The industrial areas of the game are as much a treat to look at as the sumptuous hallways. Everything is perfectly lit and laid out for the player to discover (including a handful of hidden areas) and, in a game that relies exclusively on visual puzzles, the absence of a UI (save for the highlighting of held objects) is barely noticed. Mazes are hidden in total darkness, only to be revealed when picking up a light source, and doorways are hidden in pure white walls in a design choice that would verge on annoying were it not for the fact that it is used so sparingly. At no point did I struggle to see what the game wanted me to see unless, that is, the game WANTED me to search for it. The separate chapters of the game all feel distinct and the behind-the-scenes areas that you regularly come across are as gloomy and atmospheric as the bright hallways the game sets up to be the intended experience.
Would that all games hide their tutorials as smoothly as this one does. More impressively, however, is the ability to rebind all of the movement and interaction options to a mouse, keyboard or both, meaning those gamers who may be forced to use one or the other can still experience this great game. Colours are vivid, but never distracting, the 3D models are smooth and easily readable, and the limited tutorials are delivered via in-world prompts rather than floating text boxes. Whilst gaming in general has had a big push towards photo-realism over the last few years, I have yet to play a game where the clarity of graphics and the tone of the art design is as important as it is here. This corridor is not all it appears to be.
#Apple puzzle superliminal full#
Following the grand tradition of games like Portal that slowly and, more importantly, clearly introduce game mechanics and The Stanley Parable that use narration from external sources to offer a commentary on the world around the player rather than the character, Superliminal is a short, sweet game full of inventive puzzles and crisp visuals.
Superliminal is one of those rare gems: a puzzle game that doesn’t outstay its welcome and leaves its mark in the form of a lasting message.
0 kommentar(er)
