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"HOW. ABOUT. NO."
There's a person with a gun in my face who's about to blow me away. Whether this happens fast or slow depends entirely on what I do next, because in SUPERHOT time moves only when you move. As I try and sidestep the person's gun, their finger squeezes around the trigger and I end up restarting the level. The second time I realize I can just punch the other person, snatch their gun out of midair, and dispatch them with a clean shot to the head. When time moves at your discretion, pulling of split second stunts like this is a breeze.
SUPERHOT is a first-person shooter that has more in common with a puzzle game than a traditional shooter. Its challenges are short and sweet, dropping you into the middle of a bad situation that gets progressively worse. Often times you're surrounded, or staring down the barrel of a gun, mere moments away from destruction. Being able to manipulate time helps, but SUPERHOT constantly makes you feel like you need be doing two things at once.
So many times I would dispatch one enemy only to get shot from behind by another. On my second attempt, I would dispatch both of those enemies, only to realize there's a third and the gun I'm holding is now out of bullets. Figuring out a solution to that problem creates another, and so on until the stage is complete. The game's quick pacing, and even quicker restart button, make sure this trial-and-error process moves by at a steady pace, freeing you up to enjoy puzzling out how to "solve" each room.
This playstyle is complemented by a wry sense of humor the punctuates each stage. "ONE. MORE. DRINK." flashes across the screen, introducing a new stage where I'm at a bar being held at gunpoint. I'm unarmed, but by flinging cocktail glasses at my attacker I can steal their gun and turn the tables. "MORE. SHOTS." flashes on the screen as I start chucking drinks across the room.
SUPERHOT successfully completed its Kickstarter campaign last year, and the development team is hoping to have it ready for release on PC, Mac, Linux, and Xbox One later this year. In the meantime, you can check out the team's prototype version of the game on their official site, or try your hand at the original Quake using the same time-manipulation mechanics.
