SUPERHOT MIND CONTROL DELETE: RED, WHITE, and BLACK, AGAIN

SUPERHOT:

SUPERHOT: REDHOT

SUPERHOT MIND CONTROL DELETE: RED, WHITE, and BLACK, AGAIN 

Time to Beat: 19.3 Hours

In 2017, against weak competition, SUPERHOT won Awkward Mixture's Best Game of the Year. This year the SUPERHOT Team released a sequel, uh, DLC … expansion? It's difficult to describe the relation between SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE and its predecessor. It's a standalone game, but it's similarity makes it difficult to categorize. Perhaps that is why the developer gave a free copy to all owners of the original game.

These shared similarities might mean minor repetition, but I plan to focus on the differences. To recap, in SUPERHOT time only moves when the player moves. But time passes infinitesimally even if the player doesn't do anything, presumably because the character needs to breath. A single hit to the enemy kills, and a single hit to the player kills them as well.

The original SUPERHOT was short, even with the extras. MIND CONTROL DELETE doubles the length in both categories. It does this in an awkward fashion. Beating a level in SUPERHOT opened up the next level. MIND CONTROL DELETE offers options. The navigation screens is a connection of nodes, with wires between them. The player can follow the most direct path to the ending, or search out additional challenges. In either case, MIND CONTROL DELETE reuses the same thirty-two locations repeatedly. A player with 15 hours probably visited each location a half dozen times. Areas include the Disco (with loud repetitive music), the Dojo (with plenty of throwing stars), and the Lab (lots of bottles). Each Node includes roughly six battles. To beat a battle the player doesn't need to kill all the enemies, but a random number between 8 and 11 enemies. Because of this low kill count, each battle is fast, but there are so many of them. Unlike the original SUPERHOT, the player has more than one health. They have two, or more depending on abilities. After completing all the battles in a Node, all abilities are stripped from the player. Losing all of hearts at any one time in the Node restarts the Node. Restarting loses a significant amount of player effort, since each node takes 15 to 30 minutes to beat.

As mentioned above, MCD introduces abilities. The game has two types of abilities; Core and Hack. At the beginning of every Node the player chooses one Core ability, like More (start with three hearts instead of two), Charge (can move to the targeted enemy), or Recall (use the force to call back a thrown katana). Hack abilities are chosen after every two battles in a node. The player choses between two randomly offered hacks. Hack examples include, rndgun (the player starts with a random gun – normally the player starts with nothing), ricochet (any bullets fired by the player ricochet off surfaces), and lightreflx (bullets slow down when they are near the player). Some hacks are more powerful than others, but the best used hacks are those that combine and compliment each other. It is difficult to build the best combination, because the player only picks from two options. If I did a second playthrough I wouldn't learn weaker hacks, as they clog the options. One of the most powerful builds involves the katana.

Katanas received a buff from the original SUPERHOT. Instead of cutting bullets, they reflect them, and if defall.hack, reflecting a single bullet, reflects all bullets in the air! Unfortunately for the computer, the katana wielding Red Dudes only block bullets, instead of reflecting them. But like in SUPERHOT they charge in, delivering a katana to any player that prefers the swift sword to the pistol. Some areas of particular maps can be defended indefinitely with a katana, especially with one or two relevant hacks.

Other cool hacks include supthrow and grenade. Throwing objects is a viable strategy. There are two types of throwable items. Some, whether large or small, merely stun the enemy. They break when they make contact. Think bottles, computers, guns, and fish. Then there are objects I would describe as “sharp” or with a long edge. Pens, katana, throwing stars, and an artist's palette fit in this category. These kill with one or two hits, and never break (unless shot). Supthrow makes “sharp” objects move faster, always kill, and bounce back to the player (they don't hurt the player). The artist's palette becomes a boomerang, the throwing star a deadly Frisbee. A supathrow palette (or star) is better than a gun, since it never runs out of ammunition. Grenade.hack makes any throw object explode, like a grenade. This ability removes the need for a gun, since areas are full of random objects. Throwing has a weakness. Sometimes what looks like a good throw (especially with an unwieldy object) clips something (a wall, the floor, another object) unexpectedly, obstructing the intended trajectory.

More game changing than the hacks, are the new enemies. SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE introduces spiky Red Dudes who explode when killed, Red Blobs that function like proximity mines, Red Dudes carrying Red Guns that shatter on death, and White Guys with only one Red Limb (or torso or head). Additionally the player, in unlocking more Core abilities, unleashes the Encrypted. These three enemies are unkillable and use the relevant Core ability against the player. The DOG, with the Charge Core, is the most dangerous, but Nindza and the Addict shouldn't be underestimated either. MCD also adds at least one new weapon, the Railgun. Though it carries only three shots, its bullets move much faster, making it dangerous when wielded by a Red Dude, and deadly in the player's hands. Combine it with killreload (the player's gun reloads instantly with each kill), and the player can shatter three enemies in a half second.

Some levels manipulate the player's perspective. Sometimes the player's ability to sees distance parabolically. Close objects appear normal, but three feet away they seem like nine, and anything standing nine away is beyond sight. The effect is replicated for vertical distances. Another effect allows the player to see enemies fine, but walls appear offset from reality. Both of these effects are disorienting.

Though there are many changes, the key strategies of MIND CONTROL DELETE remain. Manage the crowd to prevent being overwhelmed. Stay aware of all enemies, and nearby enemy spawn locations. Eliminate or dodge the most dangerous enemies. Use terrain, and enemy positioning to avoid attacks or explosions. And enemies hate it when the player runs in a zigzag, because they shoot where the player is going.

The original SUPERHOT had unique levels, and used them to tell a story of addiction and violence. MIND CONTROL DELETE continues the theme, but the story is reduced to favor the gameplay. There are few special levels. The developer tries to unsettle the player with numerous “Endings”. I saw The END at least three times before finishing. The story is less compelling with less emphasis. And it ends with an in game loading screen which lasts eight hours. It was patched down to a two and a half hour wait by the time I played the game. I left MCD running as I completed other tasks.

Once the player finishes they can check out the Error Nodes. These feature fiendishly difficult challenges. In Error 1 all enemies carry red weapons, while Error 2 has only white enemies. I didn't finish every challenge. Even at 19 hours in, MIND CONTROL DELETE contains plenty of additional content.

In Conclusion,

SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE can't possibly recreate the feeling of its predecessor. It includes new weapons and foes, but amplifies repetitive gameplay. It's as fun as the original, but isn't different enough to call it an expansion. The mechanics aren't ground breaking the second time around, and it feels like the developers missed out by not creating unique levels. The repeated levels detract from the experience. I would still recommend MIND CONTROL DELETE to those who have beaten the original game. It includes the fantastic core mechanics that made SUPERHOT a great game, and still has the wonderful stylized visuals of overwhelming white and brilliant red, sprinkled with crisp black. While it does repeat itself, it offers new challenges to experienced players, looking for more addictive gameplay. SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE didn't meet my expectations for a sequel. Perhaps it couldn't. But it is still one of the most enjoyable shooters I've played in years.

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