The first person shooter genre has been done a lot in recent years, with most major developers trying to add new twists to the gameplay. Sadly, most of them have turned out to be the proverbial Call of Duty clone.
Even Call of Duty developers noticed this and seem to be trying to change things up, only to start taking ideas from everybody else. The last game to actually add something new to the genre was Titanfall , which put mechs and parkour into what would otherwise have been just another game in the genre.
A surprising new first person shooter has emerged with a puzzle element. The game is called Superhot , and it takes the concept of the infamous “bullet time” effect and brings it a step further. This game uses the element of time and gives relative control of it to the player.
When the player moves, so does time. When the player stands still, time stops.
When the developers brought the game to browsers it was an instant hit, even becoming the fastest game to be accepted on Steam Greenlight. The developers are using the Kickstarter campaign funding to help add graphic improvements, as well as weapons, arenas, enemy types, and an infinite arena mode. It might even be given Oculus Rift support so gamers get that genuine first person experience.
Instead of trying to go for full realism, the developers of this novel first person shooter are sticking to the stylistic look that made the game a success. The environment is various shades of white and black, while the weapons and enemies are red, making it clear what the dangers are as you move around the arena.
While it’s doubtful that Superhot will be made into a multiplayer title, given its gameplay rules, “lone wolf” gamers will have a great time attempting to solve each arena after it gets sufficient Kickstarter campaign funding.
SUPERHOT is now live on Kickstarter! Check out the campaign to see how we’ve upgraded the game! https://t.co/MqddizaiK2
— SUPERHOT (@SUPERHOTTHEGAME) May 14, 2014
Donors who give $14 will receive a digital copy of Superhot for PC, Mac, and Linux. $25 will get you a digital art book and soundtrack. $200 will grant you early access when Superhot is in its testing phase, even before the beta is released. Several more cool rewards are listed on the Kickstarter campaign page, some including being given the chance to co-design parts of the game.
Sorry console fans, there are no plans at this point to bring this very different first person shooter to the machines that Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo built. The Superhot release date is set for June 2015.
[image via weekendwarriors]