Superliminal
Genres: Puzzle, Story Rich, Thriller, Adventure
Play modes: multiplayer, singleplayer
Release Date: 5-11-2020
Rating: 4.5/5
Developer: Pillow Castle
Our verdict
8.5/10
- Difficulty: Easy
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 2–4 h
Superliminal is a first-person puzzle game built on forced perspective. Pick up an object, and it becomes as large or small as it looks from where you stand, so a chess piece can turn into a staircase. The frame is an experimental dream-therapy program run by the voice of Dr Glenn Pierce and an unhelpful AI. It suits players who liked Portal or The Stanley Parable and want a short, surprising evening.
It is one of the best-received games of its kind, at about 94% positive from more than 17,000 reviews. Players praise the moments when the world bends in unexpected ways, the soothing narrator, and an ending that many found moving. Most finish in two to four hours, and secrets, a challenge mode and developer commentary add a bit more.
The critics have a consistent point: the puzzles rarely get hard, and some later rooms turn into hunting for the one object you can grab. A few found the second half too strange or the story pretentious, and multiplayer can glitch. It is easy to recommend, especially on sale; skip it if you want tough logic puzzles or a long game.
Pros
- Forced-perspective scaling makes for genuinely surprising puzzles
- Calm narrator and a dream-therapy story many found moving
- Challenge mode, secrets and developer commentary add replay
Cons
- Rarely challenging for seasoned puzzle players
- Some rooms become a hunt for the one grabbable object
- Short, about two to four hours
About
Superliminal is a first-person puzzle game based on forced perspective and optical illusions. Puzzles in this game give you a sense of the unexpected. Players need to change their perspective and think outside the box to wake up from the dream.
As you fall asleep with the TV on at 3AM, you remember catching a glimpse of the commercial for Dr. Pierce’s Somnasculpt dream therapy program. By the time you open your eyes, you’re already dreaming - beginning the first stages of this experimental program.
Explore a dream world where everything is exactly as it seems. Tread carefully as the world slowly unravels around you and subverts your expectations. What you see isn’t always precisely what you get.
In this fully-voiced adventure, Dr Glenn Pierce is doing his questionable best to guide you home and out of the dreamscape. His artificial intelligence assistant, however, is having trouble understanding exactly how you’re here at all, and has other plans for you.
