We’re in a second age of Nintendo Switch. While new versions of the hardware are hitting the market, I’m speaking of the copious amounts of rival system ports extending the value of the console beyond first-party games. The latest of which brings the critically acclaimed action movie simulator, Superhot, to Nintendo’s hybrid machine.
Superhot
Developed by: Superhot Team
Published by: Nintendo of America/Superhot Team (Nintendo Switch version)
Superhot is the cyberhack first-person shooter where time only moves when you do. There are no weapon crates or health packs. It’s just you, outnumbered and outgunned, grabbing weapons off fallen enemies to shoot, slice, and maneuver through a hurricane of slow-motion bullets. In each level of the game, the object is to neutralize nameless red enemies as you’re dropped into various action movie scenarios.
A prime example is in one instance you suddenly appear in an elevator surrounded by three henchmen with guns. You need to figure out how to disarm one and take down the other two without them getting a shot off. Luckily time is on your side, as you can look around to survey your situation before making a move to progress time. That’s just one of the crazy John Woo like sequences you’ll need to navigate.
Superhot isn’t just a random simulation. The game has various layers of Metta storytelling. This orange’s peel takes the avatar of a kid pirating a video game from a friend. As you progress through each level, the system you invaded for entertainment becomes sentient as it analogs themes such as corporate control and questions of free will. This narrative gives Superhot a real reason to sport two-toned scenery and a simple polished asset pack look.
Superhot has seen versions on all VR as well as standard PC and console. The Nintendo Switch version of the game fittingly feels as though it’s a hybrid of both. As you travel with the system, the gyroscope controls allow you to look around each level before moving just by tilting the system across x and y-axis. When you dock the Switch and play with the detached joy-cons, the experience shares similarities with touch controls from high-end VR systems. You can slash enemies with your katana by a flick of the wrist or throw hands in close quarters combat.
As with many of the recent Nintendo Switch ports, Superhot’s optimization has matched what we see in visual fidelity and performance from other consoles. With the game being in existence for a few years now, it would have been unforgivable to see any lag or frame rate issue. Fortunately, Superhot runs like a finely tuned sports car on Nintendo’s underpowered hardware in both 60FPS docked and hand-held.
Before the Switch version, I’d never played any non-VR version of Superhot. Having tried it on PSVR first, there seemed no way a standard version could match the mind-blowing immersion of this in VR. All of Nintendo Switch’s motion control gimmicks make it a fantastic middle ground between a standard gaming and VR experience for Superhot. The game’s story mode is a great way to pass the time on the go.
It’s smashed down all the chaos and mayhem of a PC version into a sardine can of a system which just bursts with fun from the Switch. My only head scratch is the price on Nintendo eShop. Yes, there are more gaming peeps that haven’t experienced this slice of awesome, but a game initially released in 2016 coming to switch should not be at its full price. That statement can certainly be taken as opinion but one which I’d bet applies to every Switch port in many consumers eyes. Still, at $24.99, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more complete package from Nintendo’s eShop.
