izigame.me

I have a decently sized library of Triple-A games that I've acquired for the last 7 or so years. Yet, they almost all remain un-downloaded, untouched, and forgotten only to collect whatever the digital equivalent of dust is.

Superliminal is a very rare exception. I can't recall the last time I was this captivated and transfixed with a video game; I'd go so far as to say this is the best non VR PC game I've played in 5 years.
The one negative thing people keep echoing in their reviews of this game is "It's too short, not worth the money" or variants of that same basic message. All of their playtimes indicates that they likely only played through the game once at a casual pace.
My first playthrough at a moderate exploratory pace came in at just a hair longer than 4 hours total.
The souls reviewing this game and complaining about its short length can only be rationalized in my mind by the following scenario:
Imagine for a moment with me, someone walking into an out of the way relatively unknown gourmet restaurant and sitting down at a beautifully decorated table in an ambient high-class environment. They quickly order a 5-course meal and impatiently wait for it to be made. Once the meal is served in front of them, they eat one of the courses, all the appetizer bread, and gulp down the entire pitcher of water. They proceed to complain to the manager that they weren't satisfied with the palette complexity of their meal, and were left hungry... all while a confused manager observes there to be 4 untouched courses growing cold on their table.

As of writing this review, I earned all achievements in this game, played through and completed the Main Story, Developer Commentary & Challenge Mode.
After a second playthrough of the Story Mode, you'll find a lot of clever foreshadowing of all the events to unfold, as well as hints towards the ending.
The Developer Commentary explains a lot of concepts and mechanics that I would have otherwise eternally pondered, or have reached out and bugged the developers regarding. Hearing the devs talk about how they envisioned and imagined different things to be really fleshed out this game's unique universe. Listening to experiences they shared regarding where they drew inspirations from, as well as feelings they were trying (and succeeded!) to evoke in players was treat. They choreographed every feeling and emotion they expected to elicit in their players and did just that exactly when and as intended. Listening to the commentary from everyone was akin to hearing an artist humbly explain the pieces of their art they were most proud of, and what they were feeling when they crafted their work.
I've found several delightful Easter Eggs and hidden out of the way references that I've yet to see anyone mention or discuss even after scouring forums and reviews hoping to find another soul that's seen them.
Now that I've waxed poetic, let's get down to brass tacks. I'll save the spoilers till last and make sure they're appropriately covered for those that don't care to see them.
The sound design is second to none. Matt Christensen mentioned that when he was composing for this game, he got into a headspace of creating a subgenre of jazz, a unique set of rules to follow when composing the ethereal songs for this game. The music really does come across as its own uniquely identifiable strain of song. The main jingle from the intro is intricately woven into so many other songs present in the game; it lays roots that more elaborate pieces grow out from with each subsequent iteration matching the surrounding ambiance of the environments you're traversing. Curiosity, bewilderment, fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and finally peace.
I can't imagine the game any other way, 40% of its charm to me is the sound design and music; it's responsible for making the game uniquely it's own.
I purchased the album along with the game on a whim and I'm so glad I did. I find myself listening to the soundtrack and subsequent remixes again and again. The music makes the replayability of the game skyrocket.

The Force Perspective Mechanics of the game remain largely unchanged from the initial tech demos shown to the public as early as late 2013 and that's not a bad thing. They had a phenomenal core idea and polished it until it was mirror smooth and ready for everyone to enjoy. Almost every puzzle in the game left me with a feeling of bemusement and satisfaction upon completion. Every "Aha!" lightbulb moment was incredible. There are only a handful of puzzles I didn't enjoy very much, and they're in what is intentionally considered as "the boss" levels. There are usually multiple ways to solve any given puzzle with some exceptions. Some are straight forward, others are impractically ridiculous and that just adds to the fun! I'll be forthcoming in that I started my first playthrough with a mild headache and I regret that. This only amplified my already less than ideal wellness. Every play session thereafter I felt no illness or nausea while playing despite the 'out there' nature of the visuals.

The narration feels warming when it needs to, and distantly frightening when it wants to be. Both main voices set their own moods perfectly. The upbeat and soothing delivery of Max Howarth's lines as Dr. Pierce was phenomenal. Dr. Pierce sounds like he's touring you through a world he built and crafted just for you. You can almost hear the pride he takes in what he's made in his tone alone.
Dr. Pierce's assistant is never intentionally cruel or unfeeling. They're just programmed to be succinct and clinical, never willfully malicious, unlike another rogue AI that runs a testing facility in the name of science.

In order adequately to express why I don't think this is a short game in thorough detail, I have to get into spoilers.
Finding and pulling every fire alarm, emptying every extinguisher, gazing at all the constellations, discovering every blueprint, and scavenging every well-hidden chess piece was the absolute best part of the game to me, especially the puzzle pieces and subsequent area they unlocked. The literal Easter Eggs you can find, and all the hidden references to life long fans and inspirational material were so charming. You can go through your first playthrough not realizing any of these things are around you, but were always just out of sight. There are so many neat tidbits and discoverable's beneath the surface. You just have to have enough patience to dig for them, the payout is beyond worth it.

I've caught myself imagining so many what if's. I've been so engrossed by this game I can't help but think up what might happen next, or what happened leading up to our characters' involvement in the game. I've been scribbling out on paper interesting new puzzle designs iterating on existing mechanics. I've never had my imagination so wholly captivated by anything before.
You aren't playing as the stubborn daughter of a scientist, or employee number 427, you're playing as yourself, the game is an experience just for you, you're the main exhibit in this art museum. You're unfolding your own story and that's something special.
I sincerely hope you give this game a try, if nothing else, it just might change your perspective.