This is a guest post by Spencer Sandoval
Nobody ever got bullet time quite right, did they?
Don’t get me wrong, having the power to slow down time isn’t something to take lightly. The abundance of games that include it these days might make it seem mundane, but video games are the only medium I can think of that really allow you to experience that sense of control and power.
Bullet time the way we want it was never really about watching your enemies slow down, though. It was about being Neo in “The Matrix”. It was about twisting and weaving through bullets, and it was about looking cool while you were doing it. No game has ever been able to capture that feeling, and I think I know why: bullets are rarely physical objects. Usually they’re little more than particle effects, long white lines that are largely unimpressive. It looks nothing like what we see in TV and movies, and there’s something vital lost because of that.
“SUPERHOT” changes everything.
It’s a game that was released as part of the 7dfps game jam that took place last month. Participants had 7 days to create their own FPS game, and then post it on the internet for everyone to see. There’s some really great stuff in the huge list of completed games available on the 7dfps website, but “SUPERHOT” stands out among the best.
Your goal is to navigate through each level, killing your opponents as they try to gun you down. Which sounds pretty standard, except in this game time moves when you move. Running around a level like normal, you wouldn’t be able to differentiate it from any other game, but stand still and magic happens. Time nearly stops, ceiling fans slow to a crawl, enemies freeze in mid air, and bullets? Those beautiful, solid bullets with glorious red tails streaming behind them? You guessed it, they freeze too. Just like you’d expect, and you can watch as they whizz by your face, an inch from killing you. You can jump and dodge and weave around them, and it’s wonderful. It never gets old, and best of all you can play it for free in your browser.
The game is getting so much praise that it’s even popped up on Steam Greenlight. Users of the digital distribution service can vote for the game to be released in an expanded, improved form. Play it first before you make up your mind, but I imagine this one will make it on to Steam sometime in the next year.