![]() ![]() The therapy motif of Superliminal extends even to its name, which is based on the word "liminal" which relates to the transitional point of a process, or change. And like the therapy I’ve experienced, it’s up to you to use those tools when situations arise. In it, the good Doc fills the role of your usual psychiatrist, while the game’s mechanics are the tools being taken away from this extensive, trippy session. ![]() However, it’s important to remember that your character is undergoing a special kind of therapy this whole time. Glenn Pierce, who attempts to guide you as you move from one dream to another. ![]() Over the course of the game, you’re directed by Dr. This hands-off approach is one of the many things about Superliminal’s gameplay that ties into its narrative. The frustration I felt with the puzzle was immediately replaced with sheer joy and satisfaction when the solution finally clicked, which was a common sensation I experienced playing the game. It took me about fifteen minutes to figure out the walls could be knocked down with a large enough object. One room, in particular, stumped me - the door leading out of it was a brick wall, but cracks in the room’s walls let me peek outside and see the exit. Toying around with a game’s mechanics is easy for me when it’s clear what they are, but going in without knowing anything is a different story. For most puzzle games, I would have found an issue with this. Instead, you’re thrown straight into the mind-bending halls of your character’s brain to sort it out. At no point does the game tell you what to do, how its mechanics work, or what approach may be the best. One of the things I really appreciated about Superliminal was this laissez-faire approach. It takes a while to understand the rules of this mechanic how things can be placed, how to change their size, and how objects react to one another. If you pick up a can of soda that’s 2 feet away from you and place it at the end of a room, the result is the biggest can of soda you’ve ever seen. However, the item remains the same size from where you saw it. If you pick something up, it’s always going to be placed against the surface furthest from where you’re looking at. It’s a difficult concept to explain, so here are the layman’s terms. "What makes Superliminal truly unique isn’t its gameplay or story, but rather the way it uses both to impart a clear-cut message onto its player." Most of these random objects feed into the game’s mind-bending main feature - changing the size of something depending on your perspective. Chess pieces, dollhouses, and soda machines clutter this strange, 90s office-themed dreamscape, but they all have their purpose. The entire game plays out in the character’s subconscious, which led me to question the things that I would find lying around. In Superliminal, you play as someone who has signed up for an experimental form of dream therapy. However, what makes Superliminal truly unique isn’t its gameplay or story, but rather the way it uses both to impart a clear-cut message onto its player. It’s not your average puzzle game though as it’s not very complex and it leans heavily on a narrative delivered through radios placed at each level. That may be why I was so surprised when I finished Superliminal in just a couple of sessions, having enjoyed every minute of it. If you asked me to name one from the last decade I’d answer with Professor Layton, skipping over many other fantastic titles that have also come out. Simply put, I’m not extremely interested in puzzle games. In fact, I’ve mostly avoided the genre as it's typically not my speed. Let me preface this review with this - I am not good at puzzle games, and Superliminal is very much a puzzle game. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |