Kill red dudes in spectacular VR fashion — one satisfying sweat bead at a time.
Superhot VR
Developer: Superhot Team
Publisher: Superhot Team
Price: $24.99
Consoles: PS4 PSVR (Reviewed), PC
MonsterVine was provided a copy for review purposes.
“Super. Hot.”
“Super. Hot.”
So goes the computerized voice after you accomplish solving every set of Superhot VR‘s puzzle-shooter levels.
Much like in Superhot proper, you’re inside of a first-person computer program tasked in making your way through levels where your moves match 1:1 against faceless “red dudes” in a white background outlined by red polygonal enemies and black weapons/interactive objects.
Levels play out like an elaborate puzzle where your every look, twitch, rotation, ducking movement directly correlates to the enemies’ movement/shooting and it’s your job to react accordingly in as fluid a fashion as possible.
In PSVR, it works like a dream. It’s the platform’s second killer app if you count Resident Evil 7 as the first — an opinion I firmly subscribe to. And a more pleasant and accessible one at that as terrifying horror is not everyone’s cup of tea necessarily.
For Superhot veterans on the fence, you should know that Superhot VR is similar to the original, but diverges in a few significant ways.
To start, Superhot VR differs in that it’s set to instantly kill enemies whether you’re setting up clean head shots, landing a single punch, or throwing, say, an ashtray or camera at them.
Other distinctions include the lack of a full replay of the just-completed level and the narrative taking a small step back, whereas in Superhot the story is a not-insignificant part of the experience.
That being said, Superhot VR has the upper hand in sheer immersiveness and, as one example illustrates, successfully provides the bullet-dodging sensation portrayed by Neo in The Matrix as you physically bob and weave out of a barrage of bullets flying uncomfortably close.
The 19 levels serve as a pseudo-expansion to Superhot, but hold up on their own right and even provide a subtle twist to the narrative stitching them all together. Enough to keep you going “just one more level” as sweat pours down your forehead trying to keep your movements as slight as possible when danger is imminent.
Superhot gives you a good sense of how quickly you can expire, but it doesn’t compare to bullets narrowly missing your head or giving yourself another shot at life as you block bullets with your weapon or hands barely in the nick of time in VR.
And while Sony’s PSVR has its shares of limitations — the play area can be limiting and Move controllers could be more accurate — Superhot VR adequately makes up for them by smartly employing auto-reset and manual reset of your positioning a la Until Dawn: Rush of Blood.
Go for the standing orientation, which allows for a wider range of motion, versus sitting and you’ll have a great time. Sitting is adequate, but as the levels progress, trying to reach that shotgun placed just out of reach can prove almost impossible.
At 19 levels, Superhot VR is not the longest game you’ll play, but will still hold your attention for a good 2-3 hours and that play time is extended with speed runs and replaying levels hunting down floppy discs. All dependent on skill level and patience, of course, as you dodge, duck, and punch your way through every set of challenges.
Final Word
Superhot VR is PSVR’s second killer app — behind Resident Evil 7 — that further proves virtual reality’s potential to fully immerse you in an interactive action experience. You can finally fulfill your Neo power fantasy while you literally sweat every movement to dodge bullets whizzing by, grabbing an enemy’s weapon, and shooting red dudes out of sight with arms spread out purely based on FEEL. It might be short but it has a healthy amount of replay value and at $25, it’s a great package.
– MonsterVine Review Score: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
