SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete, by SUPERHOT team
Ok, so that took longer than expected to beat, but in my defense SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete is a really weird game. Its gameplay is just a tiny bit deeper than that of its predecessor, which is really nice, but some of the added elements really take the experience of the game down a peg. Enough about the summary, though, let’s dive right into the game.
SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete is a sequel to SUPERHOT that tries to take a randomly generated twist and mash it into the original gameplay, with varying degrees of success. The levels are now split into a bunch of little “nodes” that have you placed randomly into one of ten or so areas with randomly spawning enemies to let you duke it out until the game decides “yeah, good enough”, and lets you move on. It’s essentially a survival mode with a loosely connected story, but I found it was enough to keep me motivated, and working towards the finish line. The SUPERHOT devs are really lucky they stumbled onto such a perfect gameplay loop in their first game, because if I was playing anything else I think I would have quit.
One thing you should know before you decide to play MCD is that this game is hard, and not always the fair kind. The random nature of the game means there are times when you die over and over through no fault of your own, just waiting for the game to give you a run where you have enough weapons, or just the right placement to succeed. This can be frustrating, especially when the game expects you to go through 10+ levels without getting hit three times, almost ensuring that some unfairly placed enemy is going to mess you up. It’s never too frustrating though, and the RNG nature makes sure that as long as you stick with it, you’ll eventually have the right combo to succeed. It’s ok, but the best way I can think to describe the way these levels are formatted is… messy.
Aside from the overall structure of the game, the moment-to-moment gameplay has never been better, it’s a completely perfect refinement of the combat from the first game. In addition to the basic shooting/punching/slashing from SUPERHOT, MCD introduces unlockable abilities that can entirely change up your style of play, my favorite of which was the one that gave you the ability to recall your katana like Mjolnir. Overall these abilities add a needed sense of variety to the otherwise repetitive levels, and give the player a choice on how they want to play. Another new element is the ability to throw certain objects into the heads of enemies to kill them instantly. This is probably my favorite addition to the gameplay, as it creates some Borne-esque scenarios where you can clear a room using nothing but some wooden shivs, or a floppy disc. Also, there is no greater feeling than seeing an 8-inch vinyl embed itself into a red dude’s skull.
These new abilities are complemented by the addition of new types of enemies, which is another addition that improves on the original. In the way of standard enemies, there are spiky dudes that explode when shot, dudes with red weapons that keep said weapons when hit, and white dudes that are indestructible, save for a certain weak spot. Additionally, each of the main abilities unlocked through the game has a corresponding enemy, and these are completely indestructible. On the one hand I enjoy the concept of trying to survive long enough to win against an unbeatable enemy, but here’s another place where the randomization hurts the game. Whenever one of these megabads showed up, I never got enough of a chance to test myself against them, because the first time I died the run was reset, and I usually didn’t run into them again.
One element of the randomization that was done well, however, was the layout and design of the levels. They’re satisfyingly complex and varied, and the way you’re placed randomly each time gives you a good chance to explore and appreciate them. There are times I’d be dropped in what I thought was an entirely separate level, and find out that it was connected to another area the entire time. It doesn’t have much of an effect on the game as a whole but it is really neat.
After looking at everything, I don’t think SUPERHOT: MCD is quite as good an experience as its predecessor. While that was meant as a concise story experience, this game exists to just be more of the classic gameplay for those who were completely hooked, and it serves that purpose admirably. As with any experience, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, but it is still good enough to try out, especially if you already have the original game, as you can get a copy for free.
See my thoughts on the original game here!