Review: SUPERHOT VR

• Platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PSVR (Reviewed)
• Developer: SUPERHOT Team
• Publisher: SUPERHOT Team
• Release Date: July 21st, 2017

He’s surrounded. Three armed enemies charging forward with pistols aimed straight at his head. He makes quick work of the first enemy, grabbing a nearby ashtray and sending straight for his temple, while catching the pistol in mid air. He dodges gunfire from the remaining two, before picking them off with headshots in succession. This may sound like an action scene from an upcoming Jason Bourne or John Wick film, but this is one of the many high octane scenarios you’ll find yourself in when playing SUPERHOT VR.

SUPERHOT VR is a first person shooter where everything plays out in slow motion. The real kicker in SUPERHOT VR is that time only progresses when the player moves. The game plays out in a series of simulations, filled with hostile attackers who are relentless in their pursuit of taking your head off. SUPERHOT VR plays similarly to Hotline Miami, in that it takes just one shot to kill your enemies, as well as just one shot for your enemies to kill you. If you’re familiar with the concept you’re more than aware that you will die… a lot.

Each simulation begins with the player mostly being in an uncompromising situation, either surrounded or without a weapon good enough to be considered a fair fight. Using time to your advantage, you must carefully plan out your attack while keeping an eye on your surroundings. You typically begin each sequence within arm’s reach of something you can use as a weapon, which could be a knife, a bottle, an ash tray, or even a stapler. The intensity and difficulty of the simulations quickly ramp up, and enemies come equipped with more firepower such as uzis and sawed-off shotguns.

SUPERHOT VR‘s story is a bit of a fourth wall break, as you play a character tucked away in a cramped room with nothing but some old desktop computers, playing a VR simulation. As the player you boot up a series of floppy disks and strap on the VR headset, sending you into the series of combat sequences. The game’s plot is very subtle, but towards its end becomes a complete mind-blower.

SUPERHOT VR requires the use of the Playstation Move controllers, which act as your hands. Using the triggers on the two controllers you can close your hands to pick up objects or make a fist, and objects can be thrown using the move buttons. As you move the controllers time will progress, but the player can look around freely while time is still frozen, which comes in very handy when planning your attack.

SUPERHOT VR is definitely not a game to be played by sitting on your couch, and you’ll need a lot of real estate to play the game effectively. The game will have you strafing left and right, crouching on the floor, and maybe even bending backwards to dodge bullets like your Neo. It can be hard to keep track of where you’re standing after all the dodging and crouching, so make sure there are no fragile valuables in your vicinity or they will catch a Move controller haymaker.

Since the game does revolve heavily around a lot of movement and crouching, the game occasionally causes some headaches with play area boundaries. Sometimes when crouching for an item which seems well within your reach you’ll exit the play area and won’t be able to grab it. Also if you’re not aware of your positioning you can back yourself into a corner with no way to dodge a bullet spray. Tracking can also become a bit of an issue with the Move controllers, especially when it comes to aiming guns. Occasionally when you are holding a gun it will feel like you’re holding it a bit of an angle, causing you to change your aim to compensate. The throwing mechanics also take quite a bit of time to get used to, as objects don’t really go where you intend them until you practice pairing the motion with the release of the button.

Despite its tracking issues, SUPERHOT VR is one of the best games the Playstation VR has to offer. The game will make you feel like a badass action star, while looking completely ridiculous to those who watch you play. If you ever wanted to know what it feels like to be a time-bending killing machine, SUPERHOT VR is the game for you.

A Playstation 4 PSVR review code of SUPERHOT VR was provided by SUPERHOT Team