GAME REVIEW: SuperHot VR (Quest)

 (Pipeline - Alan Parsons)

Some games come out ahead of their time. They arrive, they have so much potential, but the software and hardware they leverage for gameplay just isn't...there yet.

SuperHot is a perfect example of this.  And yet, it's not.

The game itself launched in February 2016 and was immediately lauded as a novel way to approach the first-person shooter genre.  You can check out the launch trailer below:

People flocked to this game to check out its unique mechanics for time management and combat.  Then they dropped a version for virtual reality in December of that same year, and folks were met with a problem that no one had ever really encountered before.

Is it better in VR, or just different?

THE SHORT VERSION:

Different.  And good.

THE LONG VERSION:

SuperHot was a unique and interesting game when it came out on PC and console.  The addition of a VR version of the game didn't just give players a new platform to play on though.  The use of VR and physical movement to control time and experience the game pretty dramatically changed the way that the entire experience was taken in.  Anyone who has gamed for any length of time on both PC and console will tell you that there's a Night/Day difference in interface between the two consoles.  PC gamers almost universally have a HUGE advantage in terms of control and precision because of pointing devices.  All that being said, the move from PC to console for most games does not fundamentally change the way one experiences the game.

Virtual Reality, on the other hand...

VR introduces entirely new gameplay mechanics in the form of your behavior in actual 3D space.  There are a number of elements that might not phase you at all playing with a PC or console setup.  Want to move?  Fine, you just push the right button and you move.  Want to crouch?  Same.  Bullets flying around you?  That's of no real consequence. You can move -- with precision, natch! - out of the way!  None of that works the same in VR.

In VR, your movement is restricted by your...well, your movement.  Seriously, go back up and watch that trailer for the initial launch of the game.  The player can be seen moving all over the damn place, running, jumping, climbing trees, and putting on make-up while they're up there!

Anybody?  Okay, moving on...

You CANNOT do that in VR unless you have a HUGE play space.  (Fun Fact, Oculus Quest owners actually have a huge advantage here in that we can go to a larger play area, set up our Guardian Boundary, and then frolic to our heart's content!)  This DRASTICALLY changes the way that the entire game is played.  It doesn't quite turn it into a different game entirely, but it comes damned close to doing so.  That raises another important question, maybe THE important question.  We know the game is very different in VR, but should it have even been ported to VR in the first place?

The answer is a resounding 'YES', as if my Short Version from earlier wasn't clear enough.

While the game might be very different to play in VR versus on a console or PC, it's still a thrilling, immersive, wildly playable experience with a VR headset on.  You are a hundred times more invested in the gameplay when the bullets are flying at your head versus your TV screen.  Your heart rate absolutely raises as you crouch behind an imaginary desk while you wait for a perfect shot to line up.

Oh, and don't get me started on how absolutely GAGA the psionic ability is to use in VR.  That's gratification for you, right there.

SuperHot was already acknowledged as a good game when it came out in early 2016.  The move to VR has resulted in a game that is experienced in a wildly different fashion, one that curtails certain aspects of gameplay at the same time that it opens up entirely new ones.  One thing remains the same though:

It's still fantastic.

...Ish.

See, SuperHot VR has one really big problem.  Worse, it's a STUPID problem that the developers could easily have solved with a tiny amount of extra work.  The problem in question is the infuriating lack of a menu system.

There's a brief moment when the game starts where you can hold down two buttons on your controllers to enter into a settings menu, but there are problems here too:

- First, you need to know what buttons you're hitting.  Unless you've memorized your controllers' layouts, you won't know where the A and X buttons are without looking.  Which you cannot do while your headset is on.  And for some crazy-ass reason, your controllers are not virtually displayed on screen during this part of the startup process.  AUGH!

- The settings menu is where you find your save data.  Navigating to it is clumsy, as is the fact that you have to work so hard to get to such a critical part of gameplay.

- WHERE IS MY ABILITY TO GO BACK AND SELECT PREVIOUS LEVELS OF THE GAME?  It's supposed to be there.  People swear it should be there.  It ain't.  It's not in the starting room with the computers either.  Even after I beat the game.

- Why can't I get to a menu system at any time by pressing the MENU BUTTON on my left controller?!  Why can I ONLY get to it when the game is starting up?

It's frustrating that an incredible game like SuperHot has such an obvious problem with an even more obvious solution.  Still, someone once said that's like talking about the Burj Khalifa and bitching about the bathroom fixtures.  You're sort of missing the point.