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.
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.
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.
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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