Think-between-steps shooter Superhot is super close to finally launching. The novel first-person shooter arrives on Feb. 25 for PC, Mac and Linux, and an Xbox One release is off a few weeks further than that.
In Superhot, time only moves when the player does.
It's like taking Max Payne's Bullet Time mechanic a step further to make players feel a step closer to being Jason Bourne.
"No regenerating health bars. No conveniently placed ammo drops," says the Superhot Team. "It's just you, outnumbered and outgunned, grabbing the weapons of fallen enemies to shoot, slice and maneuver through a hurricane of slow-motion bullets."
The game's core mechanic can also be compared to a Bioware game like a Mass Effect title, in which triggering the game's Tactics Hub pauses or slows the action and allows the player to direct an attack at a frozen enemy.
Still, Superhot's approach stands on its own in that the player can't make micro movements during the pauses like in Mass Effect. He or she uses the stilled time to mull the next move, but any movement by the player progresses the action around him or her as in Max Payne.
Superhot was conceived by a group of pals in the womb of a seven-day game jam back in August of 2013. The game took two and a half years to develop, but fans were there to fast-track it every step of the way.
"After releasing the prototype of Superhot to the Internet, it quickly became very popular – the game was featured on sites like RPS, PCGamer, GiantBomb and more," says the Superhot Team. "Thanks to the support of our fans, Superhot went through the Steam Greenlight process during a single weekend."
Thanks to that support, and $250,000 pledged by more than 11,600 backers in under 24 hours from a subsequent Kickstarter campaign, the Superhot Team grew and so did the game.
"Superhot has far outgrown our wildest expectations," adds the team. "It changed and evolved over time. It kept involving more and more people along the way."
The game is also included in the list of finalists for the third annual South by Southwest Gaming Awards that will take place on March 19.
Check out some of the stop-motion, shoot 'em up, take 'em down action below.
