has a lot of filler cutscenes. The gameplay mechanics are very good, but there's not nearly enough content to justify. Wait for a sale

Gameplay is great. But the story is super annoying and should've never been part of this. Instead of trying to be clever with small storytelling elements, this game is all over your face (and condescending about it too) with its story and even prevents you sometimes from playing it.

There are not a lot of truly unique games out there. Even less of them can humble you and make you feel like a gaming god in the very same level. At it's heart Superhot is a four dimensional puzzle game, experienced in first person. It rewards persistence, focus and experimentation. There's really nothing like it. It's so good I bought it twice. (just before MIND CONTROL DELETE comes out, which is free if you own the original!) I acknowledge and do not disagree with the other reviewers who have stated that the game's story is quite short and it's a bit overpriced for that experience. Superhot is a much better value proposition for those who get really hooked by the completely unique gameplay, and will keep coming back (as I have over the years) to better their Endless scores and challenge themselves in the other arena-style modes. If you're concerned about it not have enough hours in it for you at full price, buy it on special right now, and you'll get the standalone expansion MIND CONTROL DELETE for free when it comes out in a few days. You can't lose, I promise you!