SuperHot: Mind Control Delete Review

SuperHot: Mind Control Delete doesn’t have a story. Players are basically thrown into randomly generated levels and have to use whatever weapon they find to kill incoming enemies. It also doesn’t require the original Superhot game as Mind Control Delete is a standalone experience. Players who already own Superhot will receive SuperHot: Mind Control Delete for free; unless you were an Xbox Live Gold subscriber and got the game for free back in March 2018.

Superhot is a unique FPS where time moves only when the player moves. It’s a very interesting concept that sounds good on paper, but unfortunately, the execution makes it feel like a stuttering mess, or a game riddled with bugs. This could be a very polarizing game; either you enjoy the uniqueness of it or you hate it because of the way everything is played out. If you shoot your firearm, you can’t just wait and see the bullet hit the target. If you start moving again, the bullet will go its normal speed and unless you’ve timed your shot perfectly, there’s a possibility you’ll miss. In short, moving makes it feel like a regular FPS while stopping stops everything hindering you from planning out attacks.

If there’s an upside to this game it’s the fact that by not moving and/or moving slowly, you can see the enemy’s projectiles coming allowing you to dodge them à la Matrix; which is actually pretty cool, but it does have a limited appeal and obviously you can’t base a game’s fun factor on this single mechanic. Also if you’re not moving, you can’t fire your weapon, which has very limited ammo, willy-nilly.

The game’s is split into short levels where after killing a set amount of enemies, you move on to the next level. The lack of clarity of objectives to do is kind of annoying. While I can appreciate, like anyone, games where you just shoot without a purpose, SuperHot: Mind Control Delete gives the impression that it exists for nothing. If you want a game to just shoot enemies might I suggest Killing Floor 2 or both Left 4 Dead games (which are both backward compatible on Xbox One)? It also makes it impossible to track your progress; so you never really have any idea how far you’ve progressed.

Another positive aspect of SuperHot: Mind Control Delete is the weapon variety. While don’t expect Wolfenstein level of weapon diversity, this game has a bit of everything in small quantities. There are a few guns that can be found but you can also pick up knives, ninja stars, and even frying pans that can be used to punish your enemies by either smacking when with it or throwing it at them.

It also comes across very unstable. While the tutorial features one-hit death, the main game allows players for three hits, which can be tracked by three hearts in the top left corner. Problem is, it’s not consistent. You can still get one hit killed even with full health from attacks that shortly before simply removed one heart of health. Aside from a few back attacks, through my playthrough, I could never manage to figure out how that would happen.

One thing that stands out is definitely the game’s presentation. SuperHot: Mind Control Delete has an incredibly unique, even minimalistic, looking design. The levels, which procedurally generated and well thought out, are basically all designed in white while your character and enemies are all red-orange-ish. The game’s audio leaves a lot to be desired as there’s not much there. Sometime after and before the narrator will spout out, for no clear reason, “Super” and “Hot”. Doesn’t bring anything new to the game and it’s just another mechanic that makes it come across buggy.

If you enjoyed the original Superhot, you’ll obviously be happy of getting more of it. For everyone else looking for an enjoyable FPS, you might want to look elsewhere. This is a case of a concept sounding good on paper, but with a failed execution. Its unique mechanic making feel like a stuttering mess; as if the game was not finished. This is an easy pass.