But then that isn’t what this game is trying to do and is somewhat like arguing that Doom didn’t have enough parts where you put down your chainsaw and chatted with the demons. As a gamer who generally seeks out narrative-driven experiences, I can’t exactly say I had any sort of deep emotional investment in this game and I can’t very well enjoy discussing specific moments with other players. The only real complaints to level at Super Hexagon are about what isn’t in it. Happily, the game feels completely playable with it turned off as well. The sound might, however, be distracting for some players. The only other in-game audio of note is a calm, yet firm female voice that informs you to “begin,” states what level you’ve reached, and makes sure you know when it’s “game over.” There’s definitely something to be said for the audio in tandem with the imagery drawing you in to produce a surreal, somewhat transcendent experience. The game’s presentation is certainly not groundbreaking, but the minimalism of its audiovisual design perfectly complements its stripped-down gameplay. It’s like being trapped in a particularly angular rave. Super Hexagon’s graphics consist of constantly spinning, throbbing, flashing, neon polygons accompanied by thumping chiptune techno. Furthermore, retrying a stage is as easy as tapping the screen, so you don’t even get to have that moment where your mind thinks “just one more game.” Before you know it, your finger’s already made that decision. Also, since each time you begin a stage you’re almost definitely only going to play for a minute or less, there’s no frustration of sinking tons of time into a challenge only to fail near the end. It inspires you because you know you’ve done it once, so you should be able to do it again. There’s something fantastically rewarding about simply knowing that you made it to another level and survived a whole thirty seconds. Still, the incredible thing about Super Hexagon is that its addictive qualities manage to outweigh how frustrating it is. ![]() Again, if you get a game over, you start all the way from zero, so these aren’t checkpoints so much as they are markers. However, the first time you play the game, you probably won’t even last five. Line, for example, is reached at ten seconds. Each stage is technically divided into six “levels” called Point, Line, Triangle, Square, Pentagon, and Hexagon that you reach at regular time intervals. Although you’re only required to survive one minute per stage, you’re not likely to reach that minute for several hours. The difficulty is listed under each stage with the very first being “hard” because, from the get-go, that’s what this game is: insanely, punishingly, unrelentingly hard. And it’s one of the most challenging, rewarding, and addictive games you’ll ever play. In other words, Super Hexagon consists of six, one-minute stages and only two control inputs. The same is true of each subsequent stage. The first stage is considered “beaten” once your triangle survives for one minute (though the stage continues beyond that, if you’re up to the challenge). ![]() Each hyper stage is unlocked by conquering the corresponding original stage. The first three are called “Hexagon,” “Hexagoner,” and “Hexagonest” and the final three are “hyper” (meaning faster and more erratic) versions of the original three. Touching the left side of your screen moves you left and, well, the rest is self-explanatory. The only controls at your disposal are left and right. Your triangle stays in the center of the screen, rotating around a pulsing hexagon. ![]() If the front of your triangle touches a wall, it’s game over and you restart the stage from the beginning. Super Hexagon is a minimalist action game in which you navigate a tiny triangle through flashing neon obstacles of ever more complex geometric patterns. And I’ve been playing the game for four days. And the first stage only lasts one minute. ![]() Full disclosure: though I always do my best to finish a title completely before reviewing it, I’ve only beaten the first stage of Super Hexagon.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |