PLATFORM: PC, PS4, XBOX ONE (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: JULY 16TH
A standalone follow-up to 2016’s Superhot (check our review of last year’s Switch re-issue here if you need a refresher), Mind Control Delete takes what made the main game so enjoyable and throws in some extra gameplay features that are well worth investigating. However, its lack of narrative and highly repetitive environments leave it flagging in third place behind the original game and its VR counterpart.
Sticking with the “time only moves when you move” mechanic, MCD challenges players to work their way through various “nodes,” collections of small (like, really small) areas where many red dudes are waiting to be sliced, diced and ‘sploded into a thousand slow-motion pieces by whatever weapons you can find lying around. Where Superhot stuck to melee and ranged combat, this expansion adds “hacks” and “cores” to upgrade and enhance your powers – automatically launching shurikens into opponents’ faces when you take damage, turning all throwable items into grenades, adding extra ammo to your guns, that sort of thing. It makes the already-fantastic gameplay feel much deeper and more satisfying than ever before, and unlocking new hacks and cores gives players something to work towards.
Unfortunately, the game itself doesn’t contain much variety and you’ll have seen most of what it has to offer within the first 30 minutes or so. You do unlock various upgrades throughout the campaign, but you’re always playing through the same small and claustrophobic levels which rarely offer a chance to really test out your new abilities. The core gameplay is as great as ever, but you may well find yourself asking “why though?” sooner than you’d probably like.
It’s a tricky one to recommend picking up at full price, but there’s a silver lining in that Mind Control Delete is completely free for anyone who owns a paid copy of the original Superhot before July 16th (info here!). Enjoy the heck out of Superhot for your main course, then move on to MCD if you’ve still got room for afters.
