Superliminal is a lesson about perspective on life. You can look at a situation and try the same solution over and over again. But if you take a different look at the situation at hand, you may find a new perspective. In that new perspective, you can find a new solution that can create a more favorable outcome. As a metaphor for transforming inane frustration into gratifying solutions, Superliminal was a profound experience. One of its particular moments stuck with me. It tells the player, “The problem is not that the problems we face can’t be solved: the problem is that we become so afraid of failure that we refuse to see our problems from a new perspective.” 2020 has been far from normal, but as Superliminal suggests, you could look at it from a different perspective.
Going into Superliminal, I was expecting a routine puzzle game. When the puzzles started to warp and play with my perspective, those expectations were subverted. Superliminal plays with perception in some of the most creative ways. Its world is constructed around your point of view. Sprinkle in the story element of dreaming and you have a good thing going. The whole game makes me think of Portal mashed with Inception. Immediately in the game, I am reminded of those great puzzles. Then we throw in the Inception aspect. Playing with sleeping, dreams, and whether perception is or isn’t reality. All of these things together make for a wonderful experience. Superliminal replaces Portal’s steadfast humor with Inception’s examination of the subconscious.
Puzzle games are always a refreshing instance in today’s sphere. We get a lot of shooters and open-world games that could last 30-50 hours. It’s a relief to have an engaging puzzle game that is easily digestible within a few hours. Superliminal is not very long, it’s possible to finish the game within an hour. I did want a little more from the game though. I believe it could’ve been even better had it added a few more levels in there. I wish it would have taken all the solutions from previous puzzles and then mashed them together for some more difficult problems to solve.
I enjoyed the creativity in the puzzles. The best way to describe the puzzles in this game is to look around the room you are in. When you look around, find an item that is not within your reach, preferably something far away. Then put your hand up to that object and pretend to pinch it with your thumb and index finger. For example, the water bottle that is across my room can seem so small when I frame it in between my fingers. When you change your perspective, that object, for me the water bottle, can change size. That is what happens in Superliminal. You can pick up objects at different distances and then change their size depending on how close you are to that object. You then use those different size objects to help you solve puzzles. Superliminal plays with scale and creates a fascinating and revelatory experience. The core of Superliminal always points back to perspective and perception.
There are different sections of the game that have different puzzle themes. The first chapter doesn’t have a theme as it just introduces you to the mechanics. The second chapter is all about optical illusions. The illusions in the game are fantastic. You line up an image and then you can grab that image as it becomes an object that you use to solve the rest of the puzzle. With Superliminal’s length in mind, it may be best not to reveal all the tricks in the remaining 5 chapters. You will be astounded by the variety of tests.
Superliminal can feel a bit too close to Portal. You are going through tests, you have a robotic woman talking to you, there are secret rooms to find. Sound familiar? The whole time I was playing, I was waiting for that Portal “break the system and escape” moment. Luckily it doesn’t go that route and the reveal later subverts those expectations. Inception’s influence is pretty obvious as the game moves along. As some of the dialogue mentions dreams within dreams and dream layering. In Inception, there was the idea of the “architect” who was able to alter the dreams. I think that is pretty apparent that there was some influence there, as you can make changes in these dream sequences that are happening. Despite these comparisons, Superliminal eventually succeeds on its own terms as it explores original ideas.
Superliminal is a lesson about perspective on life. You can look at a situation and try the same solution over and over again. But if you take a different look at the situation at hand, you may find a new perspective. In that new perspective, you can find a new solution that can create a more favorable outcome. As a metaphor for transforming inane frustration into gratifying solutions, Superliminal was a profound experience. One of its particular moments stuck with me. It tells the player, “The problem is not that the problems we face can’t be solved: the problem is that we become so afraid of failure that we refuse to see our problems from a new perspective.” 2020 has been far from normal, but as Superliminal suggests, you could look at it from a different perspective.
