{"id":129181,"date":"2020-11-25T10:57:33","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T10:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gamerant.com\/superliminal-review\/"},"modified":"2020-11-25T10:57:33","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T10:57:33","slug":"superliminal-review-game-rant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/11\/25\/superliminal-review-game-rant\/","title":{"rendered":"Superliminal Review | Game Rant"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

First launching on The Epic Games Store back in November 2019 before hitting consoles earlier this year, surreal indie puzzler\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>has finally made its way to Steam. A new platform always brings with it new faces, and with\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>generally being viewed as something of an underrated gem by its fans, it seems\u00a0the port to Valve<\/a>‘s seminal PC storefront will be yet another opportunity for a\u00a0fresh\u00a0batch of players to experience Pillow Castle’s work.<\/p>\n

So,\u00a0for those finally getting the chance to dive into\u00a0the perspective-shifting puzzle game now its graced the pages of Steam<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>is it worth it? Acting almost like a blend of the structure of\u00a0Valve’s excellent\u00a0Portal\u00a0<\/em>games and the mind-bending world of\u00a0Galactic Cafe’s The\u00a0<\/em>Stanley Parable,\u00a0<\/em>Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0without question a very competent\u00a0puzzle game. Much like the aforementioned\u00a0Portal,\u00a0<\/em>it might only have one mechanic behind it, but the sheer uniqueness of that gimmick is so well utilized and explored throughout its brief campaign that it never wears out its welcome.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a010 Puzzle Games That Are Impossible To Beat Without A Guide<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

To those unfamiliar with the title,\u00a0Superliminal<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>has a simple premise. Waking up in a surreal world acting under the mind-boggling laws of dream logic, the player must find a way to return to the real world through an assortment of puzzle-focused chambers. Their one tool in this strange\u00a0realm\u00a0of looping corridors and oddly proportioned rooms is their perspective, with players able to pick up objects and change their size\u00a0by altering where and how they look at them. This means small chess pieces scattered around rooms can\u00a0transform into\u00a0giant\u00a0battering rams and\u00a0the moon itself can become the size of a pea.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Even without Pillow Castle’s eventual additions to the mechanic, it’s utter genius. Very little compares to the first fifteen minutes players will inevitably spend getting their head around just how innovative this concept is, as they resize every item in the game’s series of opening chambers with gleeful abandonment.\u00a0Everything about it flows so seamlessly,\u00a0and with no slow down or frame drops between resizes, it’s hard to fault almost anything about how the studio integrates such a smart mechanic.<\/p>\n

But it winds up coming into its own even more as the player\u00a0progresses, whether that’s through learning how\u00a0to frame objects so they appear within hard to reach places or \u2013 in one particularly psychedelic level \u2013 multiplying a set of fire escapes to create a ramp. In some of the later sections of the game, there’s even the opportunity to resize doorways and\u00a0drastically reduce the\u00a0scale of the player character in segments reminiscent of Honey I Shrunk the Kids<\/em><\/a>. It keeps things fresh from beginning to end, with no section ever overstaying its welcome or utilizing the perspective mechanic in the same way.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the levels, for the most part, they’re sure to appease\u00a0players looking for a pleasant handful of problems to solve, although they hardly\u00a0place\u00a0many hurdles in their path. Sure, there\u00a0are two or three particularly brutal headscratchers included, but the vast majority of the game’s\u00a0chambers are simple affairs that prioritize an energetic pace over engaging puzzles. While that’s partially the reason that\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>manages to\u00a0weave\u00a0such a\u00a0tight experience, it does mean that what’s here can feel a little simplistic at times.<\/p>\n

For every tricky puzzle<\/a> that makes\u00a0the player stop and think, there are around\u00a0six to seven chambers that can be solved in a matter of seconds. It would’ve been great for the difficulty to ramp up as\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>proceeded through its\u00a0runtime, but\u00a0as it stands, there’s a distinct lack of challenge towards the late-game sections.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

That being said, these levels\u00a0are a joy to explore from a visual standpoint. Centering around an abstract, minimalist world,\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>is a surprisingly\u00a0pretty game at points, partnering its quirky puzzles with equally larger than life locations. Most areas shift\u00a0the overall style\u00a0between levels (although, admittedly,\u00a0some more diverse\u00a0locals\u00a0might’ve spiced things up a bit), with the stand out\u00a0being the\u00a0dark, dingy corridors of a\u00a0horror-inspired\u00a0level that players traverse\u00a0towards the midpoint of the game.<\/p>\n

For the most part,\u00a0areas shift design based on\u00a0the style of gameplay that takes precedent in the level, with the aforementioned horror\u00a0segment<\/a> seeing players navigate dark areas with a makeshift lamp. Alternatively, one of the game’s final\u00a0sequences uses\u00a0stark white environments to force players to question what is and isn’t out of the level’s bounds. It’s great to see the visual design tie-into\u00a0Superliminal’s <\/em>meta, perspective-shifting\u00a0gameplay so frequently.<\/p>\n

It’s a shame that the same focus wasn’t poured into the game’s overarching narrative or tone, because Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>can tend to be somewhat\u00a0forgettable for a game with such a unique core premise. Although the gameplay definitely resembles elements of the likes of\u00a0Portal<\/a>, The Stanley Parable,\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0The\u00a0<\/em>Talos Principle,\u00a0<\/em>the difference is that each of these games had something defining. Valve interlaced\u00a0Portal’s\u00a0<\/em>levels with the dry wit\u00a0of GLaDOS,\u00a0Stanley Parable’s\u00a0<\/em>strange dream logic was laced with self-referential meta-humor, and\u00a0The\u00a0<\/em>Talos Principle\u00a0<\/em>incorporated a touch of philosophy into its proceedings.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

While\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>often considers\u00a0the idea of\u00a0weaving moment-to-moment gameplay with an additional, narrative-based element, it never really\u00a0fully pulls the trigger. Through the narration of the\u00a0ever-present Dr. Glenn Pierce, it becomes clear early on that the game wants to relate its perspective based gameplay to the\u00a0issue of mental health. It’s definitely one that could’ve worked under the right circumstances, especially considering the game’s abstract focus, but sadly it never feels like\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>earns its poorly interwoven message by the time the credits roll.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Xbox Console Exclusive Co-Op Puzzle Game Morkredd Coming to Game Pass<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It’s also worth mentioning that this is a very short game<\/a>, clocking in at around 2 and a half hours on the first run. Unless players are willing to return for the newly added developer’s commentary or additional speedruns \u2013 which likely\u00a0will appeal to some considering\u00a0it has built-in settings to facilitate them \u2013 the game isn’t\u00a0going to\u00a0outlast more than\u00a0two or three sittings at the most.<\/p>\n

That being said,\u00a0Superliminal\u00a0<\/em>is still a really solid puzzle game. Its\u00a0innovative\u00a0main mechanic\u00a0is\u00a0worth the price of admission alone, with Pillow Castle taking the time to evolve and experiment with the mechanic so no two levels\u00a0are ever exactly the same. What it lacks in challenge, story, and length it makes up for with its commitment to its perspective-based premise, carving a genuinely fun puzzler that’s sure to leave aficionados\u00a0of the genre satisfied.<\/p>\n

Superliminal\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is out now on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Game Rant was provided with a Steam code for this review.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a010 Forgotten Puzzle Games You Need To Play<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n

\\\"IT\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2
\u7acb\u523b\u8a3b\u518a\u53ca\u5831\u540d\u96fb\u8166\u88dc\u7fd2\u8ab2\u7a0b\u5427!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<\/br>Find A Teacher Form:\r\n<\/br>https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1vREBnX5n262umf4wU5U2pyTwvk9O-JrAgblA-wH9GFQ\/viewform?edit_requested=true#responses\r\n<\/br><\/br>Email:\r\n<\/br>public1989two@gmail.com






\r\nwww.itsec.hk<\/a>
\r\nwww.itsec.vip<\/a>
\r\nwww.itseceu.uk<\/a>
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Superliminal is a compelling puzzle game with an innovative central mechanic, even if its brief campaign lacks a great story or much challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Superliminal Review | Game Rant - ITTeacherITFreelance.hk","description":"Superliminal is a compelling puzzle game with an innovative central mechanic, even if its brief campaign lacks a great story or much challenge."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[607],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129181"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129181"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129182,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129181\/revisions\/129182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}