My first introduction to the world of SUPERHOT came in 2017 when the game was ported to PlayStation 4 alongside the virtual reality component. While the visuals looked fairly basic, it was the gameplay that shone through immediately and kept me going back for months. Pulling off the perfect run and wiping out a whole slew of enemies is ultra-satisfying.
So now, three years later – or four if you played when the PC version first released in February 2016 – the SUPERHOT Team are back with a standalone expansion. This is no small addition though. It feels like a proper sequel, bringing upgrades to your character, new types of enemies and a LOT of levels to work your way through. Most impressively of all is that if you own the original game then you will be able to download Mind Control Delete for FREE.
The opening twenty minutes or so will feel very familiar. The gist, for those new to the series, is that you are in a simulation. In this world time only moves when you do. This allows you time to survey the scene and plan your attack. You can dodge bullets, throw objects at enemies forcing them to drop their weapon – which you can then catch in mid-air – and use against them. It’s every bit as cool as a scene from John Wick, minus the realistic visuals.
The game slowly introduces you to the new setup. The level hub is a set of nodes that expand as you complete them. Some are a collection of levels, while others open up new perks like a dash attack or making throwable objects become explosive. Levels are short and therefore don’t outstay their welcome. Each level ends by showing you a full-speed replay of the carnage you just inflicted, which never gets old.
When you enter a cluster of levels – which change in order all the time – every so often you will be given the choice of two random upgrades to apply. These can be to add more hearts, start each level with a random gun or a katana, guns having more ammo, faster reload times, faster movement and lots more. It’s a nice addition and one that allows a more tactical approach this time around.
Another new feature, later on, is enemies that aren’t fully made of this delicate red glass. Some or nearly all of their limbs can be made of the white clay from the environment, meaning you have to hit a specific area to kill them. This was a nice twist and forced you to be more accurate. It wasn’t always just their heads or torso either. Sometimes the enemies left leg, or right arm would be all that was exposed, giving you very little to aim at.
The level design is good. From auto shops to casinos the levels are tight but packed with cover and areas to manoeuvre. The graphical style remains completely unchanged, which isn’t a surprise seeing as this is an expansion/new game hybrid. I do love how SUPERHOT looks though. The world being coated in a matt white paint just looks so clean and beautiful. It makes seeing the enemies, presumably made of red glass, very easy to spot as well.
Going forward what I would like to see from the SUPERHOT Team is a game with very similar gameplay, but ultra-realistic graphics. The recent John Wick Hex was a cool idea, but the John Wick licence in this world would be one of the most incredible gaming experiences ever. It wouldn’t be the easiest game to make given the damage detection and detail that would be required, but the results would be spectacular. Especially when the level ends and you see it flow in real-time.
The trophy list comes packing an impressive 10 gold, 3 silver and just the 1 bronze. You’ll get up to about 40% with relative ease, including nabbing a gold for simply starting the game. However, later on, the difficulty does ramp up and with all the trophies tied to progression, you will need to complete everything to get the platinum.
Overall, SUPERHOT Mind Control Delete is a worthy successor to an outstanding game. It improves on the original with better level design, switchable perks and more diversity in the combat. It’s such a great formula for a game and one where you will turn on for 10 minutes and be glued to the screen for hours. I highly recommend picking this up, or if you have SUPERHOT already, downloading for free.
-VDZE
A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4 Pro.
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