“Superhot,” a new indie video game released on Feb. 25, brings something new to its genre. The game is at heart an action movie scene creator with a few interesting rules. There are no health bars, no slowly fading to red screens, nor any warnings of your imminent demise, only one shot to kill you and your enemies. There aren’t any ammo meters or drops; when your gun goes “click click,” that’s it. And finally, time only moves when you move, making this game a combination of interesting ideas that result in one of the most addicting and fun shooters I’ve played in a long time.
The story of “Superhot” is interesting, albeit slightly confusing. It follows the story of your character, who is given an illegal copy of the game by a friend. Slowly, the game begins to become more and more serious, with words popping up on the screen as if someone is watching you and judging you as you play.
However, the storyline becomes convoluted, incorporating some interesting yet poorly delivered metaphors relating to the evolution of virtual-reality technology and what our bodies really are. At the end of the story, which comes in around two or three hours of gameplay, all the levels in game are unlocked to replay, along with an endless mode and a challenge mode.
In this game, endless mode is exactly what it sounds like. With nine different levels to choose from, it’s just you, your abilities and an endless array of enemies, leading to an endless amount of fun. The challenge mode opens up a wide array of different challenges for the player as they go through the story levels once again.
The first challenge limits the player to only using a katana during the whole game. No punching or shooting, just you and your trusty sword, giving each level a new breath of life and challenge.
At its base, “Superhot” is about one thing and one thing only: the action. I can’t think of any other game that lets you pick off three enemies with your handgun, throw it at another enemy aiming at you with a shotgun who then throws it in the air, catch it and blast a hole through him. That is just one example of the many situations the game has put me in by itself, which is one of the defining attributes of “Superhot.” The game has a fantastic ability to create memorable, unscripted action sequences that just arrive out of the blue. Going back and watching your performance after a mission is like watching your own personal action movie.
If you’re a fan of shooters, action movies or just plain interesting games, I’d recommend giving “Superhot” a play. I give this new game an 8.5 out of 10.