Superliminal

immediately engaging concept, and one of the only truly good spiritual expansions on a portal-like formula; it can be a bit curt, and its puzzles aren't always rewarding, but it's an overall wonderful time

Superliminal is a game that loves to mess with your mind - the whole premise of the game is that you've been thrown into some self-help program inside your dreams and you are trying to navigate it by illogical means. You won't get anywhere by treating it like how things work in the real world and only by embracing the fact that 'perception is reality' and you start playing by the game's rules does it all start to click together.

The puzzles presented in this game are meant to seem 'impossible' from a typical perspective - how tf do you reach this platform 10 meters high when the only other thing in the room is a little cheese wheel? Well all you got to do is reorient the cheese wheel in your view so that your face is right up to it and by releasing it the cheese wheel will now be that size and weight and you can walk up it and onto the platform. My explanation probably only works for someone who's played it but that is probably the whole point as it wont make sense until you play it and understand that the game is trying to make you look at things from a different perspective and constantly think outside the box. It manages to keep this up throughout its very brisk runtime by introducing new concepts in each 'world' and sometimes each individual level as some ideas only appear for a single puzzle which keeps things fresh and keeps you consistently bewildered and excited to see what crazy idea comes up next

The game can be such a treat for the eyes and not in a technical fidelity kinda way, it's more so that it's just always playing visual tricks on you and there are some gorgeous environments and puzzles towards the end. Some puzzles are treated as a comedic 'oh what that worked' moment while some can be real head-scratchers and I only had to look up the solution to one puzzle and it pissed me off but not in a bad way at all because it makes sense (well kinda but you get my point)

What's even crazier is how closely the gameplay is directly related to the story and overall message of the game. The narrator explains at the very end that the self-help program went exactly as planned even though it seemed like something had gone wrong at some point and you had to find your way out yourself becauseee that's the whole point. You managed to traverse this entire game and the supposed 'problems' by successfully changing your perspective on things because that's literally what you do to complete these puzzles. The narrator then links that to your character who enrolled in this self-help program because they had lost control of their lives and felt there was nothing they could do to solve the problems in the real world, and through the challenges they were able to overcome in this program the hope is that it will translate to their irl mentality when they wake up

You can probably see how this is meant to then translate to us, the ones playing it, with the game being our self-help program and how we are meant to take heed of the central message here once we wake up from the dream/quit the game after finishing it. Its heartfelt af and maybe seems a little all too self-help book kinda talk but nah its great and is bolstered by that connection between the gameplay and the story with how integral your actions are to advancing it and is the complete opposite of ludo-narrative dissonance which uh I guess would be consistency or resonance (you know like Nathan Drake being lighthearted average joe but the game has you effortlessly gunning down thousands of people)

I enjoyed this game so much i looked up 'games similar to this' and put them all in the backlog hoping they will be as good, its a fantastic puzzle game you can complete over like a weekend in about 3-4 hrs good stuff right here

Other things
- The world that veers into horror is hilarious as it's throwing all these false flags at you that something is amiss but is actually nothing to be worried about
- I don't know anything about the technical side of things when it comes to gave development but there's no way this wasn't a complete pain to code/program things, this had my mind blown on many occasions which I imagine 'Viewfinder' will do when I get around to it
- I watched a speedrun of this and the strat used to instantly makes things blow up in size pissed me off and would have cut my runtime in like half its so simple

Superliminal is a first person puzzler, whose puzzles revolve around changing the properties of objectives according to perspective, as well as thinking outside the more obvious solutions. Its easy to compare it to Portal, even more because it contains references to that series, but it has enough personality and bright ideas to standout on its own.

The game is rather easy, as most solutions can be found quickly once you get the hang of what the game is trying to do, and actually performing the solutions is really fast. Basically all puzzles only require one step to arrive at a solution, though at times the controls are a bit of a struggle. It can effectively be beaten in about 2 hours, particularly if you arent searching the levels for secrets or audio tapes. It has a bit of repetition in terms of solutions to puzzles, which is odd in such a short game. On the whole it left me intrigued and satisfied with how things worked in this world, rather than annoyed.

The game kind of forces an inspirational message, which is rather cheesy, but it also can be easily ignored as its provided mainly through audiologs, and these arent mandatory.

Overall I enjoyed my time in here, altough its considerably less polished and developed as the Portal series.

One of my favorite puzzle games, maybe the most challenging one I have played. The levels are really fun but become very difficult. The concept is extremely cool and unique with a little obvious inspiration by Portal (and apparently The Stanley Parable but I haven't played that). It unravels to pure insanity by the end and reveals a very good message that is portrayed excellently by the game. This absolutely deserves a sequel, but it would really have to break reality to top this one.

When first saw the concept for superliminal I was immediately hooked. The idea was so simple yet so fresh and intriguing. That said you'll find very quickly that there really wasn't a ton the developers could think of to flesh out these concepts.

This game is certainly ambitious. I loved the ability to change the environment by using the portals or changing 2d paintings on the wall into objects. But the issue is that all these concepts feel like one trick ponies. There's not much depth to each idea and it leads to the puzzles feeling very repetitive.

A major part of making games like these is the team's ability to deny the expectations of the audience. You constantly want to be thinking of ideas that catch your audience off guard. It's what makes games like Portal or The Stanley Parable so incredible. Because not only do they actively expand upon their basic concepts but they also challenge the player to think outside the box as well.

An element that this game sorely lacks, however, if there's one thing that can save superliminal, it's the art direction and world design.

This game is the equivalent of visual eye candy, every world is so bright and vibrant. And the game loves to play with your mind by constantly playing visual tricks that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Even if the puzzles or the writing of this game don't meet your expectations, at least stick it out for the end, it's one of the most visually stunning pieces of work I've ever seen in a game.

It was fun and charming enough for the first little while, despite the GarageBand-tier musical instrument sounds used at times. I even have an innate bias in favor of any game that's physics and puzzle -driven, and/or meant to be a meditation on the concept of perspective. Still...

The thing that convinced me to quit and refund the game was the sudden drastic tone shift of the Blackout/Horror section AND a not immediately clear 'puzzle' in that area, somewhat similar to the now-infamous East-West Exit Sign puzzle from later in the game-- walking across a gap by seeking the silhouette of the walkway over the gap . How was I s'posed to know that was there? How was I supposed to know what to be looking for? Another mechanic tossed in and tossed out willy nilly? Hmph.

Anyway, the game lacks focus and wastes most of its potential. More objects in the world should be scale-able--too often it becomes a 'hidden object hunt' for the scale-able item, not much of a puzzle. There should be more actual puzzles, with more varied solutions. I do appreciate the nods/homage/pastiche of Eternal Sunshine and whatnot, but ultimately sticking so closely to the aesthetic, tone, and typeface of The Stanley Parable almost seems like a marketing gimmick designed to trick people into thinking it's from the same creators.... Go play that game instead, first, honestly. Then Portal 1 and 2, then The Witness.